Where to Start with Jeffrey Elliot and Robby Cook
Jeffrey Elliot and Robby Cook bring complementary strengths to their collaboration. Elliot graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and built his career in some of New York’s most celebrated kitchens, including Le Cirque and Le Bernardin, before becoming executive chef at a group of Japanese restaurants in Miami. Cook trained as a sushi chef and rose to become executive sushi chef at Morimoto, the acclaimed New York City restaurant founded by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Together they produced “The Complete Guide to Sushi and Sashimi” (2015), a 306-page reference that uses 625 step-by-step photographs to demystify professional sushi-making techniques for the home kitchen. The book was praised for its instructional clarity and earned recognition as one of the most thorough treatments of sushi preparation available in English.
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The Complete Guide to Sushi and Sashimi
Jeffrey Elliot and Robby Cook · 306 pages · 2015 · Moderate
Themes: sushi techniques, sashimi preparation, professional methods, knife skills
A thorough, photo-driven guide to sushi and sashimi that draws on professional kitchen expertise. The book’s 625 step-by-step photographs walk you through every technique, from sourcing and butchering whole fish to preparing sushi rice, slicing sashimi, and assembling every style of sushi and roll.
Why Start Here
This is Elliot and Cook’s definitive work, and the only book you need from them. It combines Cook’s years of professional sushi experience at Morimoto with Elliot’s classical culinary training into a single comprehensive reference. The photographic approach sets it apart: where most cookbooks give you a paragraph of text for a tricky technique, Elliot and Cook give you a sequence of photographs showing exactly what your hands, knife, and ingredients should look like at each moment.
The book covers the full spectrum of sushi and sashimi making. You will learn how to assess fish freshness at the market, how to fillet and portion different species, and how to make the cuts that define professional sashimi. The sushi section moves from basic technique through maki, uramaki, nigiri, temaki, and decorative rolls. The authors are honest about what requires practice and what you can nail on the first try.
What to Expect
A substantial 306-page reference in a practical spiral-bound format that lies flat while you cook. The difficulty level is moderate. Early chapters and simple rolls are accessible to beginners, but the book assumes you are willing to invest in good tools and quality fish. You will need a sharp knife (the authors discuss selection), a bamboo rolling mat, and access to sushi-grade fish. The tone is instructional and professional but never condescending. This is a book that grows with you, rewarding repeated use as your knife skills and confidence improve.