How to steal your senpai’s technique with Japanese chef Chase Kojima | The Cook Up with Adam Liaw | TV
— The Cook Up with Adam Liaw airs weeknights on SBS Food at 7.00pm. Chase Kojima’s Japanese episode airs Tuesday, 10 August. Each episode will be made available after broadcast on SBS On Demand. —
The New York Times’ Malcolm Gladwell wrote that it takes 10,000 hours to learn and master a skill. Nothing yet has been widely said about stealing a skill, but in Chase Kojima’s case and in all sense of the word, he stole his technique from his legendary sushi chef father and mentor.
“You cannot expect people to teach you. You need to steal the skill from the senpai (mentor). You need to be hungry to get good. You need to take action and work hard.” Kojima recalls how his father very clearly explained the proactive concept. The chef’s early training was far from formal, and he owes his business success to this way of thinking. “Basically, you need to teach yourself. You need to watch, focus, and understand. You learn why things work a certain way and you start to question everything. Is this the best way to do it?”
The empire owner brings his sukiyaki recipe to The Cook Up – a Japanese style hot-pot that embodies both Japanese cuisine and its simplest cooking methods. In preparation of the show, he thought about other iconic dishes and TV-friendly alternatives. “There’s ramen, sushi, tempura […] sukiyaki was just spot on.”
Adam Liaw and Kojima have shared the stage before and have been in the same