Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Gilbert.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and raised in Venice, CA where I got my first job in Japanese food waitressing at a favorite childhood restaurant called Mikasa. I am still in very close with the family who owned the now closed restaurant. The man who started the restaurant just celebrated his 100th birthday.
After finishing high school, I attended the University of California at Berkeley where I went out of my way to find employment at a sushi bar. Once I graduated, I moved to Japan where I had been accepted into the prestigious JET Programme and worked for three years as an elementary school teacher in the southern city of Kitakyushu. I also worked in a local Japanese restaurant, attended culinary classes and taught cooking lessons as well.
When I returned to Los Angeles, I started my own private chef and Japanese culinary education company called Sushi Girl ®.
I have worked as a sushi chef in sushi bars in both Los Angeles and Japan. I have led sushi making parties/classes for almost every occasion you can think of including birthdays, bachelor & bachelorette parties, rabbi installations, summer hire events for law firms, team-building events, etc.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I can’t say I have had too many. I would’ve expected a lot more issues related to my gender and nationality, but I can count on one hand the times anyone has questioned my ability to do this job. Maybe they keep it to themselves.
Please tell us about Sushi Girl ®.
I am very confident that you will not find a better person on this planet to teach you to make sushi for yourself in your own home. I have the skills and the intimate knowledge of a Japanese-trained sushi chef along with the ability to relay that information to westerners in a way that they find gratifying. There is so much more to sushi than simply being taught how to roll rice on a sheet of nori. There are so many little details that directly relate to Japanese culture and customs and unless you have lived in that world, it would be impossible to even recognize their existence. It is the difference between eating good sushi and amazing sushi.
As a private chef, I specialize in traditional sushi that is made and served so it can be experienced at its optimal moment. This requires a commitment to detail (and at times tediousness) and you must have a passion to serve it this way because most clients won’t really know the difference until they experience it. A perfectly made and served cucumber roll will beat out any carelessly made order of toro (highly prized fatty tuna) nigiri (fish on rice) every time.
The thing I am probably most known for is my sushi rice. When you do that correctly, everything else just falls into place. I also make the best California Roll you will ever eat. If that doesn’t sound appealing to you, come see me, and I will explain how you have been wronged by almost every California Roll you have ever eaten. It drives me insane when people say they aren’t “real sushi.” They actually are. There is no inherent problem with the California Roll, the problem is with how they are being made and served.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
All of my favorite memories involved sports and food.
I loved playing baseball and going to UCLA football and basketball games with my Grandpa who was a history professor.
I also loved pretending I was a waitress (my grandparents were always my customers); owning a restaurant, and hosting a cooking show on television (This was way before the cooking channels and celebrity chefs. The only place you saw cooking on TV was on PBS on Saturday mornings.)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thesushigirl.com
- Phone: 310.880.4010
- Email: thesushigirl@yahoo.com
- Instagram: sushigirlnikki
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iWantToMakeSushi/
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
