The sushi chef is called Itamae.  An Itamae has learned his skills during a long apprenticship to other Itamae.  After years of experience, the itamae may earn the title of Shokunin, or master sushi chef.  Every chef has his own way of doing things, for example–Tamago-yaki: Tamago in Japanese has the meaning of egg. But in sushi, tamago-yaki means an omelet that has a rectangular shape and is sweet. It is generally used as a wrapping on dried nori. Each sushi chef has his own signature tamago yaki and is considered as a specialty.

It is important when working with foods such as sushi that the chef has the proper training.  With such dishes as blowfish, or Fugu, a moment of carelessness may cost a customer their life!  Fugu is a very dangerous type of Sushi if improperly prepared.  In fact, it is so poisonous that only licensed Fugu chefs are permitted to prepare it in Japan.  The blood and organs are extremely toxic and can kill a healthy adult in about thirty minutes.  Fugu is a delicious delicacy when prepared safely; large thin slices of fugu are arranged like flower petals surrounding a small mound of skin, garnished with spicy radish and scallions and served with a small lime.  You should always be able to observe the preparation of Fugu and it is said that the older and more experienced the chef, the safer you are.  Such a chef is most likely a Shokunin.

Omakase means to entrust and when your meal is Omakase you trust the chef to select what you will have.  The quality and presentation of the meal make omakase well worth the extra price.  Okonomi: “as you like” order the ingredients you want.

At times, you may look forward to a particular dish only to be told that it’s not available.  This is usually because the ingredients are not in season and so not at their most flavorful.
Sushi chefs pride themselves on the quality of their work and the true chefs will refuse to serve out of season fish, as the flavors and textures are inferior.  The grade of fish is of critical importance to the sushi chef.  There is no official “grade” for fish but the best chefs make sure that any parasites have been destroyed.  Therefore, most fish used for preparing sushi are initially frozen in order to protect the consumer from parasitic diseases.  Salmon and mackerel have more parasites than other types of fish.

Special implements are used in preparing, serving and eating sushi.  Needless to say, each chef has a special set of knives that he prefers, hones to the razor sharpness needed to make delicate cuts as well as fillets.  Maki is made using a Makisu, or bamboo mat used roll sushi. The Ohitsu, a special insulated dish, keeps the sushi rice warm. Hashi, or chopsticks, are the dining implement traditionally used in many parts of Asia.  Chinese hashi have blunt ends while the Japanese hashi taper down to a point to allow them to pick out bones from seafood.  Hashi are made from bone, metal, ivory and bamboo.  In recent years plastic has been used for hashi.   Your sushi may be served on a Geta, the traditional style of tray modeled after the Japanese clog of the same name.  It is a solid block of laquered wood about seven by eleven inches supported by a smaller piece of wood on the two longer sides. In a traditional sushi bar the geta is brought to your table as soon as you’re seated, along with Ocha (tea) and an oshibori, a dampened warmed towel presented to clean the hands prior to a sushi meal.

There are also different kinds of sushi restaurants or sushi bars.  There is even a type of sushi restaurant that serves the food on conveyer belts that run between the tables with color coded plates indicative of the prices.  These Kaiten allow the customers to choose what they like from the food traveling by but of course you can still order from the chef if you like. This is a less expensive restaurant than the usual sushi-ya