Class taught by Boulder restaurant’s chefs challenges students
With a slap, a roll and a cut, a team of Hapa’s chefs taught how to prepare various sushi dishes Tuesday night at the UMC.
Director of Operations at Hapa, Aaron Nakamichi, with the help of Chef Erik Aplin, assisted a group of 30 students on how to make their own sushi, Hapa style.
Nakamichi stood in front of the class and taught three different sushi techniques, ascending from easiest to hardest. First was the Ura Maki, which was a sushi dish with the rice on the outside, rolled tight by a wooden mat. Next came Temaki, which required the chef to hand-roll the sushi into a cone-shaped product. Then the class learned the Nigiri. The Nigiri was a strip of fish placed above a ball of rice.
In all his 8 years as a sushi chef, this was Nakamichi’s first time teaching a class.
“I have never taught a class before,” Nakamichi said. “It’s fun. I like working with people. That’s why I’m in the business.”
After Nakamichi’s demonstration, the crowd of students, eager to make and taste their own creations, squeezed onto three stations to try the techniques on their own. At each station were various ingredients like salmon, shrimp and tuna along with avocados, cucumbers and other traditional sushi ingredients.
While the students squished rice and fish into their sushi, trying desperately to keep the whole thing from unrolling, Nakamichi and Aplin watched and gave tips on taste, technique and outcome.
“It’s harder than it looks,” said Jennifer Suga, a senior integrative physiology major. “When (Nakamichi) was teaching, I thought it looked easy, but I was wrong.”
This class, along with other free cooking classes, was organized by the Dennis Small Cultural Center.
“The Dennis Small Cultural Center is focused on aiding minority groups and promoting cultural diversity,” said Bonny Wootten, a junior music education major and the student supervisor for DSCC. “We have tons of events like these including other classes, dances and speakers.”
The sushi class was a major success. Not only were students able to learn the skill of sushi preparation but they got to share this activity with friends.
“It’s a big community builder. People can come, enjoy the activity while talking and meeting others,” Wootten said.
Contact Campus Press staff writer Dana Silva at dana.silva@thecampuspress.com.
