Have you ever gotten lost at Uwajimaya wondering what to buy, staring at unfamiliar seasonings and funny shaped vegetables? For those people who want to begin cooking Asian dishes but don’t know how to get started, NuCulinary offers great practical cooking classes at the Bellevue and Renton Uwajimaya stores and NVC Memorial Hall. NuCulinary President Naomi Kakiuchi was born and grew up in Seattle with her big Asian family.  After graduating Washington State University with a degree in nutrition and dietetics, she worked in the food sales business where she realized that she wanted to teach others the joys of cooking. “I feel that by building understanding of other peoples through culinary experiences, we contribute to the tolerance of others and hopefully a more peaceful world,” Naomi said. “Food is a bridge to peace.” NuCulinary has two more main instructors: Toby Kim and Hajime Sato. Toby is sous chef with Jerry Traunfeld at both Poppy on Seattle’s Capitol Hill and The Herbfarm. Hajime is owner/chef of Mashiko Japanese Restaurant in West Seattle, where he serves sustainable sushi. NuCulinary’s current focus is Asian cuisine such as Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. However, Naomi wants to expand to Africa and South/Central America in the future.
Their classes are very practical. Most classes at Uwajimaya include a chef’s tour of the store so that students can find and understand the ingredients. Their Everyday Asian Series classes at Renton Uwajimaya provide a one-pot dinner from a specific cuisine (i.e. Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian) and a bag of pantry staples for students to take home. Each student receives a 10% discount coupon for purchases at any of three Uwajimaya stores.  So why not try their classes and bring global diversity into your everyday cooking?

NuCulinary | (206) 932-3855 6523 | www.nuculinary.com