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Bryan Sekine
Bryan Sekine slicing a side of salmon behind a sushi bar

Sushi

Sushi chef since 2008, sushi teacher ever since

Six years behind restaurant bars in Oklahoma City, and now a full-time sushi education business.

When I tell most people I'm a sushi chef, their first question is: "Oh, neat! What restaurant do you work at?"

I spent six years working in sushi restaurants around Oklahoma City. These days I run my own sushi education business — live classes, corporate training events, and educational seminars, in addition to my sushi website and YouTube channel. I absolutely love what I do, and I'm honored to share my passion for teaching and for sushi with you.

What I teach

Live classes

Hands-on public classes where everybody leaves having rolled their own sushi, whatever they walked in knowing.

Corporate training events

Team-building built around a skill rather than a trust fall. Groups work through the same steps together, at their own station.

Educational seminars

The talk version — technique, sourcing, and the sustainable seafood side of the conversation.

Working behind a sushi bar in Oklahoma City
Close-up of hands slicing salmon sashimi with a long knife
Teaching a live sushi class to students seated along a prep table
A live sushi class in progress in an Oklahoma City studio
Students rolling maki at a hands-on sushi class
Demonstrating a rolling technique to a group of sushi class students
Walking a class through a rolling step at the head of the table
Coaching two students through their first sushi roll
Bryan Sekine in chef's blacks and gloves at a sushi class
Guests at a private sushi night event
Students laughing during a hands-on sushi class
Helping a student shape a roll during a sushi class
Overhead view of nori, rice, and a knife mid-roll on a cutting board
A corporate sushi training event with employees gathered around a demonstration table
A corporate team rolling sushi together at a team-building class

How I got started

I got started in sushi back in 2008. I walked into a local sushi bar — one that wasn't even advertising that they were hiring sushi chefs — and asked if they needed a chef. I didn't have any prior professional experience, but I was familiar with the rolling process and the Japanese terms from my childhood; my family and I used to occasionally make sushi at home.

As chance would have it, they hired me. I worked for three months in the back kitchen, washing dishes and making rice, before I was allowed to handle the fish. I worked long hours and made a ton of mistakes early on, but after about six months I was finally rolling sushi for customers on a Friday night — usually the busiest night of a restaurant.

In 2011, after working at two different restaurants and deciding to expand my knowledge of sushi even further, I started doing some online research and stumbled upon the term "sustainable sushi." At that point I was starting to realize how much of a negative impact our populations are having on the environment, but for some reason I hadn't considered the state of our oceans.

I needed to educate my clients and customers about sustainable sushi, but in a way that didn't feel pushy. So I built a website — not only to teach people how to roll sushi at home, but to educate them on sustainable sushi practices at the same time.

You can find my sushi site here: Secrets of Sushi. I consider it my baby, my pride and joy, my life's work.

After a few years I realized that writing articles wasn't enough — I needed to teach people in a different way. So I started offering live training events, because I was too afraid to get in front of a camera and record myself. During the live events I'd throw in the sustainable sushi facts, and people seemed interested.

What drew them in was the training. What kept their attention was the sustainable sushi facts.

I started talking to friends and family about sustainable seafood, and they seemed interested — but only when I spoke to them about it. I couldn't get a single person to read my article on sustainable sushi. That's what made me decide to work on my fear of being on camera.

Which brings us to 2015, when I recorded and published my first YouTube video. Overcoming being camera shy turns out to be fairly difficult, but recording and editing more video has been my focus ever since. Here's where that lives: the Secrets of Sushi YouTube channel.

Questions about the classes

What restaurant do you work at?
None, these days — that is the first question almost everybody asks. I spent six years working in sushi restaurants around Oklahoma City, and I now run my own sushi education business: live classes, corporate training events, and educational seminars, alongside my sushi website and YouTube channel.
Do I need any experience to take a class?
No. The classes are built for people with no prior experience. Everything is taught step by step, and you roll as you go rather than watching a demonstration and hoping it sticks.
Can you run a class for my company or private event?
Yes. Corporate training events and private classes are a large part of what I do. Tell me the group size and the space you have and I will tell you what is workable.
What is "sustainable sushi"?
It is the practice of choosing seafood that can be sourced without depleting the species or the habitat it comes from. I came across the term in 2011 while researching, and it changed how I teach — the technique draws people in, and the sourcing conversation is what keeps their attention.
Where can I learn from you online?
My sushi website, Secrets of Sushi, has written instruction and resources, and my YouTube channel of the same name covers technique on video.

Book a sushi class

Private classes, corporate training, and seminars. Tell me the group size and the date and I'll take it from there.

See rates & book Email me directly

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