The One Ingredient in Sushi You've Probably Never Considered

The cut of a fish, the way the marble is sliced, the art of the act itself all play a huge significance in the culture of sushi and, more importantly, the overall quality of finished product you consume. It's something that people consider when looking at the work of a great sushi chef, they also look at the fish, the rice, the temperature and texture of what is being served. Many will comment on the style of the chef, sometimes the personality and most will, incorrectly in terms of sushi etiquette, boast about how fresh the fish tastes. What you won't hear people comment on is the movement of the chef, the way they stand, pivot, create and deliver the finished product - even though movement is actually a key ingredient of the sushi craft.

With this in mind we decided to bring you some sushi chef videos where this movement is firmly on display, clips showing some of the world’s best as they explain their art, show off their amazing knife skills and display some of the key movements assosiated with great sushi chefs.

First up is chef Koichi Minamishima from the Minamishima restaurant in Richmond, Australia. This chef has some sharp (pun entirely intended) skills but the video focuses more on explaining the importance behind movement when crafting sushi, the part of the art that is often overlooked.

What many people don’t know about sushi is the importance of flow, how a sushi chef stands, how they move and deliver the sushi to the guest, all of these things are an integral parts of the ritual.

With this in mind take a look at this clip from Jiro dreams of Sushi, notice the way Jiro Ono moves, especially when he places or brushes a piece of sushi - the chef even describes his tasting menu as concert served in three movements.

From this clip you can watch Ono serving 15 rapid-fire courses to Anthony Bourdain, whose host actually points out the stance of the sushi chef and how his head moves while he serves.

By FDL