In The Kitchen With: Ryan Reyes

'Nigiri,' says Ryan Reyes. 'Is the godfather of all sushi.'

And as the Head Chef of Sushiya at Time Out Market Cape Town, this talented chef certainly has some skin in the game. And yet, Cape Town’s culinary scene almost missed out on Reyes’ remarkable vision for what sushi could – and should – look like in the Mother City.

Reyes was born and raised in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, although his family heritage links him to both Canada and Japan’s Osaka prefecture. Growing up he had the idea of being a chef, but no sense of where to start. It was only when he came to Cape Town in 2014, to see his sister join a cruise ship, that he settled in the city and tapped into the city’s community of Japanese restaurants.

'I have always really enjoyed sushi, it’s probably in my DNA or something, but if you go to Japan it’s way different to what we get anywhere else in the world,' says Reyes. 'So that was the vision I had; the vision of what if Cape Town and South Africa could be introduced to this Edo-style tradition of sushi.'

Reyes cut his teeth in sushi and seafood restaurants across Cape Town, training under sushi masters from Japan, before travelling and cooking in Europe and Asia, before returning to the Mother City. 

When the opportunity came to join Pete Tempelhoff’s restaurant group, and take the helm of the new ‘sushi shop’ at Time Out Market Cape Town, Reyes knew he’d found the moment to bring his vision to life.

Today, working together with Tempelhoff, chef Ashley Moss and Japanese chef Shin Takagi – owner of a two-star Michelin restaurant in Kanazawa, Japan – Sushiya is changing palates each and every day, as hungry diners tuck into Reyes’ unique take on Edo-style sushi. We pulled him away from the pass to ask...

What’s the vision behind Sushiya?

I’m really hoping the world sees our objective around classical Edo-style sushi, and for people to appreciate the purist things, the little things. A slice of fish on rice. It’s not all about sauces. This is what the Japanese do. They focus on their fresh ‘harbour fish’ and we’re trying to practice the same here. A lot of people also can’t believe we don’t have salmon, but it’s not found here, so we don’t serve it.

What is Edo-style cuisine?

Compared to modernised sushi, Edo-style is all about the combination of practice and tradition. It’s the technique. It’s how you prepare the fish; you don’t just slice a piece of fish. There’s a preservation involved, the temperature, it’s in the grain of the fish. It’s the rice we use, and the cooking of the rice. It’s the grading of the nori. It’s so many things that all come together.

How do you go about creating new dishes – what’s the starting point?

Ideally, we are working with ingredients that are local and within season. In Edo-style style cuisine seasonal items are prepared differently. So the 10-piece platter offers a variety of what’s on offer at Sushiya. Some ingredients are prepared differently. But each piece tells a story till the very end of the dish.

Tell us a cool factoid about a dish on offer at the Market?

A really cool fact is simply the fish we serve. For example, yellowtail is amongst the most popular white fish around, but did you know that depending on the year, age and size of the fish we can achieve a whole different taste and texture profile? Pretty cool I think.

You also pay serious attention to other ingredients, like rice?

We believe the quality of ingredients is essential. The most common rice used here in Cape Town is a short-grain Australian sushi rice. It’s cost-friendly for a business, but not of the right quality for what we want to achieve. We use Ishikawa rice, imported from (partner-chef) Shin’s prefecture, and it has the perfect texture and moisture range for what we want to achieve.

Sushiya really does focus on nigiri, which is unusual in Cape Town. Why is that…

In Edo-style it’s all about nigiri, sashimi and maki, but nigiri is the godfather of all sushi! As simple as it is, it’s also quite complicated. It’s about technique, and tradition, and the perfect balance between the fish and the rice. There are certain hand gestures and forms to shape the rice in your hand. All those deeper techniques that make a nigiri a nigiri. What I look for in a nigiri is the texture of the rice, and the balance of seasoning.

What is the most popular dish on the menu?

The Nigiri platter, now known as the 10-piece, is among our best sellers. It is also our hero dish as it describes Sushiya accurately and shows what we are all about. It has a plethora of different flavour combos and a variety of all the seafood we offer in our restaurant.

What is your personal favourite dish?

I love the Vegetable Kakiage. The idea of tempura vegetables sometimes seems too heavy, but the Kakiage is light and almost refreshing when dipped in Tensuyu, which is a dashi/soy-based broth with ginger. It also packs a lot of flavour for something so simple.

Anything for younger diners at the Market?

I would say our Prawn Uramaki, or ‘inside-out’ roll. It’s quite simple, and quite familiar to the western palate, but also different with its toppings.

What’s your favourite other eatery in the Market? 

De Vrije Burger and Ramenhead. At Ramenhead I would order the Pork Tonkotsu ramen, and almost every burger from De Vrije.