Sushi chefs often shave their heads to demonstrate purity, cleanliness, and dedication to their work. The hands of women are often too warm to handle raw fish or sushi rice. Their perfume, makeup and lotions interfere with the food. Hormonal fluctuations wreak havoc on delicate Japanese food.
Training and Income
In Japan, becoming an itamae or sushi chef requires years of training and apprenticeship. The income varies depending on the establishment, with head chefs of high-end Japanese restaurants and sushi restaurants earning upwards of 10 million yen ($92,000 US) per year on average.
The 85-year-old Jiro Ono owns Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, $300-per-meal, sushi restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station. Jiro Ono is considered the best sushi chef in the world.
In the United States and other western countries, white is often a symbol of innocence and purity. Hachimaki is a popular style of headband (bandanna) worn in Japanese culture that often symbolizes endurance.
Wages are paid on an hourly basis for part-time labor, with the typical rate in Tokyo being 1,000 – 1,300 JPY ($9 – 11 US) per hour.
In Japan, it is considered more polite and acceptable to eat sushi with chopsticks, since most sushi restaurants use them as the official utensil. However, some people may prefer to skip the formality and use their hands, especially if eating more casual types of sushi, such as maki rolls or nigiri.
Gender and Sushi Chef Culture
Why are sushi chefs mostly men? Men dominate in restaurant kitchens in Japan. The existing tradition came from the homeland of sushi and rolls – Japan. But a handful of women challenge the notion that their gender can’t make sushi. "I hope that some day it’s not ‘male sushi chef’ or ‘female sushi chef,’ just ‘sushi chef,’" said Yuki Chidui.
25.2% of all chefs are women. Head and executive chefs have always been men.
In Tokyo, women chefs make the little slabs of rice and laying the fish on top is a rare sight. They don’t consider women the right candidates though women are going to space and leading nations.
By contrast, American sushi chefs seem able and willing to educate customers and suggest unusual items.
According to Toronto Star, only three female sushi chefs exist because of beliefs: Women’s hands too warm for raw fish. Their perfume, makeup and lotions interfere. Hormonal fluctuations harm delicate Japanese food.
Sushi chef qualifications include: high school diploma, culinary program, courses like knife skills and Japanese cuisine. Sushi chefs receive on-the-job training from employers.
Many sushi chefs decided to bring sushi to restaurants across Japan. There are six sushi types but one thing in common: vinegar rice. Without rice, it isn’t sushi. This is why sashimi isn’t sushi. The types are:
- narezushi
- makizushi
- nigirizushi
- chirashizushi
- oshizushi
- inarizushi
In 2010, Yuki Chidui saw a job advertisement for Japan’s first all-female sushi restaurant. Finding a woman behind a sushi counter in Tokyo then was unprecedented.