Savour the creations of top international sushi chefs and vote to decide the best of the best

Sushi’s Greatest Accolade

The honour and reputation of being named as one of the Seven Sushi Samurai is great in itself, but it is the thought of being deemed the winner of the prestigious Sushi of the Year Award, the crowning glory of the international sushi calendar, which really motivates the Seven Sushi Samurai to come up with more and more wonderful pieces of sushi every year. After tasting all seven original sushi creations, it is the public attendees and the special judge panel composed of chefs and gastronomic experts who decide the winner of the award, meaning that it takes something really special for a sushi creation to earn itself the title of Sushi of the Year. The dish must not only display evidence of superlative sushi skills, respect for the long-standing sushi tradition and an exquisite taste – it must also possess that something extra, which gives it that necessary edge over the other eager contestants.

The Touch of a Sushi

Genius was just that special touch that determined the winner of last year’s Sushi of the Year Award, 'Golden Shooting Star', created by Japanese Sushi Samurai Masashi Ogata. Having been selected as one of the Sushi Samurai, chef Ogata of Asahizushi restaurant in Miyagi prefecture decided to create a piece of sushi which would recreate the taste of shark’s fin, the regional speciality of his home town. For the benefit of his foreign audience, Ogata came up with the idea of reproducing the internationally-renowned delicacy using only sea vegetables and other 100% vegetarian ingredients. After experimenting with a host of different ingredients, both native to Japan and imported, Ogata hit on a winning combination. The final dish combined seaweed soaked in mirin (sweet cooking sake) with maple syrup-infused pieces of apple. Avocados gave body and texture whilst a creative use of frosted cornflakes lent an exciting sweetness and crunch. Delicate pale green sprouts of daikon (giant white radish) hanging down from the side of the sushi, which is topped with fragments of gold leaf to lend it a Japanese look. Overall, it was an exquisitely presented piece of sushi with a taste to match, and its success surpassed even the expectations of its creator. “I just couldn’t believe it,” Masashi Ogata said of his glorious victory.

An Unbeatably Exciting

The most exciting aspect of the Eat-Japan Sushi Awards, which makes it a truly one-off occasion, is that the destination of the Sushi of the Year Award is entirely determined by the audience of the night and the guest judge panel. This means that there is just no predicting who the champion will be until all the votes are in. The only way to really experience the incredible atmosphere and sense of occasion is to be present at the Sushi Awards itself, witness the sushi chefs preparing their creations for your delectation, and then cast your own vote to decide the deserved winner of this unique and singularly prestigious award.

 

Date	Monday 6 October 2008
Time	18:00 - 21:00(Doors open at 17:30)
Venue	The Great Hall, London House, Mecklenburgh Square, London WC1N 2AB
Ticket Price	£90 each

Guest judges’ comments from last year

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