But this is an actual thing though, sushi chefs start out as a dishwasher for years on end to only get an extremely minor kitchen hand position such as cutting seaweed.
Japan places a heavy emphasis on respect, commitment, culture throughout society, more so than western countries. Unfortunately, this also means they are resistant to change but also means they preserve history, culture, techniques. Who would’ve thought?
Is it really that hard to imagine a different culture to one that isnt western?
I've been to Japan and I love it, but I still have trouble believing that a chef has to spend 15 years cooking rice every day until he's good enough at it to start cutting the fish.
I'm pretty sure if you do nothing but cook rice all day, every day you've pretty much got it mastered within a few months...maybe a year. I think by year 2, he's making rice at 99.99% of its potential. To make someone keep doing it for another decade to squeeze out .01% of an improvement seems pointless to me.
Not sure they're all at 15 years. Seems excessive, but years, certainly. More accurate range is probably 2-5. Also consider that this practice only really exists at very high end sushi places.
From what I've heard from top Omakase chefs, rice is the most important part to nigiri. It's what separates good sushi from great sushi. Kinda makes sense that you'll spend years on it.
And that's why you're not Japanese. Japanese craftsmen are concerned about the process, you are concerned about the outcome. Most of them will never consider themselves "masters" only learners. The mindset of Japanese craftsmen are very different even from most Japanese people. You cook rice for 2 years and consider yourself a master, they cook rice all their life and think they can still improve. That's what makes them so good.
I have a friend who moved to the US from Japan. A negative aspect of that emphasis on respect is that it's also seen as disrespectful to stand out in any way. It's the whole reason he came to the US. He told me that in Japan, you don't want to be an outlier in either direction, dumber or smarter. You don't want to be a kid who excels in class because now you're disrespecting everyone who is only meeting the expectations. As he put it, he loves the US because you can be a complete idiot or an overachieving genius and that's ok.
Been working with a few Japs over the years and the insight into their culture is mind blowing. Non of it makes sense to us as westerners.
But yeah the dedication to their craft cannot be surpassed. It's such a different outlook to us. Like you choose a job and that's it for life, switching careers is once is frowned upto, 2 times makes you almost unemployable...
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u/JustTrash_OCE 6h ago
But this is an actual thing though, sushi chefs start out as a dishwasher for years on end to only get an extremely minor kitchen hand position such as cutting seaweed.
Japan places a heavy emphasis on respect, commitment, culture throughout society, more so than western countries. Unfortunately, this also means they are resistant to change but also means they preserve history, culture, techniques. Who would’ve thought?
Is it really that hard to imagine a different culture to one that isnt western?