ItamaeThe terms “Itamae” and “Shokunin” are used as a title for the chef. “Itamae” refers to a skilled sushi chef, while "Shokunin" means simply someone skilled at a profession.
What Is Omakase? Omakase derives from the phrase Omakase shimasu, which translates to "I trust you, chef." In omakase dining, the chef serves the first course based on what fresh ingredients are available that day, then creates the following course based on the diner's reaction to the initial course, and so on.
It's a main meal, if you go to a sushi place, usually you go there for sushi. Although… many 回転寿し sushi go round, places have other side menus you can order from, like ramen, fries, soups, and many kinds of desserts. That can be a case in which sushi is part of a meal.
While Omakase most often refers to sushi, non-sushi items such as salads, tempura, and soups find their way into omakase experiences.
Japanese cuisineWhat is teppanyaki? Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cuisine, and is derived from the words 'teppan' (iron plate) and 'yaki' (grilled, boiled, or pan-fried). So, it literally means 'grilling on an iron plate'. The dishes cooked using an iron plate include meat, seafood, and noodles.
The truth of omakase lies in the word itself—directly translated, it means "I leave it up to you." In his book The Story of Sushi, academic and writer Trevor Corson says, "[Omakase is] what the sophisticated customer says to the chef when settling down at the sushi bar. Sushi connoisseurs seldom order off a menu.
Definition of 'four-course meal' The four-course meal consists of a soup, an appetizer, an entrée, and dessert.
A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée course. In the United States it may in fact be called "entree". The main dish is usually the heaviest, heartiest, and most complex or substantive dish on a menu.
An appetizer is a small dish that comes before the main meal to stimulate the appetite while entree is the main course of a meal.
Most people agree that teppanyaki was first introduced by Japanese chefs as a grilling style in the U.S. Teppan translates as iron plate, and yaki translates as pan-fried or grilled. Teppanyaki grills are found in many Japanese restaurants as long, flat grills around which guests are seated.
In the U.S., omakase usually refers to an extended sushi dinner, ideally eaten at the sushi counter, where the chef prepares one piece of fish at a time, announces its name and origin, answers your questions, and guesses what else you might enjoy and how much more you'd like to eat.
In Japan, "omakase" simply means that the customer leaves the details to an order to the shop. Ordering up an "omakase" in sushi is quite straightforward - where ingredients may somewhat be arbitrarily placed on a plate.