L.A.Downtown: Downtown's Iron Chef
Tucked away inside a modest kitchen at the Maryknoll Japanese Catholic Center on the edge of Little Tokyo, the [Sushi Chef Institute] founded by Chef Andy Matsuda has become a training ground for nearly 400 students who have learned the classic techniques of sushi making and Japanese cuisine...The Sushi Institute has brought Matsuda's prolific 30-year career full-circle..."You can have 1,000 Japanese restaurants and only about 30% will have a Japanese owner," Matsuda said. "A lot of people are not educated about Japanese food but I can teach any nationality the fundamentals and it will make [the cuisine] stronger. We are developing a multi-cultural community."