Mitsubishi Aircraft gift finally gets off the ground

MOSES LAKE — You’d be surprised how difficult it is to actually donate something to the United States government.

In fact, the ribbon cutting ceremony held Aug. 24 at Columbia Basin Job Corps, formally signaled the opening of the center’s Japanese cuisine program that was supposed to have taken place last year.

But a hangup over how to accept the main piece of equipment needed to make the program work — a high-end commercial steam cooker, donated by Mitsubishi Aircraft — delayed the formal opening of the program twice.

“We had to get permission from the Department of Labor – had to go through a lot of legal steps to ensure we could accept it properly,” said Karl Lester, director of the Columbia Basin Job Corps. “There was a lot of attorney work to be done.”

At Thursday’s ceremony, Lester read a letter from the Western regional director of Job Corps for the Department of Labor, Brian Daher, formally accepting the gift of the oven — making the program, which has been going strong for some months now, nice and legal.

The program, which is taught by Japanese master chef and cuisine ambassador Takeyuri Suetsugu, was initiated by Mitsubishi Aircraft after the company set up shop in the Port of Moses Lake to test its new regional jetliner. A taste of home would make some of the company’s several hundred Japanese employees a little less homesick, and in the process, would train young Americans in the fine art of Japanese cuisine.

“We have the great honor of enjoying Chef Tak’s talents, and it’s rare to taste authentic Japanese cuisine in Moses Lake,” said Hitoshi “Hank” Iwasa, head of the Moses Lake flight test center for Mitsubishi. “We are proud to be part of a great community. We hope to give back to the community, and provide opportunities for students to learn.”

Suetsugu, who is 73 and has been teaching for nearly 50 years, said he appreciated teaching at Job Corps.

“Here is very unique. The young people are special, so honest,” he said.

But he also sees teaching as more than merely imparting knowledge. It is more like forging steel, he said, which requires a lot of work on the part of the teacher to shape and form students. In fact, Isawa said much of what he teaches involves cultural knowledge and helping form character.

It is important to respect the equipment and respect the kitchen, he added.

“How can you be a chef when you do not respect yourself? I’m a stern teacher, but you must get focused for food,” he said.

Suetsugu’s students appreciate how demanding and exacting a teacher he is, and say they have learned a lot from him.

“He teaches us how to input what we already know from our lives into our cooking,” said Kyle Smith, 21, a culinary student.

Prior to coming to Job Corps, Smith said he worked as a magician.

“Tac talked to me for two hours about that,” Smith said. “And how to input that into my cooking. I never thought about that, but it’s all about presentation.”

And one student, Xavier Buck, who just turned 17, said he’s found a calling in Job Corp’s Japanese cuisine program.

“This is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” he said.