Japanese Chef Shares Talent with Wellington Students

25 August 2015

Japanese Chef Shares Talent with Wellington Students

Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec) trainee chefs were treated to an amazing culinary display on Friday as renowned Japanese Chef Mr Naoyuki Yanagihara dropped in at the School of Hospitality at 52 Cuba Street Wellington. Mr Yanagihara who has been touring New Zealand to share his incredible talents demonstrated to WelTec staff and students on how to prepare and present a sashimi platter.

Scott Campbell, Chef Tutor who along with five tutors joined with twenty students were amazed at the techniques and skill of Mr Yanagihara.

“Students learned about food, tradition and culture and how they merge together in Japanese cuisine,” says Mr Campbell.

“Japanese practices are steeped in history and it was a privilege to receive Mr Yanagihara at our hospitality campus and have the opportunity to learn about Japanese knives and how to handle them. The knives and the ways they are used in preparing food, particularly fish, is quite different to New Zealand. There are some similarities including how we teach our students to use seasonal ingredients and this is the same in Japan. The garnishing techniques used by Mr Yanagihara are impressive and he obtains different effects from the food when compared to what we can achieve using Western cooking knives,” says Mr Campbell.

“Students will be able to apply the sashimi skills they observed through Mr Yanagihara’s class and our tutors will be keen to try out these new ways of doing things,” says Mr Campbell.

“We encourage chefs representing international cuisines to visit our School and share their specialities with staff and students,” says Ben Shadbolt Head of Hospitality at WelTec. “Graduates of our programme are part of a global community of chefs and will work anywhere in the world. They need to be aware of culinary practice in many cultures, and that tradition and culture play a significant part of a country’s cuisine.”

ENDS

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