How Ryuji Developed New Sushiro Menu Items and Won Approval for Six Dishes in a Presentation to the President

At the first development session, Sushiro had gathered more ingredients than expected. Sushi rice, natto, several kinds of shrimp, shrimp tempura, hamburger steak, eel and more were laid out, prompting Ryuji to exclaim, "You guys are way too fired up." The roles were divided: Yasumoto would form the sushi, while Ryuji would come up with menu items using the duo's mayonnaise. Ryuji called this mayonnaise "my weapon" and joked about planning to compete with it alone.

They first tried Sushiro's hamburger steak sushi topped with the mayonnaise, and the two laughed, saying, "Maybe this is good enough." Never having eaten the sushi rice by itself, they also tasted it on its own. Ryuji's impression was that it was on the sweet side.

Next they tried natto gunkan. Recalling that the head chef at a sushi restaurant they had visited before had said "natto is delicious," Ryuji topped it not with olive oil but with garlic powder and salt, a recent favorite. Both said, "It could take even more garlic," while also admitting, "We can't rule out the possibility that we're just weird." Ryuji said they wanted to offer it, and it became a candidate.

The sea bream was paired with lemon and olive oil, carpaccio-style. Ryuji liked this way of eating it quite a lot and saw it working with other raw fish too. Ideas such as salt sushi and scallions with sesame oil also came up. But what Ryuji really wanted to do was create a sauce of their own, believing that would make it easier to bring out their personal style. While Ryuji thought the carpaccio sushi was a good serving suggestion, learning that searing was possible, as with the existing seared cheese, broadened the options further. There was talk that egg tastes better warm, and that the fried shrimp and avocado roll could have its filling changed, and with that the day's testing came to an end.

After the test session, drawing on the experience of visiting the sushi restaurant's head chef, Ryuji reached a conclusion. Trying to make something "properly" was beyond their knowledge. In that case, it would be better to go with things Ryuji knew for certain were delicious. One example was a gunkan simply topped with the duo's mayonnaise.

With this approach, Ryuji submitted four or five proposals to Sushiro.

• Making and serving a marinade with bonito flakes and other ingredients, based on Ryuji's own "Ultimate Zuke" recipe
• "Salt Garlic Natto": natto gunkan sprinkled with garlic powder and salt
• Sushi where sea bream is eaten with salt and garlic oil, adapting the garlic oil carpaccio introduced in a video
• A conger eel idea based on the head chef's "conger eel eaten with wasabi and salt"

As for the conger eel, if it were just wasabi and salt, customers could recreate it right there at the restaurant. So Ryuji proposed topping it with citrus zest and eating it with salt. However, since it would add steps to the preparation, Ryuji said they wanted to check how far Sushiro could accommodate it.

Sushiro's response was as follows. Garlic chips could be handled with the current setup. Developing a Ryuji-style sauce from scratch might be difficult, but since Sushiro has many sushi items that use mayonnaise, those could be switched to the duo's mayonnaise. Sushiro has more than 600 products, and they said they would consider options while making adjustments within that range. They had also tried searing the mayonnaise, and said it was interesting.

Later, Ryuji and Yasumoto were called to the headquarters building. The two grumbled, "If it was going to be such a proper building, we'd have worn jackets." In a room where executives were waiting, they were served four sushi items that the staff in charge had arranged based on the proposals and already put through one internal presentation, along with a side dish of fries served with the duo's mayonnaise.

The conger eel was seared and paired with rock salt and lemon. They said it would be served freshly seared when sold. Both called it "insanely good," praising the refreshing combination of salt and lemon.

The tuna and avocado had been switched to tuna because sea bream was difficult to work with. It was carpaccio-style, with oil added to nikiri soy sauce, and combined avocado and mayonnaise. The staff member explained that they thought it would be easy for women to enjoy. They said the avocados are peeled and cut fresh in-store, and also mentioned that frozen avocado develops a slightly sour taste.

The tuna natto gunkan combined marinated tuna and garlic chips with natto. The tuna used here comes from the sinewy parts left over when cutting fish for toppings. The staff member explained that by sending the parts normally used for things like tekka rolls to the gunkan as well, nothing goes to waste, and the sinewy parts are delicious in their own way. Ryuji praised this idea highly, while also saying the garlic could be stronger.

The fried shrimp and avocado was served in a form other than a roll, with the duo's mayonnaise clearly visible on top. Ryuji's impression was that it could use a little more mayonnaise.

Ryuji strongly backed the fries with mayonnaise, saying, "Seriously, I think this should exist." Ryuji thought a kind of secret hack would likely catch on, where customers order the mayonnaise and put it on tuna or salmon. Sushiro agreed, noting that customers often customize their own food, and that people who had watched the YouTube videos might order the mayonnaise and put it on regular sushi. Ryuji added that overdoing it would be tacky, so getting the balance right is important.

A shrimp tempura and cucumber roll was also served at the tasting. Here, Ryuji felt that shrimp tempura was a better fit than fried shrimp.

After the tasting, Ryuji's assessment was this: the natto was quite good, and the fries were outstanding. The conger eel was naturally delicious. As for the shrimp, while saying it was unclear whether it could be done, Ryuji said shrimp tempura was overwhelmingly better. It might cost more in effort and price, but the judgment was that it was delicious all the same.

The issue was the carpaccio. Ryuji acknowledged it was tasty, but tuna and avocado was too standard a combination, giving the impression of "yeah, that exists." Ryuji pointed out that it needed a bit more surprise.

That was when Sushiro brought up bintoro (albacore belly). They said bintoro conditions were good this year. Sushiro suggested a refreshing idea of chopping shiso leaves, mixing them with onion and using that as a topping. Ryuji jumped on it, saying they would love to eat bintoro with ponzu and aromatics. Someone at Sushiro remarked, "You're probably the only one who'd do that to good bintoro," but the discussion settled on the idea that it was fine as long as, even when told "it's good as is, don't do anything unnecessary," you could say, "No, this is delicious."

Ryuji asked to use engawa (fin muscle) in addition to bintoro. Sushiro's engawa comes from Greenland halibut, a large flatfish. When they tasted it, the two felt it was very fatty, an ingredient that could go either rich or refreshing. Marinated bintoro eaten with nikiri was a little on the sweet side, and they felt the freshness of shiso would suit it. The combination of shiso and daikon sprouts seemed like it would also go well with engawa, and they agreed it looked good color-wise too.

The idea came up of using the salt ponzu Ryuji often makes as the sauce. It is made simply by mixing store-bought shiro dashi with lemon juice and salt. Sushiro was surprised at how easy it was, and someone was sent to buy the ingredients at a nearby supermarket.

They also tried marinated engawa. Ryuji ate it while saying, "Never heard of this, though," but concluded that bintoro was better for that, and judged that engawa was better eaten with a refreshing sauce.

Ryuji made the salt ponzu by adding lemon to about 2 tablespoons of shiro dashi and putting in about two pinches of salt. Ryuji said adding sesame oil would also be delicious, but this was fine for now. The rich engawa was topped with onion, shiso and daikon sprouts, and drizzled with just under 1 teaspoon of salt ponzu. Those who tasted it called it "a new flavor," singling out the onion in particular. Ryuji felt the engawa's fat turned into a cleaner-tasting fat, and said they would really like to sell it in summer.

Since the day's quantities were eyeballed, the plan was to measure properly and test which ratio was the most delicious. They thought bintoro could work the same way. With the other items nearly settled, it was decided that Ryuji and the Sushiro staff member would go back and forth several times to finalize these additions.

Ryuji asked the staff member whether they had gotten in trouble because of the duo's proposals. According to the staff member, they had not been scolded. But the president had told them that there might be more they could do, and that if they were going to do this, they should make a better product. They also said that even in regular presentations, products rarely pass smoothly. That said, the staff member said they were grateful for the idea of putting tuna on natto.

When Ryuji asked whether development was like this every time, the answer was that when at headquarters, they make something every day. The rejected items number in the thousands, too many to count, and they try even combinations that seem certain to taste bad at least once, because something might come of it. The staff member said they don't compromise, so that customers can enjoy their food. They added that unless the president gives a rating of "5," a product absolutely cannot debut, and that they give tense presentations every week. Looking back on the duo's own proposals, Ryuji laughed at the thought of having brought something that was just mayonnaise on top into a setting like that.

Several months later, after repeated tastings, Ryuji had arrived at "5 pieces plus 1 recipe." Before the direct presentation to the president, they did a final check.

The fries with mayonnaise were simply the mayonnaise on Sushiro's existing fries, so Ryuji said there was no need to taste them, but checked anyway. The conger eel was seared and seasoned with pink rock salt, and paired with lemon in the spirit of the head chef's "conger eel eaten with salt." Sushiro explained that the eel itself was also prepared to be plump.

The bintoro and engawa are topped with Ryuji's special salt sauce. On the advice they received, a little mayonnaise was added to the bintoro to supplement the fat. Both are marinated. The engawa has plenty of fat, so no mayonnaise is used. Ryuji said the key point was that the salt sauce had been reproduced perfectly.

The tuna natto gunkan was topped with plenty of garlic, and the tuna was marinated so it could be eaten as is, with the option of adding soy sauce to taste.

The centerpiece was the "Shrimp Tempura Ota-Mayo Roll" (the name is hard to make out in the subtitles). Insisting on using the duo's mayonnaise, it combines a whole shrimp tempura with avocado and tobiko. As for how to eat it, Yasumoto prefers soy sauce and Ryuji prefers sweet sauce, so it was designed to work either way. Sushiro had originally proposed fried shrimp, but Ryuji pushed through, insisting on shrimp tempura.

The president had been watching Ryuji's YouTube channel and found things like the reactions to a video where Ryuji went around with a sushi chef without permission amusing. Ryuji was nervous at first, but was somewhat relieved to find the atmosphere wasn't tense.

On the conger eel, Ryuji candidly said it "relies on the ingredient." The president also said "the ingredient," and Ryuji laughed that it was awkward to admit. Still, Ryuji explained that because this was a conger eel whose quality the sushi restaurant's head chef had recognized, they felt its quality should be showcased more, so they made it to be enjoyed with salt. As for the amount of salt, it was lighter at first, but since Ryuji had been serving dishes with fairly strong saltiness, they pushed it toward a flavor that goes well with drinks.

On the bintoro and engawa, Ryuji said the crunchy texture of the vegetables was a new taste experience for them. Since the other items involve a lot of mayonnaise and the like, these were included as the "refreshing slot." Ryuji reasoned that if it became a fair, customers would probably try every item one by one, and if everything was rich, they would get tired of it. That is why the conger eel and the bintoro/engawa were positioned as the refreshing options.

On the Tuna Natto Garlic, Ryuji said that both Ryuji and Yasumoto are huge garlic lovers, so for a collaboration bearing their names, this much punch was fitting. It's something Sushiro wouldn't normally do, and they had added a sense of playfulness, but Ryuji said they were confident in the flavor. When the question of whether to add soy sauce came up, the president decided it was better without, and it would be served as is. This day's presentation was a session reviewing around 30 items, including other products. Seeing the serious atmosphere in which decisions were being made, Ryuji was surprised.

For the Shrimp Tempura Ota-Mayo Roll, Ryuji explained what's in the mayonnaise: garlic, pepper and bacon. On its own it is strong, but in a roll it blends in surprisingly well. When they had it tasted with both sweet sauce and soy sauce, the response was that both were delicious. Ryuji said it would be a menu item that people who like sweet flavors and people who like salty flavors could both enjoy.

Finally, for the fries, Ryuji explained that it was simply mayonnaise on Sushiro's fries, because Ryuji personally loves them. The president noticed a smoky, bacon-like flavor and said it would also be delicious with fried oysters. Ryuji emphasized that leftover mayonnaise could be added in small amounts to other toppings. As long as customers order this, they can customize things themselves, and Ryuji said that was what Ryuji and Yasumoto were aiming for.

When they asked for approval of the six products, the president had only one request: to properly introduce the new crunchy texture at the time of sale, and to highlight the distinctive features of the collaboration. With the words that, precisely because it's delicious, they wanted to promote it together, including the duo's mayonnaise, the six items were approved.

Ryuji was relieved, admitting they had been scared some would be rejected. Ryuji then reflected that this was the result of repeated improvements made in response to Sushiro's feedback. The next stage would be to firmly settle the names, and Ryuji would be involved in that too. The two were struck once again by the scale of a fair held at every location.

At the end of the video, Ryuji says they still want to think about the best way to offer the mayonnaise. Ryuji also reveals that there is still a "challenge slot" idea that Ryuji tried to do but was told, "Hold on a second."