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Carl Rosa - founder of the Sushi Club of Houston
About the S.C.O.H.
How it all Started...
The Sushi Club of Houston (S.C.O.H.) was founded in October 2005 by Carl Rosa. In August 2005, Carl was living in New Orleans, Louisiana and was an unfortunate victim of Hurricane Katrina. On August 30th, 2005, he was homeless - his home was flooded with 18-feet of water. Forced to start over, he and his wife moved to Houston. While driving through the streets of Houston (attempting to learn his way around the city), he noticed a sushi restaurant and decided to sample the menu. "It was awful," said Carl. "I could not believe how horrible sushi could be in the fourth largest city in the USA. At that point, I decided to create a group that dedicated itself to sampling all the sushi that Houston had to offer. That's what started it all."
Simply explained, an unsatisfactory sushi meal was the catalyst. Today, the S.C.O.H. possesses more than 17,000 members.
Then, Tours to Japan Began.
In August of 2007, the S.C.O.H. possessed about 1,000 participants. During one dining event, a handful of eager members expressed an interest of visiting the land of Japan and sampling authentic, traditional sushi. Based on their enthusiasm, Carl Rosa developed an 8-day, basic tour to Japan. The entire experience was wonderful. Upon their return, members of the tour began sharing their experiences with other club members. Three months later, he found himself developing a second tour to Japan due to numerous positive references. As the S.C.O.H. began to grow, additional tours were added to the list. Due to the success of the tours (and enthusiasm from our members), he has not only hosted more than 60 tours to Japan, but was compelled to develop an entire website dedicated to the extreme interest from the public. Now, as of 2018, we provide tours to Japan throughout the year and offers complimentary travel advice/videos to thousands of people at www.Journey2Japan.com.
An authentic sushi dinner in Japan at Edokko Sushi.
After that, the Sushi Classes Began.
On December 13th, 2007, a handful of S.C.O.H. members asked Carl to host a few basic classes in how sushi is commonly made in restaurants. The demand for sushi classes within the club continued to grow. In 2008, while Carl Rosa was hosting a tour in Japan, he received a call from Groupon.com.
"Groupon told me that no one was hosting sushi classes in Houston and asked me to consider working with them," said Carl. "Two months later, the Groupon.com sushi classes began."
As of 2018, Carl Rosa's sushi classes have expanded to five U.S. cities - Houston, Austin, Denver, Colorado Springs and Atlanta. Due to the demand in sushi classes, a website was formed to accommodate the interest and schedules: www.exploresushi.com.
In the kitchen of a sushi restaurant in Houston, during our events.
Soon After, Sushi 201 and In-Home Classes Started.
After three years of Sushi 101 classes for S.C.O.H. members, we began receiving requests for private, in-home classes as well as secondary classes which provides a higher level of sushi learning (advanced techniques). To accommodate the demand, a Sushi 201 course and In-Home classes (for private residences) were developed. Today, Carl provides more than 50 events per year which are primarily dedicated to advanced sushi learning, public demonstrations, exhibitions and classes at private residences.
Our sushi 101 class, conducted at a private residence.
The S.C.O.H. offers so much to our members - dining events, sushi 101 and 201 classes, sake tastings and tours to Japan. We've grown to more than 17,000 members in 10 years for one reason - we listen to the members and act on their recommendations. If you have any questions about our organization, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.
If you're interested in joining our organization, please click here.
A sushi dinner in Narita, Japan.
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