Story of Sushi: Trevor Corson

By JULIETTE ROSSANT A good thriller often starts with a compelling story and then moves it along with plenty of facts that inform the reader in a deeper sense about issues: history, politics, or culture – without feeling like a lecture. Though it's not a thriller, there is plenty packed into The Story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice by Trevor Corson (Harper Perennial 2008) The book was published in hardback last year as The Zen of Fish (HarperCollins 2007). It is a fascinating, often galloping read, because just like in a thriller, Trevor is telling a good story about students in a sushi academy who are trying to get through a 3-moonth crash sushi chef course. But he also weaves together the history of sushi, rice, fish, nori and more, along with the story of people who popularized sushi in Japan and the US. Like any good thriller, time is of the essence. The chapters are propelled forward by the weeks counted off in the sushi class. In the first chapter we meet Kate Murray, a San Diegan, who pulls up roots and moved to LA to attend the school. There is also Toshi Sugiura, the owner of the California Sushi Academy, which is housed in his restaurant, Hama Hermosa. Then there is the Zoran Lekic, the Australian-born, former body builder, who is the chief instructor. The book follows their stories, and those of other class members. Luckily, Trevor quickly jumps into foodie history, with an essay on miso and soy sauce (pp. 13-17). There are excellent passages on the early forms of sushi and the spread of quick sushi and Tokyo-style sushi, and a whole section on nori (pp. 82-85): The nori mystery was solved in 1949. The sleuth was not Japanese. It was a pioneering botanist in Britain named Kathleen Drew-Baker….It turns out that the large red "leaves" of laver that people eat are basically sex organs designed to produce eggs and sperm– simply an intervening stage in the life of the microscopic shell borers. Perhaps that knowledge will impress a date (or not), or simply tie biology with food and commerce. If you want to get your high school or college student (or lover, parent, or grandparent for that matter) to really understand why food is important to study and think about, get this book. Then celebrate all your knowledge at a Japanese sushi restaurant. Previous articles: [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef