MUSKEGO — It was just last month at Muskego High School when students were trying authentic paella. Now, they're using chopsticks to try a very popular Japanese street food, Gyoza.
“We’re going to do my grandmother's recipe" said John Sugimura, Executive Chef for Taher Inc.
Chef Sugimura is a third-generation Japanese American. He said his grandmother's dumpling recipe tells a story that takes students back in time.
"Right now, you're in school, you're in class today. Tomorrow you're going to get locked up for 4.5 years. Just try to wrap your head around that” Chef Sugimura explained.
He explained that his Japanese-American grandmother was forced into a war camp in the early 1940s. “That is about giving them a snapshot into Japanese heritage. Understand what it is when your family is fractured by war."
He shares this story around the country with Taher Inc. Food Management to give a taste of his culture and start conversation.
He said it "opens up their worlds, opens up the school worlds to different recipes."
He prepared a traditional Japanese meal for lunch last week at Muskego High School. Monday, he took a deeper dive with the culinary students. Students were able to stand beside Chef Sugimura to make the iconic dish.
"I never thought I would learn how to make those" explained freshman, Jayden Kapitanski.
He was in charge of cooking the dumplings to the right temperature. However, this class meant much more."Because it gives us a new like perspective on what other people have and what we don't.”
The dish also served as a way to bring the culinary classes together.
"When you put a school full of kids, students eating the same food. The consequence is immediately community. And when you can have community, then that means there's a little bit better understanding."
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