'Between the chopsticks' a hit event
David Miller has always loved food.
As a boy, his father passed away, and he soon had to help his mother with cooking.
“I just fell in love with cooking,” he said. “Not much about food I don’t like.”
Miller hosted "Between the Chopsticks" Wednesday night in the Bovee University Center Rotunda as a part of Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The event gave students and staff a chance to learn about the art of sushi rolling. Free samples were ready to eat immediately after being rolled and cut.
Before rolling veggie rolls, California rolls, spicy tuna roles and frushi with chocolate dipping sauce, Miller gave a very brief history on sushi. He said sushi started in Japan centuries ago as a way to preserve fish, but would take months to prepare since it was salted and left under rocks for a few months. It wasn't until the 1700s that raw fish was used and vinegar was added, Miller said.
Miller has been in the cooking business for 25 years in Grand Rapids, primarily in country clubs and fine-dining steakhouses. He spent about 10 of those years rolling sushi. Before Wednesday, he hadn’t rolled for 5 years.
“Most of the sushi rolling I did was at the country club and the steakhouse; we were kind of across the bridge in between for people who don’t just want to go for a steak,” Miller said. “Sushi’s gotten so popular, that was the way to go with it.”
Miller said the TV show "Sex and the City" played a major role in introducing sushi to American society.
“They ate a lot of sushi in that show,” he said, adding that his wife was a huge fan of the show.
Bronson senior Jonathan Milliman said it was his first time trying sushi.
“I’d probably try sushi again. Maybe not the fish ones, but vegetarian or fruit,” Milliman said, explaining he isn’t a fan of raw fish. “Maybe if it was cooked it would taste a little different.”
Whether or not someone has a palette for raw fish, seeing a professional chef make sushi still provided a great learning opportunity.
“It was really entertaining to see how sushi was made," Milliman said. "I liked being able to hear him talk about why he likes doing sushi and how easy it is, then being able to try the sushi afterwards. I think worked well together.”
