Silla Bjerrum is a restaurateur and Chef best known for her expertise in sushi.

Early life and career

Born in Denmark, Bjerrum's interest in

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

began during childhood holidays by the sea. After studying

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, Bjerrum's introduction to Japanese food came in 1994 while studying for a master's degree in sociology at London Goldsmiths college, when she took a job at the Canary Wharf branch of Japanese restaurant Nippon Tuk. It was here that she first tasted sushi and began to pick up the skills required for its preparation, noting its similarities to

Danish cuisine Danish cuisine ( da, det danske køkken) originated from the peasant population's own local produce and was enhanced by cooking techniques developed in the late 19th century and the wider availability of goods during and after the Industrial Rev ...

, where raw fish is a common ingredient. Her boss at Nippon Tuk was Jeremy Rose, the restaurant entrepreneur who would become her co-founder at Feng Sushi. Bjerrum left Nippon Tuk to work for Birley's, the sandwich chain owned by the

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

Robin Birley Robin Birley may refer to: * Robin Birley (archaeologist) (1935–2018), English archaeologist * Robin Birley (businessman) Robin Marcus Birley (born 19 February 1958) is an English businessman, entrepreneur and political donor. He is the son of ...

. While working for Birley, Bjerrum was approached by Jeremy Rose with a plan to start a New York-style delivery service in London, with Rose asking Bjerrum to set up the kitchen operation as executive chef. The service was launched as Feng Sushi in 1999, in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, London, and was the capital's first sushi delivery service. Bjerrum became Feng Sushi's managing director after Jeremy Rose stood down in 2008. She was a part-owner of the chain, with entrepreneur Luke Johnson the majority owner following his purchase of a 92.5% stake in 2010. Silla is no longer working for Feng Sushi.

Sustainable food sourcing

Bjerrum is a regular media commentator on

sustainable seafood Sustainable seafood is seafood that is caught or farmed in ways that consider the long-term vitality of harvested species and the well-being of the oceans, as well as the livelihoods of fisheries-dependent communities. It was first promoted throug ...

issues. Her interest in sustainability began after a trip to a Scottish

salmon farm The aquaculture of salmonids is the farming and harvesting of salmonids under controlled conditions for both commercial and recreational purposes. Salmonids (particularly salmon and rainbow trout), along with carp, and tilapia are the three most ...

, where she saw fish being kept in poor conditions. This incident prompted her to offer sustainably-farmed salmon on Feng Sushi's menu. Bjerrum has spoken of the difficulties and challenges of running a sustainably-sourced fish restaurant: "The problem is that it's a minefield and the more you get into it the more complicated it gets. Sustainability doesn't happen overnight but it will happen."

Teaching and adjudicating

In 2008 Bjerrum was the first woman to be invited to compete in the prestigious Seven Samurai Sushi Competition, an annual contest of acknowledged sushi masters from around the world. She was on the judging panel for the competition between 2003 and 2005.

Publication

Bjerrum is the author of
Simple Japanese
', published in 2007 by Quadrille Publishing.

Personal life

Bjerrum lives in London's

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

district, with her partner and two children. She lists visiting fish suppliers as her hobby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjerrum, Silla Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Danish restaurateurs Women restaurateurs Danish chefs Danish women chefs