We’ve both been so excited to go on this sushi making course since March!
My present to Alex for his birthday earlier this year was to go on a sushi workshop (yes, we are both completely obsessed with sushi and will not rest until we can eat it in our home whenever we want!). Originally I’d booked one in London, but it turned out they’d mis-represented the pricing on their website, so we I found one based in Cornwall and we booked that instead.
Turns out, the Sushi and Sashimi course at Philleigh Way that I’d booked was run by Naoko (of Naoko’s Kitchen); a Japanese chef based here in Cornwall who does the occasional pop-up Asian feast evening at a variety of restaurants around Cornwall – two of which we had both attended and really enjoyed. It felt a little like we were stalking her, but hey! Cornwall isn’t hugely diverse, and she is basically the go-to for all things Japanese food and sushi related.
I’ve never been to Philleigh Way Cookery School before, but had heard great things about it. They hold cooking classes throughout the year on super specific things from Thai Curry making and Jams & Preserves, to Vegetarian cookery, Sugarcraft flowers and Sausage making. Based on the Roseland, just 5 minutes from the King Harry Ferry, they have a truly fantastic set up for foodies.
After introductions, Naoko started her first chef demo in the main kitchen area – first showing us how to make the perfect sushi rice, and then showing us how to make some delicious salmon maki rolls with asparagus and tartar sauce. Once she’d shown us what to do, we were sent off to our own cooking stations to copy.
After making our beautiful Japanese creations and displaying them beautifully as Naoko demonstrated, we tucked in! Naoko is truly a ‘culinary artist’, which we have seen from her previous pop-up nights. She creates beautiful artwork from the food she makes and presentation is incredibly important to her, so it was great to see her in action.
Once we’d eaten the fruits of our first recipe, Naoko did another demo at the front before letting us go and try it ourselves, and then we all ate together at the table again. The course ran on like this, with 5 different recipes throughout the day. We were pretty stuffed by the end! Although, we were recommended to bring tupperware with us to take some home, Alex and I couldn’t resist and ate everything we made there and then. It was so delicious!
During the day it was great to learn tips for making California rolls (inside-out Maki rolls) without getting everything stuck together, what knives are best and how to sharpen, how to cut sashimi perfectly, where to source great quality sushi fish in Cornwall, and a little about the history of this amazing Japanese food as well.
We were both buzzing with excitement after we left for the day, and I absolutely cannot wait to try making all of these recipes at home. We’re hoping to buy a good sushi knife and sharpening stone for Christmas, and once we have our dining table ready in the house we’re very excited to have people over and make sushi for them.
Overall it was a great day and a fantastic experience, worth every penny. The team at Philleigh Way were fantastic hosts and as I say, their facilities are fantastic, and Naoko is such a lovely kind person with a true talent. It was amazing to get to work with her and learn about this art of cooking.
