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Yo!Sushi outlet on the concourse of Paddington Station in London, 2006.
Food and Supermarket Design award, followed. In his earlier career,
Woodroffe had been involved in designing and staging rock concerts in
London and Los Angeles. In the early 1990s he spearheaded the development
of television deals to show huge international rock concerts worldwide,
including Elton John and Billy Joel. 42 This background is clearly
reflected in the concept of Yo!Sushi – a ‘noisy hangout for the trendy Pop
generation’. Glass, pine and brushed-steel interior, drinks-totting robots
responding to voice commands and the techno-pop background music
create an ambiance entirely free from conventional Japanese associations.
As Woodroffe accurately observed: ‘I don’t think we’re a Japanese restaurant;
we’re a Western restaurant that just happens to serve Japanese food.’ 43
Yo!Sushi and its many imitators throughout Europe do not serve ‘classic’
Japanese food either. The menu focuses on American standards like
California Roll and new British inventions like Asparagus Nigiri and
Kamikaze Roll. Most plates that are transported by the conveyor belts in
European sushi bars carry food items other than sushi, for example spring
rolls, tenpura, grilled chicken skewers (yakitori), and even sandwiches and
local deserts.
Departure from the constraints of Japanese culinary tradition has
been, like in the case of Benihana, a conscious choice. Authenticity of cuisine
and ethnic appropriateness seem to be the last things that mattered for
196