Nikki Gilbert wants you to know that you really can make sushi! And she should know; she is the founder of Sushi Girl ®
Nikki started her namesake company with the sole purpose of demystifying Japanese food and culture for Westerners by offering fun, educational I want to Make Sushi!™ parties, classes and traditional sushi catering. Her latest release is the much-anticipated: I want to Make Sushi!™ DVD.
Nikki has worked in the world of Japanese cuisine ever since she was a teenager. She first started waiting tables at Mikasa, a family-owned sukiyaki-ya, and her favorite childhood restaurant in Los Angeles. While studying at UC Berkeley, Nikki persuaded a very skeptical local sushi bar owner to hire her on as his first non-Japanese employee. After graduating with a degree in Ethnic Studies, Nikki headed to Japan. She accepted a three-year teaching position in Kitakyushu City where she quickly immersed herself in the Japanese culinary world, attending cooking school and leading her own Western-style cooking classes. After returning to the United States Nikki completed her formal sushi training and worked as a sushi chef on the world-famous Sunset Strip before stepping out on her own with Sushi Girl ®.
Since starting Sushi Girl ®, Nikki has been featured on a number of national television programs as well as in the pages of The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Trump magazines, and even on the front page of the Los Angeles Times Food Section. Whether she is preparing sushi for Hollywoods biggest names or teaching students to make spicy tuna rolls for themselves, her goal is the same: to provide the freshest sushi her clients will ever eat.
