Andy Matsuda

Andy Matsuda

Master Sushi Chef

Chef Andy Matsuda was born near Kobe, Japan in 1956. When he was 9 years old, his family started a small Japanese restaurant where he learned the joy of cooking. After graduating from high school, he began an apprenticeship at ‘Genpachi’, one of the most famous restaurants in Osaka. He worked there for 5 years, and he became a member of a Sushi Chef Organization called ‘Yosei-kai’. At the age of 23, he returned to his hometown to help expand the family business. A couple of years later his new challenge in life was to move to Los Angeles, California.

His first job was in Little Tokyo as an assistant, but within a week he was promoted to Chief Sushi Chef. Since then, Chef Matsuda has worked at fine Sushi Bars in Santa Monica, Aspen, New York, and has had the opportunity to work for major hotels where he learned other ethnic cuisines such as French, Italian, and Thai, among others.

At the age of 36, Chef Matsuda faced the biggest challenge of his life; he was diagnosed with colon cancer and began the battle for his life. Going through 4 years of intensive treatments and self-reflection, he began to understand the relationship between food and health; people and environment. Overcoming cancer filled him with appreciation and wanted to somehow pay forward his debt of gratitude to the American Society. This became his gift to the United States.

In 2002, he started a Sushi Chef training school in downtown Los Angeles, the “Sushi Chef Institute”. There Chef Matsuda teaches beginners and professional chefs from all over the world.

In 2017 Chef Matsuda first assessed Pacific bluefin tuna fed IU diets. He was presently surprised with the flavor, fat contents and color, deeming it equal or better than tuna fed traditionally (baitfish). However, the texture of “otoro” – the priciest and most sought-after Japanese style sushi cut – was superior in fish fed IU diets. Since then, Chef Matsuda has joined the IU team in Spain and Malta providing his subject matter expert opinion on Atlantic bluefin tuna fed IU’s novel diets.

The advice Chef Matsuda imparts on the finest bluefin tuna attributes from a culinary perspective is invaluable for the IU team to consistently improve formulations for the benefit of the end user, the tuna farmer, and the environment.