In an attempt to protect the cuisine against people who claim they "don't like sushi," Japan is launching a global certification system for sushi chefs. Individuals can apply for certification and travel to Japan for training, which will result in an official rating of gold, silver, or bronze. In this report from CNN, Fuyuhiko Ito, chef and partner at Umi in Buckhead, explains why it's a good idea.
"I think it's great," Ito says. "I think it should have been done many years ago to create those standards, and I think it's going to happen very soon." Ito goes on to discuss the differences between quality sushi and the less-than-desirable version, pointing out visual and physical characteristics. On his own product, Ito says, "The big difference here is nothing came out of a frozen package. We scale it, gut it, fabricate it, filet, cut it, and hand shape it, one by one." He goes on to compare the good stuff to what you might find at the grocery store.
Watch the above video, and never overpay for low-quality sushi again.
