From sandwich maker to SVG’s first certified sushi chef

When Orande “Akah” Johnson was a student at the St Vincent Grammar School, his bread and chicken sandwiches were sold out before the school bell rang to signal the start of morning classes.

Now, 20 years later, Johnson has moved from making sandwiches to being St Vincent and the Grenadines’ (SVG) first certified sushi chef, his latest venture.

Johnson, who peddles his palatable dishes under the brand “H20 Foods,” has just returned from the California-based Sushi Chef Institute, where he mastered the art of sushi making, under the tutelage of Japanese chef Andy Matsuda.

On graduation day, he became the 10th graduate from the entire Caribbean to have received Matsuda’s training.

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT, Johnson, who was on Sunday recognized at the Best of SVG Awards Ceremony as “Best Chef”, explained that his H20 Foods brand has different branches: the assorted grill (Texas style smoke house BBQ hams etc), the stir-fry cooking and Akah Sushi.

He said that he started doing sushi about five years ago and has moulded Akah Sushi into a recognized brand locally.

“Sushi is a new and upcoming food in St Vincent and the Grenadines and I did the course so that I can add my brand to the culinary industry worldwide, as well as master my sushi skills for Vincentians to enjoy,” explained Johnson.

Johnson left these shores on January 5 this year. His training began on January 9, 2017 and ran for two months. He explained that he was part of a batch of students from all over the United States and Spain.

While at the institute, Johnson learned the aspects of sushi preparation, which includes the proper handling of the rice and fish and the knife skills associated with sushi making.

“It was about rice preparation, from a grain of rice, to planting, to production, to harvesting, to cooking and to preparing. Then with the fish, it was about taking it from the fisherman, to handling the fish properly, to having it prepared and ready for eating, like for instance, sashimi (dish of bite-sized pieces of raw fish eaten with soy sauce and wasabi paste).

Johnson said that he learnt a number of new things at the school, like the proper way to handle the fish from point A to point B.

“I would love our people to practise that, proper fish handling. It is complicated and they taught us how to handle different types of fish from all around the world and that every fish is sashimi quality, once you handle it properly,” explained Johnson, who added that chef Matsuda was amazed when he heard about the abundance of fish in SVG and how it is treated.

He explained that every part of the fish is used by the Japanese, even the guts (transformed into a fertilizer), and he would like to show Vincentians this practice, as he has it documented. Explaining the origins of sushi, Johnson said that sushi is vinegared rice, while the raw fish is called sashimi. He said that over the years, persons have grown to call the raw fish sushi, but that the raw fish is actually sashimi (sliced raw fish, sometimes dipped in sauces and sometimes served with sushi). Sushi is any food dish consisting of vinegared rice, usually served with some other toppings, but not always.

He said that the entire sushi food came about in Japan about 2000 years ago, where they preserved fish by using fermented rice.

“…after a while, people started to acquire a taste for the sour discarded rice, which would have been aged for a couple of months and after that it kind of evolved basically from a snack food to the big ethnic cuisine in a restaurant,” explained Johnson.

“Traditionally, it’s done with fish, but the whole concept started with rice, so It is imperative that you pay attention to the rice, as you would pay attention to the fish, because if you don’t get the rice right, then you can’t make good sushi,” said Johnson.

So, how did Johnson get into the sushi venture?

“I have been cooking ever since school,” he explained,

noting that when he was a practising nail technician, one of his customers, Carol Veira, asked him why he didn’t do sushi.

“…after a while, I got some books and did research and five years after, I was actually ready to put it down,” said Johnson, who stressed that his recent training has taken him to a whole different level.

“Now that I have this training, I understand more about sushi and its origins,” said Johnson, who would like to introduce Vincentians to the different types of sushi, as locals and many foreigners are more familiar with Maki sushi (roll version).

“There is a big world where sushi is concerned and I can do all,” said Johnson, while sitting in his Dasent Cottage home.

Johnson, whose brand is a recognized one in SVG, has cooked for some of the most popular entities here: Buccama on the Bay, Aggie’s Restaurant, Syd’s (Murphy), Rosemary and Thyme and numerous functions at the Prime Minister’s residence. He is assisted by Susan Clarke, his common-law wife, who Johnson says, “makes better rice than me… perfect”.

He stressed that he takes cooking extremely seriously and he is trying to move Vincentians away from the “cook the food and bring it to the venue” mentality, to getting accustomed to seeing the food prepared right before their eyes.

“My brands are set to more or less change the catering game, as we usually have live cooking of food at the venues we cater to, with persons seeing the food cooked in front of them. We want to get away from the cook the food home and bring it. We want to get people involved,” stressed Johnson.

Persons interested in sampling Johnson’s sushi can link him at 1-784-529-1331 or akaksuhi@gmail.com. They can also view his dishes at “h2o_foods” on Instagram.

He added, “we have our sushi movement in SVG, where we have a sushi Friday twice a month. It is more like a pick-up service; we reach out to people who want to try it for the first time and people who have acquired the taste and appreciate good sushi”.