Are you looking for a good Sushi School?

Would you like to receive the highest quality of education in sushi making? Would you like to master Japanese cuisine? We are here to guide you and to help you achieve your professional goals. The Sushi Chef Institute is a Sushi School for anyone with or without culinary experience who wants to learn Sushi making and traditional Japanese cuisine.

The instructor, Chef Andy Matsuda, was the first person authorized to serve as a sushi instructor in a California’s Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Institution. He has been featured in People Magazine, New York Food Magazine, and several US newspapers. He has also made appearances on local Fox 11 Television. In addition to teaching students at the SCI, he has taught instructors at Le Cordon Bleu (French culinary school). Chef Andy Matsuda was also chosen as one of the “100 Japanese world respected people” in the Japanese Newsweek Edition Pop Up (Issue Oct. 17, 07).

On June 6th 2008, SCI became the only sushi school in the U.S. to offer I-20 (for M VISA) for international students. It is our main goal to support your dreams and help you achieve your professional success. We hope to see you in our classroom very soon!

We Offer You

SCI Classes Offer

  • A Japanese instructor with over 30 years of experience.
  • Small class size for undivided attention for each student.
  • Expert skill development in a 2-month intensive curriculum.
  • Detailed explanation of Sushi skills and Japanese cooking techniques.
  • Knowledge in preparing over 30 kinds of fish and shellfish.
  • Instruction on food calculation, regulations, safety, and opening a restaurant.
  • Hands-on instruction for professional kitchen performance.
  • Field trips to fish markets and food companies.

During and After Graduation

  • Participation in exciting events and catering services.
  • Job Support after graduating. We help our graduates in finding jobs.
  • Internship to Japan for qualified graduates.

SCI Also Offers

  • I-20 (for M VISA) for international students.
  • Prime quality fish and seafood to work with.
  • DVDs and textbooks produced by Sushi Chef Institute.
  • SCI private label for Japanese knives from Osaka, Japan.
  • High quality Japanese cooking utensils.
  • Opportunities to sample new products from food manufacturers.
  • Information for accommodation in Los Angeles.

Sushi to the world

Our Mission

Sushi is the most famous traditional Japanese food in the world. As sushi becomes more popular, the knowledge of how to treat raw fish becomes more important.

Japanese people learn these skills over the years in their everyday lives. However, this is not the case in other countries where it is not customary to eat uncooked fish. We would like to spread the joy of Japanese food culture. Our mission is to convey the essence of Japanese traditional cooking skills and knowledge to the world.

Our Goal

Chefs dedicated to Japanese cuisine and sushi, much like artists, use their unfilled canvas and craft works of art to indulge not only with the eyes but with the palate. This aged ritual has been rooted for centuries and is a time capsule of legacies from their forefathers that travels generation to generation.

Sushi has become the food of choice among fitness and health orientated communities, not to mention it is a fashionable mark in our society, simply due to its natural and wholesome ingredients that are mostly found in nature.

SCI teaches their students the authentic methods and philosophies which ultimately integrate with each individual’s technique and expertise. As part of our curriculum, we train our students on proper sanitation procedures, safe food handling and business management of a well-functioning restaurant. Upon completion at SCI, we help our students with job placement from our networks of Chefs and restaurants all around the world.

Our philosophy is “simple, season, sublime” – learning from old traditional Japanese culture. Our class groups are small so there is undivided attention given to each member of the group per class. Moreover, with such a concentration and intensity of knowledge set forth to our students, it is our anticipation that they move forward and educate their clients of this institution we straightforwardly call sushi.

Sushi Safety Program

Currently there is no sushi chef license or certificate offered by the state, federal government, or any organization to qualify the sushi chef’s techniques and knowledge in handling sushi rice and raw fish. This means anyone can get a job as a sushi chef, no matter if he or she has any knowledge or understanding of sushi. In fact, there are many inexperienced chefs working in sushi restaurants. It is doubtful that these chefs can serve sushi and sashimi safely to the customers without any skills and knowledge.

Customers will consider the restaurant unsafe and dangerous because of the possibilities of being served contaminated food, which can cause foodborne illnesses that might have severe financial consequences to the restaurant and the customers wellbeing. That is why we consider this instruction essential and we make sure that our graduated students understand the importance of safe raw food handling.

It is a concern that not all sushi restaurants serve raw fish safely. Today, Japanese food, including sushi, is getting more and more popular. Many people have been attracted to the idea of becoming sushi chefs, and it is a dangerous decision to handle raw fish without the right knowledge. People who think it’s easy to make sushi by seeing and copying what a sushi chef is doing across the counter are putting in grave danger both the restaurant and the customer.

There is a 5 year certification called SERVESAFE sponsored by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) that proves a chef’s understanding in the details of hygiene and sanitation. However, this program does not give enough information about Sushi, Sashimi and raw fish. That is why we enforce this knowledge in our students through our different programs.

In May 2010, Chef Andy Matsuda gave a lecture about the popularity of sushi to the FDA and Health Department as a representative of sushi chefs at the Rocky Mountain Food Safety Conference in Colorado. The purpose was to minimize the problem of unsafe food being served by inexperienced chefs. A program that provides chefs with Sushi Safety Study Program will become an important part of all Sushi chef’s curriculum.

Global Aquaculture Alliance Strategic Partnership

SCI has a strategic partnership with the Global Aquaculture Alliance to promote responsible aquaculture practices through education and demonstration.

For over 20 years the GAA has demonstrated their commitment to feeding the World through responsible and sustainable aquaculture. They do this by providing resources to individuals and businesses worldwide who are associated with aquaculture and seafood.
They improve production practices with countries, communities, and companies, as well as online learning and groundbreaking journalism that boasts active readership on every country of the World.