Shiro Kashiba stands atop any list defining Japanese food in Seattle. He's been called many things--culinary master, fisherman, mushroom forager and nature lover--but first and foremost he's the "Sushi King." His eponymous debut cookbook is no chef-vanity affair, though, but a riveting and imaginative blending of East and West in the quest for high gastronomic art.
Shiro weaves personal history with philosophy, particularly with respect to preserving and maintaining food sources in the Pacific Northwest, and Ann Norton's photography adds a human dimension to the Sushi King's mystique. Kashiba's story begins in Japan, two decades after World War II, when he learns the fundamentals of edomaezushi (Tokyo-centric sushi) apprenticing with a renowned sushi master in the upscale Ginza district. Dreaming of bigger successes, he jumps across the Pacific to the bountiful shores of the Northwest, where he discovers an equally rich world of culinary design. In his transformative path from sushi chef to restaurateur, Kashiba learns to mine the treasures of his adopted homeland, creating a uniquely edomae menu for the Northwest. Shiro represents the climax of that culinary achievement. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant