I get to the bottom of a fascinating riddle talking to Michiko Mathias. Why would she have long nails on her right hand and short nails on her left, and how would this relate to cooking? The answer comes down to a fiddle, a banjo and a mandolin. One of Michi’s skills is as a folk musician. Interviewing her for My Kitchen, she told me that she needs short nails to play the fiddle, and long nails to play the banjo, which also come in handy in her veggie sushi business, because she slices ginger using a mandolin, the nails holding the root firmly, protecting her fingertips from the fierce blade.
Tell me about your cooking. When Tanya set up Laporte’s, she told me she wanted to sell food not already available in Lewes, and as a joke, I said, “I’ll do you some sushi!” She jumped at the idea, so here I am making it for several Lewes outlets.  I’d made sushi for parties before, and it had gone down well, but I’d also worked in a sushi shop. I’ve been in Lewes for 25 years, but have also lived in Japan and Hawaii.
What is your cookery ethos? Natural ingredients. Nothing artificial. I had to start making my own pickled ginger because the commercial stuff is dyed pink. Unfortunately there is a contradiction in my cooking. I believe in using local ingredients, but since there won’t be rice fields in Sussex anytime soon, I have to import key ingredients, like Japanese rice and dried gourd.  
How do you make pickled ginger? You peel the skin off, ideally you need a good play on Radio 4 for this. With the mandolin, cut paper-thin slices into a bowl. Rinse in water. Finally cover with hot vinegar seasoned with sugar, and marinade at least overnight.
What do you feel about mass-produced sushi? It’s often terrible. The rice isn’t seasoned, and it’s pressed by machine, which squashes it. I’ve even seen it in a deep freeze at a wholesaler’s. Ideally, it should never even see the inside of a fridge.