Lars Mitsuda’s Culinary 2 class this week was a hive of activity as students buzzed around the kitchen in preparation for meal service planned for later this quarter.

Students manned different stations and worked in small teams to prepare and serve meals while taking instructions from the lead chefs.

This week, students made miso soup, deep friend California sushi rolls and smoked hamachi sashimi with yuzu kosho (citrus and pepper condiment) and ponzu dipping sauce.

“The smoked hamachi is delish,” Peer Education teacher Kelly Kaholokula said, as she sampled one of the slices artfully placed on a white plate. “You can taste the smoke on it. The presentation was nice, too.”

Mitsuda said the Hawaii Restaurant Association donated some of the food, and he purchased some himself from the grocery store.

Mitsuda moved throughout the kitchen, demonstrating to Pat Valerio how to slice the block of fish, then past Bazialy Muno at the California roll station.

Ranson Marquez, who worked with Mildred Lo at the miso soup station, said he learned from Mitsuda that cooks should “adjust the seasonings to taste as you go along.”

Students experienced some bumps along the way, but Mitsuda reassured them that this is part of the learning process.

“It’s okay if it doesn’t look right,” he said of the dishes as they left the kitchen. “You know what it’s supposed to look like now, so next time it will be better.”

Gallery • 6 Photos

Na Hoku staff

Deep fried California Roll.