Sushi and Sake School at China Grill in Fort Lauderdale

My handmade California roll at sushi class, China Grill.

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I love sushi and sake so when I had a chance to attend a sushi making class with a flight tasting of sake I said count me in! What enticed me even more was the fact that it was being held at China Grill in Fort Lauderdale.

Located in the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, China Grill now offers Sake, Maki & Roll Sushi School on the second Saturday of every month. The program is ambitious, incorporating five courses and a sake pairing with each course. From 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.,  Executive Sushi Chef Songphon Rawangphan and Executive Chef Chris Capron passionately discuss the noble art of sushi making and take students through the process of making your own rolls (and yes, I realized rather quickly that it is harder than you might think). I learned plenty about the all-important ingredient: sushi rice. It’s essential to keep your hands wet when working with sushi rice, which is a short grain, because it gets very sticky in the cooking process (always keep a small dish of water adjacent to your work space).

Seated at a communal table with 16 students we begin with a premium Ty Ku Citrus Liqueur cocktail  (with a splash of champagne) and tuna tartar on a wonton crisp. Salmon Crudo was paired with Ty-Ku Junmai Sake Silver. As it turns out, this sake was my favorite of all. I kept returning to it for its pear notes. After a delicious dancing unagi roll  (barbecued eel) paired with Ty-Ku Junmai Ginjo Sake with hints of vanilla, it was time to roll, literally. Students were given all the tools and led through a demonstration to make perfect tempura shrimp hand rolls and California rolls. Hands on, it was so much fun! Everyone was proud of his or her accomplishments (even with a lot of help from our chef teachers) and we wrapped up the class chatting about recreating the techniques from class at home. Dessert arrived and it was a perfect sweet conclusion — "bananas in a box" paired with yet another Ty Ku Soju cocktail, this one was reminiscent of an espresso martini. Wow!

I had such a great time at this class, I’d return in a blink. Classes are on the schedule for October 8^th, November 12^th and December 10^th. Cost is $59 + tax per person and space is limited, so advance reservations are required (954.759.9950).

Tags: China Grill | fort lauderdale | Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina | Ty-Ku Sake