Taste of Dublin 2015 - Sushi Masterclasses Fiona Uyema

It was great to be part of Taste of Dublin again this year. I arrived on Thursday morning to kick off the festival with the traditional Taste of Dublin photo in front of the fountain alongside a fantastic line up of well known chefs.

One of the highlights of the festival was to be shoulder to shoulder with Michel Roux Jr. and Kevin Thornton talking about Japanese food.

I was overwhelmed with the demand for my sushi masterclasses in the SONY tent with every session booking out from Thursday to Sunday along with a waiting/cancellation list.

I was truly impressed with the knowledge and interest from the public in not only sushi but Japanese food in general. I had so many interesting conversations with people who came up to me after the demos learning about how they became fans of Japanese food.

I was lucky to have the wonderful staff from Banyi Japanese Dining next door to me who were serving delicious sake cocktails and freshly made sushi.

The Goastbridge trout caviar proved very popular as a topping for the temaki rolls!

When I wasn't giving demonstrations I was enjoying the live music and delicious food with my family and friends. If you haven't been to Taste of Dublin be sure to stick it in your calendar for next year as it's such an incredible festival for everyone. The Minions appearance was the highlight of the festival for my little boy.

My Japanese cooking & sushi class - part II

Last Saturday I welcomed another group of friends from the Irish Food Blogging Community into my home to teach them the basics of Japanese cooking and sushi making.

Fiona Dillon from Hunters Lodge Living arrived a little early to interview me for her radio show "The Food Files" which airs every Friday on CRKC88.7fm. If you'd like to hear the interview it'll be aired this Friday August 30th between 5 and 6pm.

 

Kristin from Edible Ireland and co-founder of The Irish Food Bloggers Association arrived next giving me a chance to listen to her thoughts on Japanese food and the wonderful health benefits of the Japanese diet. 

 

Lily from A Mexican Cook and Kate from The Wild Flour Bakery came straight from their stalls at the H2G market in Glasnevin (Dublin) and Nessa from Nessa's Family Kitchen came after her cooking demo in Glenisk's pop-up store on Dawson Street to join the class.

 

 

Before we started sushi rolling, we sat down and enjoyed an informal Japanese style tea ceremony using matcha (green powder tea) and chatted about everything Japanese from Lily's experience at a formal Japanese tea ceremony while she lived in Japan to Kate's adventures with matcha in her baking at The Wild Flour Bakery.

 

I had so much fun holding these Japanese classes for the Irish Food Blogging Community. I want to thank everyone who attended for making it such a great success.

 

For more details on my cooking classes and demos please email me at fionasjapanesecooking@gmail.com.

 

Notes:

Click here to see my Japanese cooking & sushi class - part I

My Japanese cooking & sushi class

Since I started my blog in early 2012 I've met a wonderful circle of friends in the Irish Food Blogging Community. Last Sunday, I held a class in my home to teach them the basics of Japanese home cooking and sushi making.

Here's a picture of Marian from herbicarni.com making a cup of matcha tea using matcha powder and a bamboo whisk.

 



During the class the group practised rolling different types of sushi. We prepared gluten free and vegan ingredients for Marian from herbicarni.com.

Once we were finished sushi rolling we sat down to enjoy a home cooked authentic Japanese meal. We also had miso soup made from homemade fish stock (dashi) that we made during the class and some lotus root pickle that I had in the fridge.

My next cooking class which is on August 24th is fully booked but if you're interested in attending one of my cooking classes or to check when the next one is available please email me on fionasjapanesecooking@gmail.com

I want to say a special thanks to the Asia Market in Dublin who provided goodie bags to support my cooking class.