A teppanyaki chef is more than a cook who’s mastered the teppanyaki style of cuisine. Being a successful teppanyaki chef requires equal parts performance and culinary mastership. On top of their duties to perform and prepare meals, teppanyaki chefs must have even greater multitasking skills to keep guests full of food and information.
Teppanyaki Style Cooking
Teppanyaki is a traditional Japanese style of cooking. There are minimal seasonings and additives included in teppanyaki cooking. A masterful teppanyaki chef only choose pairings that highlight natural flavors in foods.
Common foods prepared by teppanyaki chefs include:
• Meats
• Vegetables
• Noodles
• Rice
Teppanyaki foods are most famously prepared using a flat, iron griddle. However, there are a lot of other tools that teppanyaki chefs often have to juggle in their day-to-day. Japanese knives, special sauce bottles, broilers, fryers, and even blenders are some of the kitchen tools that teppanyaki chefs must be comfortable switching between.
Teppanyaki Chef Training
Although teppanyaki cooking is a performance art, there are no smoke and mirrors. What you see with a teppanyaki chef is exactly what you get, which requires some serious knife skills. In fact, many teppanyaki chefs in training enroll in a culinary institute to perfect their cooking skills in the classroom.
Although formal education is a strong background skill to get your foot in the door, you don’t exactly have to have teppanyaki experience to get started. Of course, your journey to becoming a chef may take a little bit longer, but starting from an introductory position and learning from the professionals is a great way to improve your own skills.
Teppanyaki Job Duties
Teppanyaki chefs are highly skilled, yet even the most experienced ones still take time to become experts in their field. Because there are so many elements that go into being a teppanyaki chef, these individuals often train for years before reaching expert levels.
Teppanyaki chefs are responsible for multiple duties while cooking for a group. The chef must correctly size each portion and ensure that every dish is reaching the proper temperature according to its serving size. Also, since they are both preparing food and performing for guests, teppanyaki chefs often share fun facts about the dishes being cooked or provide other culinary insight for patrons.
Teppanyaki in Orlando
If you want to enjoy the delectable dishes and spectacular showmanship of an experienced teppanyaki chef, come see them in action at Shogun Steakhouse. We’ve decorated our menu with a range of teppanyaki dishes that our chefs use to bring traditional cuisine and entertainment right to your table. To book your reservation, visit our website or call us at 407-352-1607.
