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Watanabe, the sharp knife of the most digital sushi
Sushi man Takayoshi Watanabe has turned the art of cutting up fish into a show. Sushi 2.0 on stage at Madrid Fusión.
Sushi might be famous, but the poses of this itamae, now all the rage on social media, are even more so. Serious gaze, arms raised, and sushi in the foreground. He posts on Instagram and Tik Tok, and did a repeat performance on stage at Madrid Fusión Alimentos de España. “The world of sushi is like the world of showbusiness", admitted Takayoshi Watanabe, itamae at Teru Sushi in Tobata (Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyusyu, Japan), who has turned it into a genuine art form.
“My restaurant is in a rural enclave, a remote location which wasn't getting many customers, even though we had some fantastic ingredients. We had to draw them in, and the way to do that was through me", explained Watanabe as he wielded his knife in a demonstration of his fish-cutting expertise.
The third generation at Teru Sushi, Watanabe started off in the world of judo, but eventually became a sushi man and revolutionised the family business his grandparents launched 60 years ago. Jokey and approachable, Takayoshi Watanabe says the secret of this change lay in "using a great knife, 'great' ingredients and great chef's eyes". Obviously there is more to it than just that. Watanabe homed in on the need for top-quality produce, as original as possible. For example, the rice vinegar he uses "is specially made for the restaurant". It is a sake vinegar, aged vinegar "with the smell of fermentation", which the chef uses to create his Edomae sushi (traditional style), "and when I first saw sushi, I didn't even know it existed". Likewise, "the cutting knife is customised" to obtain clean, easy fish cuts.
Watching him work forms part of the experience, a performance which, although it comes over as a circus act, conceals a great deal of technique perfected through practice. “You have to have dedication, you have to pursue your dreams despite the obstacles", Watanabe advised young chefs, while revealing that his watchword could be summed up as "no limits". A Watanabe communion with this year's Madrid Fusión Alimentos de España, finishing off with the entire house on their feet imitating the chef's pose while he took a selfie on stage.
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