Andy Matsuda became a master sushi chef just when sushi’s popularity began to take off around the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Up until that time, the palates of most Americans had not reached the point where they could fathom eating raw fish, no matter how fresh it was.
With the advent of fusion sushi cuisine, i.e. the California Roll, Western tastes became acclimated to sushi. Thirty years later, the traditional Japanese cuisine grew into an industry that grossed $2 billion in annual sales with sushi restaurants spreading to nearly every major city in the United States.