SushiMasters 2009 Miami competition celebrates Japanese culture

Standing above his winning sushi preparations, best of show
winner Tashi Furihata (left) from Moshi Moshi explains his
technique to Mitsutoshi Sekita, master of ceremonies. © 2009
George Leposky

A celebration of Japanese culture took place May 15 in Miami as four top sushi chefs displayed their culinary artistry in the fifth annual SushiMasters Competition.

Miami is one of three cities to host such a competition in 2009, along with Washington, DC, and San Diego, CA. Winners from the three regional contests will compete in the fall in the SushiMasters Final in Los Angeles.

Why Miami? South Florida doesn’t have a large Asian population. Perhaps the event’s two major sponsors – the California Rice Commission and Kirin Brewery of America, L.L.C., which supervises Kirin Japanese-style beer made in Los Angeles by Anheuser-Busch, Inc. – perceive a potential for growth in their South Florida market shares.

People living in and visiting Miami eat a lot of California-grown small-grain and medium-grain brown and white rice and drink a lot of beer. My husband, our household’s main beer drinker, has tasted the imported version of Kirin and likes the California version just as much.

The event was officially sanctioned by the Japanese Consulate in Miami. It was held at the Alliance Francaise de Miami which opens its facilities for use by all members of Miami’s diplomatic community.

The preliminaries

Leading up to the competition were two demonstrations of Asian cooking. Mitsutoshi Sekita, chef/owner of the Koume Japanese Restaurant at Petsmart Plaza in Fort Lauderdale, demonstrated how to make sushi. The audience crowded around to see and hear his colorful explanation. Although Sekita considers what he does in his restaurant to be a fusion of Asian cuisine, his presentation for this event was totally in the Japanese sushi tradition.

After Sekita finished, the audience was treated to a sushi tasting. The food was consumed as quickly as it was served. The four competing chefs helped the caterer and his staff prepare the food.

The other demonstration, of Asian wok cuisine, was presented by Chinese-born culinary teacher Eleanor Hoh of Wok Star. See my separate story about her presentation.

Mitsutoshi Sekita (far left), master of ceremonies, prepares
to announce the winners. Competing were (from left) Chef
Takeshi Kamioka from Tokyo Sushi, Chef Hiro Asano from Abokado,
chef/owner Tashi Furihata from Moshi Moshi, and Chef Nestor
Espartero from Sushi Bistro of Ocala. © 2009 George Leposky

The Competition

In due course the sushi supply dwindled, and the competition began. The competitors were:

• Chef Hiro Asano from Abokado in Miami.

• Chef/owner Tashi Furihata from Moshi Moshi in Miami Beach and the MiMo area of Miami.

• Chef Nestor Espartero from Sushi Bistro of Ocala, FL.

• Chef Takeshi Kamioka from Tokyo Sushi in Fort Lauderdale.

Sekita served as master of ceremonies, introducing each chef with much fanfare, and then announced the start of the competition. With fingers flying and knives flashing, each contestant began preparing two separate dishes – a morikomi plate and a signature roll.

The crowd filled all the space below the stage. Some people climbed onto a small raised area in the rear built for TV camera crews. Seeing what was going on was difficult. One man, a follower of TV chef competitions, was overheard to say he would rather sit at home and watch so he could see more.

The judges

Judging the competition were:

• Koichi Muramatsu, Japan’s consul in Miami.

• Naohito Watanabe, Japan’s deputy consul in Miami.

• Lee Klein, Miami New Times food critic.

• Philippe Timon, director of Alliance Francaise de Miami.

Work on the plates and rolls continued into the last seconds. Each chef made two copies of his entries – one for the judges and one for public display.

A rope barricade kept people away from the stage where the chefs were working. The crowd began to dwindle as the evening wore on, but a respectable percentage of the audience stayed to hear the winners announced.

Japanese drums

While the judges judged, a local Japanese drummer organization, Fushu Daiko, entertained the audience. Founded in 1990, Fushu Daiko has members from all over the world.

A founding member of Fushu Daiko, Yoshiko Carlton, plays the Koto (a Japanese harp) and collects kimonos. For this occasion, she was displaying three Uchikake (a type of kimono worn by brides). “Each of these dresses has special embroidery of a crane, the Japanese symbol of long life and happiness,” Mrs. Carlton explained. Most of the audience missed the dresses attached to the wall and had no idea that Mrs. Carlton’s harp was sitting under them.

After the drummers finished, emcee Sekita announced the winners. Each chef was awarded at least one medal, but the big prizes went to chef/owner Tashi Furihata of Moshi Moshi. He won the gold medals for his morikomi plate and signature roll, and the best of show award that earns him a trip to Los Angeles to participate in the final round of the competition.

This is the first year that the SushiMasters competitions have been held outside California and have been open to sushi chefs from other states.

In Los Angeles, Miami winner Furihata will compete against Chef Randy Noprapa of Tara Thai in Washington, DC, who won the Washington best of show award in April; and the winner of the San Diego competition on June 25.

After the announcement, the sushi preparations remained on display on pedestals at the base of the stage. The ropes were moved forward so audience members could take a close look. By this time, the fish and other ingredients had been out of refrigeration for well over an hour, so these creations no longer were edible, but they warranted appreciation as transient works of art.

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Other story.

Wok teacher demonstrates her technique

For more info: SushiMasters Competition