Each week we’ll uncover some unusual and (hopefully) interesting facts about the city. This week we take on Vancouver’s sushi history.
1. Vancouver’s first sushi restaurant opened in 1963
A true sushi pioneer! Yes, over 50 years ago Aki Takeuchi and his wife, Takako began serving up delicious plates of raw fish to hungry Vancouverites from their original Powell street storefront. They’ve had several locations over the years and continue to operate today in Coal Harbour.
2. You’ve probably already tried the “Tojo-maki”
Photo: Tojo’s.
Credited (but often disputed) as chef Hidekazu Tojo’s most important dish, the California roll was initially called the Tojo-maki. Tojo invented the roll after noticing the eating habits and preferences of Vancouverites in the 1970s:
“Another thing Western people did not eat was seaweed, so I tried to hide it. I made the roll inside out. People loved it. A lot of people from out of town came to my restaurant – lots from Los Angeles – and they loved it. That’s how it got called the California roll. I was against Japanese tradition with the inside-out roll, but I liked it, and my customers liked it. And so it spread all over – even into Japan.”
3. The California Roll caused a lot of controversy
Hidekazu Tojo.
Even though chef Tojo is widely recognized as one of the fundamental reasons Vancouver is a sushi town, there is a lot of controversy surrounding his signature dish. While it is widely accepted that Tojo invented everyone’s favourite introduction-to-sushi-roll, the California Roll has also been credited to Ichiro Mashita, who was a sushi chef in Los Angeles in the 1960s.
4. The BC Roll is 42 years old
Photo: Tojo’s.
The roll was invented in 1974 by… You guessed it, Mr. Hidekazu Tojo. For those that haven’t had the pleasure of trying it, the BC roll typically filled with barbecued salmon skin coated in a sweet sauce, with rice on the outside, similar to the California roll. This staple British Columbian dish has surged in popularity around BC, Canada and the rest of the world.
5. Sushi restaurants account about 10% of all restaurants in Metro Vancouver
Sushi has absolutely exploded in Vancouver since the 1970s and recent data suggests there are more than 600 sushi outlets in Metro Vancouver alone. Some have suggested Greater Los Angeles is the sushi capital of North America as they have reported more than 300 sushi outlets for its population of 18 million people. Metro Vancouver, however has twice the amount of sushi spots, despite only having one-ninth of the population.
Read more from our "5 Things You Didn't Know" series HERE.
