Washoku Lovers Cooking School with Raita Noda

Chef Raita Noda shows a cheeky smile as he shows us the secrets of making a modern Sukiyaki.


Highly creative and experimental Chef Raita Noda hosts the very first Washoku Lovers Cooking School held at the Fish Markets. I had the pleasure of watching the ex-Ocean Room master show off his talents recently at the Washoku event. He gives you a glimpse of what you could be experiencing at his exclusive 8 seater restaurant. I have been reading that like this cooking demonstration, at his restaurant you will get a clear view of how the food is prepared as you sit at the bar. This brings the experience to life.

Like his creative restaurant, Chef Noda talks through what a traditional sukiyaki looks like and shows us how to make it modern, tasty and irresistible.  Below is the incredible creation with traditional sukiyaki roots.

He cooked high quality $150 per kilo wagyu and as this was lightly grilled, the smell was making my mouth water. The Wagyu wraps a delicious mushroom rice.

The second key dish he created was a seared and smoked tuna topped with soy balls and caviar. He talks through quite a process to marinate the tuna prior to smoking. This dish below looks amazing and was even better to taste. This dish has been on the menu at his restaurant.

At the cooking school, Raita Noda floats around and helps all the eager cookers. Everyone seems to be having a really good time as they prepare the lunch ahead of them. We are all hoping to cook modern, tasty dishes just like chef Noda.

Overall, it was a great experience. Yuri from Washoku Lovers intends to hold these cooking classes moving forward. You get to rub shoulders with very high profile chefs, try to cook the gourmet Japanese dishes yourself and the goody bag you got to take home was amazing.

Keep your eyes open for more events from Washoku and I will definitely visit Raita Noda at his restaurant in Surry Hills. He is such a nice, kind and more importantly talented chef.

Note: Please note I attended as a guest of Washoku Lovers. All photos, opinions and words are my own.