【Reading】ちゅうぼう

【English Name】Kitchen

"Chubo" (kitchen) is a term referring to the space where cooking is done in a restaurant. In sushi restaurants, distinguished from the itaba (counter cooking station) visible across the counter, the inner cooking space is often called the chubo.

In a sushi restaurant's chubo, preparatory work that comes before the nigiri stage is carried out, such as cooking the shari, preparing nikiri soy sauce, the preliminary processing of neta, and pickling the gari. While the itamae (chef) stands in front of the customer at the counter, the chubo is the station for staff handling preparation and dishwashing.

At high-end sushi restaurants, the coordination between the itaba and the chubo is considered an important factor that determines the quality of service. In recent years, from the standpoint of hygiene management, attention has also gathered on the temperature and humidity control of the chubo and the design of work-flow lines. Also, at conveyor-belt sushi chains, automation and efficiency of the chubo are advancing, and stores with a structure different from conventional sushi restaurants are increasing.