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Reporter
Sushi is becoming an increasingly familiar sight on menus across T&T, but not everyone is ready to take the plunge. It is a hesitation that chef and Sushi Plug Ltd co-founder Jannix Joseph knows all too well.
“There is this stereotype that we have, and almost every single person who hasn’t tried sushi seems hesitant about it, because they assume that sushi is raw fish and they usually say they’re not eating anything raw,” he said.
Through his restaurant and passion for food, Joseph hopes to gradually change that narrative. It was what drove him to give away free sushi rolls during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the hope that more locals would give sushi a chance.
“During the pandemic, I would see some tweets on Twitter from people who never tried sushi, and I would message them privately and ask them if they were interested in receiving a free roll on me, just to try it, because I really don’t think people who live in Trinidad and Tobago should just stereotype food, and they should be allowed to try it,” he said.
From Switzerland to sushi entrepreneur
The 33-year-old Arima resident studied culinary arts in Switzerland and interned at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. However, the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic eventually led him back to T&T.
“I came back on the last flight I believe back into T&T before the borders were closed for the COVID-19 pandemic. Back then, nowhere was hiring and everywhere was kind of just closed, restaurants weren’t allowed to function. My initial plan was to go back to the States or to go to Sweden to work, but I couldn’t because the borders were closed. So, in order to just sustain myself while I was here, I just decided to do my own thing,” he recalled.
That decision eventually gave birth to Sushi Plug, which began as Quarantine Sushi after a friend developed a craving for the Japanese dish.
“A friend of mine decided that they wanted sushi, and sushi is not very small, so I had to make a batch. And I asked around on social media if anybody wanted it, and I got a few orders. After that happened, I just thought it would be a good idea to continue. So, two friends of mine partnered with me to do quarantine sushi delivery,” Joseph said.
From there, the business began to take off.
A friend’s craving becomes a bestseller
Interestingly, one of Sushi Plug’s best-selling rolls, the Tiff Roll, was born not from a formal menu-development process, but from a friend’s craving.
“One of my very good friends loved a popular sushi restaurant’s rolls and she wanted to emulate or get something close to it. She wanted cream cheese, kani crab, shrimp tempura, and she wanted it deep fried with a bunch of tempura flakes, and three different sauces. So, we obliged of course. And for some reason, that has been our magnum opus, our top seller for years now,” he said.
That willingness to create sushi around customers’ tastes is something Sushi Plug takes pride in, and it has led to some of the restaurant’s more unconventional creations.
Around two years ago, Joseph decided to try something particularly unusual: a sushi hot dog.
“My social media pages are flooded with sushi ideas, like people would make sushi pizzas, sushi burritos, sushi burgers. A lot of things were sent to me too from friends and customers, and one of them was a sushi hotdog. I was a bit reluctant, but after constant requests I said okay, if I am going to do it, we are going to do it our way,” he recalled.
Joseph’s take on the sushi hot dog concept became the Overload, a dish he described as an entire sushi roll coated in tempura batter and panko flakes, cut down the side like a hot dog, stuffed with kani crab salad and topped with shrimp tempura.
The creation quickly attracted attention on social media and became a customer favourite.
“We get a people who see it on the socials or saw a friend who purchased it about how big it is, so they would come requesting that, sometimes a little bigger or a little more exotic,” he said.
Putting a Trini spin on sushi
But Sushi Plug’s approach goes beyond unconventional creations. While the business offers regular sushi rolls, rice bowls and steak bowls, Joseph said the team always looks for ways to incorporate flavours familiar to Trinbagonians.
“I would put chadon beni on top of some of the rolls, I would use pineapple, sometimes plantain. We have a bake and shark roll that does really well. So, I like to play on things that Trinis would be accustomed to. So, once you see it, you would gravitate towards it,” he explained.
The approach is perhaps ironic, as Joseph has a shrimp and crab allergy. However, he said this has not stopped him from working with seafood. Instead, it has made him particularly conscious of the need to ensure his kitchen team takes care when accommodating customers with seafood allergies.
Growing the business
Since opening its storefront in Arouca in 2024, Sushi Plug has moved its operations to The Palms Hotel in Arouca, allowing the business to accommodate a growing clientele and customers’ requests for seating.
For Joseph, the goal is to keep growing while making good sushi more accessible to diners across T&T.
“I want this business to be able to stand next to some of the higher-end sushi places in Trinidad and Tobago. I just want to produce as much good food as I can to as many people as I can. Whether that means opening another branch to get some clients from south, because people come from south to get us right now, or maybe further west. I just want to make it convenient for people to get good food,” he said.
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