Sushi Wars | <strong>Sushi Award 2007</strong> at Schema : more than ethnic

Sushi Wars | Sushi Award 2007

Iraishaimase! -- the common greeting when you enter a sushi establishment...and if you haven't heard it, maybe you should think twice about where you eat your raw fish.

Yeah, so it's a tad late, but who knew this existed? The SUSHI AWARDS took place last October in London -- wait...London? -- where 300 food enthusiasts and food journalists gathered to judge sushi plates from 7 of the best sushi chefs in the world (list of contestants & sushi creations).

Japan's Masahi Ogata won the Sushi Award 2007 Trophy, as well as ...wait for it...a year's supply of Kikkoman soy sauce (ahaha), and a London-Tokyo return flight. Ogata's winning Golden Shooting Star sushi (in pic) uses a vegetarian alternative that mimics the taste and texture of shark's fin, along with nori, fruit syrup, avocado, and frosted cornflakes. Um....*perplexed* ....this is sushi?

Ogata, a sushi chef for 19 years, said this about his creation: "With my Golden Shooting Star sushi, I tried not only to recreate the taste of shark's fin without using any fish, but also to make a piece of sushi that would appeal to the palates of people over here [in London]. So I'm really happy that people understood the effort that I made."

More: Sushi Award 2007 results video | Official Site: Contestants & Creations | via Sushi or Death