About
Frank Toshi Sugiura
CEO, California Sushi Academy
CEO, Venice Entertainment, Inc.
Certified Master Sake Sommelier
Los Angeles Bureau Chief, Sake Service Institute
Resteraunt Consultant
Sushi Chef Placement Specialist
An Executive Sushi Chef and highly respected Los Angeles entrepreneur for over 30 years, Toshi Sugiura founded the California Sushi Academy in 1998, the first sushi school outside of Japan, out of a desire to share the beautiful traditions of Japanese cuisine with the world and provide this growing industry with professionally trained sushi chefs.
Sugiura has been acclaimed as one of the key players in introducing sushi culture to the everyday Los Angeles dining scene since the 1970s when he began to serve the appetite of Angelenos at his legendary Hama in Venice
A passionate gourmet and the first of only four Certified Sake Masters in the United States, Sugiura shares his extensive knowledge with students as an instructor of the Academy. Also serving as a consultant to many restaurants, he is able to share the realities of sushi bar ownership with CSA’s prospective restaurateurs.
Sugiura joined the judge panel of the first SushiMasters contest hosted by California Rice Commission in September 2005 as well as the USA Rice Federation’s California-Style Sushi Master Contest held in Tokyo, Japan in July 2006.
As a Los Angeles bureau chief of Sake Service Institute, Sugiura is to join the judge panel of 2nd World Kikisake-shi (sake sommeliers) Competition’s Western Regional Competition in Los Angeles in September 2006.