News & Events
City Tech Launches New Courses in International Cuisine with a Little Help from a Neighborhood Friend
Professor Jean Claude, left, and Sea Asian owner Kong Tjon
by Al Vargas
To help launch a series of new courses in international cuisine, the award-winning hospitality management program at New York City College of Technology (City Tech) recently turned to Kong Tjon, a neighborhood restaurateur, to provide its advanced culinary students with a demonstration in the art of making sushi.
“Sushi making is a unique art" says Professor Jean Claude, CHE, CCE, who teaches both international and contemporary cuisine courses. “While we strive in the teaching kitchens to emulate how skilled chefs work, we often turn to ‘pros’ to show students first-hand how they do things and wanted them to learn sushi making from someone who does it with authenticity and flair.”
Tjon, owner and executive chef of Brooklyn Height’s popular Sea Asian Restaurant, was snacking on sushi in his native Hong Kong when barely out of diapers. The original Japanese word for sushi translates as “snack,” and there were few things that little Kong liked to snack on more than rice topped or stuffed with fish and vegetables. He began preparing sushi for others early in his teens.
In Hong Kong, the Tjon family had been in the produce and restaurant business for more than half a century. Seeking the better opportunities that the U.S. provided, Kong migrated here several years ago and soon opened Sea Asian Restaurant on Brooklyn’s Clark Street across from the historic St. George Hotel. The restaurant’s Chinese, Japanese and Thai dishes have long attracted a faithful City Tech faculty and staff lunch crowd.
As Professor Claude and his class looked on, Tjon conducted his demonstration in the middle of the dining room a few weeks ago. “While sushi as we know it is of Japanese origin,” he began, “it can trace its roots to China and the ancient fermentation of fish and rice. Originally, the vinegar produced by the process broke down different kinds of fish into amino acids, producing a variety of distinctive flavors. But when the Chinese fermented the fish and rice, they only ate the fish and discarded the rice. Modern day sushi involves an altogether different and quicker process, and people now eat both the fish and the rice.”
As Tjon deftly wielded a long, sharp knife and sliced a variety of fish and vegetables into sometimes razor-thin strips, several of the restaurant’s “Early Bird” customers got up from their tables to watch. “It looks so easy,” observed one. “It really isn’t difficult,” Tjon replied. “All you need is a sharp knife, fresh fish, cucumber and other vegetables, a pot of rice cooked with vinegar and a little bamboo mat called a ‘maki-su.’ In no time at all, you can produce a meal fit for an emperor or the fussiest of guests.”
Following the demonstration, Professor Claude and the City Tech students feasted on platters of the three varieties of sushi – Maki, Nigiri and Sashimi – that Tjon had prepared, after having sampled several of the restaurant’s popular appetizers. Fried cheesecake was served for dessert. They used the occasion to celebrate their taking top honors in the Best Centerpiece in the Show category and for finishing in second place in the Complete Buffet category at the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show at Jacob Javits Convention Center a few weeks before. At the end of the evening, the students departed with packets of information on the history and preparation of sushi provided by Tjon.
“I loved the sushi and the presentation so much,” said one of the students, Alana, “that I now have sushi almost every week and have become a sushi lover!” What most impressed Alejandro, a second student, was “the chef's masterful and disciplined knife skills, which were inspirational.”
Tjon joins a growing list of some of New York City’s most talented chefs and other food experts who have demonstrated their skills for the benefit of City Tech’s culinary arts students. Past presenters include Beacon’s Waldy Malouf, Union Square Café’s Michael Romano ’75, chef/author James Peterson and the Food Network and Gourmet magazine’s Sara Moulton. The Tjon demonstration was made possible with support provided, in part, by the City Tech Foundation.
What the students learned at Sea Asian Restaurant was not lost on them. A week or so after the demonstration, they prepared trays of assorted sushi for a large event at City Tech. In no time at all, the trays were empty and guests were asking for more. The problem was that the students had used up all of the vinegar-cooked rice. But a call to nearby Sea Asian Restaurant solved their problem, as Tjon happily donated all of the prepared rice the student chefs needed.
“The restaurant scene in New York City and everywhere else is rapidly changing,” says Professor Claude, “and students pursuing careers in the culinary and pastry arts need to be trained in the preparation of the more diverse variety of foods now available in virtually every neighborhood in the five boroughs. Our new courses in international cuisine are exposing students to the flavors and flavor components characteristic of other cultures. We teach them how to use their creativity and classical techniques to create both familiar and original dishes. This is the foundation they will need to build successful culinary careers in the future.”
City Tech’s hospitality management program is the oldest program of its kind in the city, offering students internationally recognized two- and four-year degrees in every facet of the industry. Its culinary and pastry arts program have produced some of America’s top chefs, including Michael Lomonaco ’84 (Porter House New York), Sherry Yard ’89 (Spago/Beverly Hills) and the late Patrick Clark ’77 (Tavern on the Green).
“Today,” says Department of Hospitality Management Chair Elizabeth Schaible, “a culinary professional is an artist, a businessperson, a scientist and a cultural explorer. City Tech’s new courses in international cuisine have been designed to prepare graduates to successfully compete in a rapidly growing and ever-changing global marketplace by familiarizing them with the diverse tastes of nations and the beverage selections that best complement those tastes. We are grateful to Kong Tjon and Sea Asian Restaurant for their generous contribution to that effort.”
2007 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show Photo Gallery
02/26/08
