Tokyo chef scoops Eat Japan Sushi of the Year award

Japanese chef Tomoyuki Abe scooped the prestigious Eat Japan Sushi of The Year 2009 title at the world’s only international sushi awards this weekend.

Abe’s crispy salmon won the crowd over for its simplicity and impeccable ingredients, which included avocado and lotus root chips with strips of crunchy tempura batter.

The chef, who works at Sushizen in Tokyo, one of Japan’s most prestigious sushi restaurant chains, was up against international competition from Spain, Sweden, Czech Republic, the UK, Italy and last year’s winners the USA.

The winner was decided by popular vote during the event on Saturday night at Olympia as part of the MasterChef Live exhibition. Judges included Henry Harris, chef patron of Racine, Jun Tanaka, executive chef at Pearl restaurant and bar and Christopher Basten, the new vice chair of the Craft Guild of Chefs.

The full results were:

Tomoyuki Abe, Sushizen, Tokyo, Japan - Crispy Salmon
Sayan Isaksson, Rakultur, Stockholm, Sweden - Wild Salmon in Tranquillity
Taiji Maruyama, Nobu, London - Forest Champ in Autumn
Brendan Becht, Becht Brendan SAS, Milan, Italy - Riviera di Ponente
Ricardo Sanz, Kabuki Wellington, Madrid, Spain - Nigiri Sardina
Mitsunori Kusakabe, Sushi Ran, California, USA - Itadakimasu
Marek Hora, Miyabi, Prague, Czech Republic - Aki Harinezumi


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By Emily Manson

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