Preparing Sushi at Sur la Table

Chef Rochelle Taylor holds up a piece of nori, the dried seaweed used in preparing sushi.  She tells her students at in Newport Beach to use the shiny side on the outside because it is prettier.  She gives tips on how to keep the nori dry and how to correctly handle sushi rice.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any soggy nori around my sushi,” Taylor says.

The recent evening class on how to make sushi was one of the many culinary classes offered at Sur la Table each month. Prices for classes range from about $60 to $100.

Valaya Chitchakkol found out about the sushi class when she was looking online for something fun to do. She said she plans to practice her newfound skills at home.

“I had never made sushi before,” she said, “and now I have to run out and buy all the things I need to make it.”

After demonstrating techniques to the whole class, Taylor and her assistants—on this night Cindy Piazza and Devereux Alo—give students some personal assistance.

“Rochelle comes around and individualizes the class," participant Riane Hull said. "She makes it so you can watch and understand.”

Taylor said she enjoys cooking, which seems daunting to many, accessible to her students.

“It’s great when people see it’s not as hard as they think," she said. " If you use good ingredients, you don’t have to do a lot more to make a good dish.  I love the 'aha' moment when a student understands something.  For me, it’s what teaching is all about.”

Find out more about the cooking classes offered by Sur la Table here.