Sushi in the hands of a "sushi master's" apprentice.

Sushi has a history dating back to ancient times, when rice cultivation first appeared in Japan 2,000 years ago. Initially, sushi was simply a way for people in Nara to preserve fish using fermented rice. During the Muromachi period, the Japanese began eating rice with fish. In the Edo period, vinegar was used to replace fermented rice. Today, sushi has become a familiar form of food preparation, deeply intertwined with Japanese culinary culture.

Over time, many chefs and food enthusiasts have contributed to the preservation and transmission of sushi. Whether they remain in Japan or choose to bring sushi to other countries, they all share a mission and a passion for sushi. One such chef – Daisuke Nakazawa – was the first to bring omakase sushi to the city of Aspen in the United States.

Daisuke Nakazawa, born in 1979 in Japan, is currently the head chef of the Sushi Nakazawa chain of restaurants in New York City, Washington D.C., and Aspen – one of the most famous sushi restaurant brands in the United States. Nakazawa apprenticed at the renowned Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant in Tokyo and was also a student of legendary sushi chef Jiro Ono for a decade. He has appeared in films.Sushi Master(Jiro Dreams of Sushi) - a 2011 documentary by director David Gelb, tells the story of Jiro, a master sushi chef, and his mission to continue preserving sushi culture.

At the age of 19, Daisuke Nakazawa was fired from his first job as a sushi chef due to gambling and alcoholism. He then worked various jobs, including working late nights and early mornings at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo before apprenticed at the Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant.

He recalled that the training at this restaurant was truly arduous and demanded the utmost effort from young chefs. Initially, apprentices were not allowed to touch fish and only performed menial tasks for four months. It took five years before they were truly permitted to stand behind the bar and serve sushi to customers. Nakazawa even had to make tamagoyaki (a type of omelet) 200 times before meeting the requirements of his mentor, Jiro Ono. But it was precisely from those arduous days of training that he discovered his burning passion for one of the most elaborate and perfect dishes on the planet.

"Sushi isn't actually an absolutely perfect dish. The fish might not be top-grade, but it's still delicious. The most important thing is that you put your whole heart and soul into 'treating' it, to create a flawless dish," Daisuke Nakazawa once said. For him, skill is what determines whether sushi has reached perfection. And sometimes, diners come to restaurants not only to enjoy the food but also to admire the chef's culinary skills.

Even today, despite owning a large sushi restaurant chain, Nakazawa still cycles to the fish market daily to source ingredients. Because of this, the menu changes daily, depending on the quality of the ingredients the chef finds, and some dishes will be refused if the ingredients aren't fresh enough that day. The restaurant has received numerous accolades from diners and major newspapers, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. Although Sushi Nakazawa lost one Michelin star last year (it is now a 3-star restaurant), it is still considered the best sushi restaurant outside of Japan.

BuzzFeed, a New York-based online news, media, and entertainment site, interviewed Daisuke Nakazawa and listened to his thoughts on the art of sushi making and the journey of bringing sushi from Japan to the United States.

In the two-and-a-half-minute video, Nakazawa says:

"Sushi in America and my sushi are two different dishes. When I started my apprenticeship at Sukiyabashi Jiro, the restaurant was already well-known, but not as famous as it is now. For the first three years, I never thought sushi would become my life. But then, as each day passed, I realized that this would be my livelihood. I started to love this job, and from then on, it truly became my life."

But during my apprenticeship, I wondered if staying in Tokyo was the best option. It's no exaggeration to say that things changed. I found myself when I came to New York. I never thought I would have so many clients.

"I want the sushi I make to create a moment where diners exclaim in surprise the moment they put a piece in their mouth. I'm always searching for that moment, every day."

Let's admire the art and beauty of sushi through the hands of Japanese chef Daisuke Nakazawa.

An - Photo: Internet