Carving Vegetables into Chinese Bellflower and Pine Trees

In this video, Oki, a sushi chef and vegetable sculptor based in Osaka, teaches us how to cut cucumbers for decoration.

The two things he teaches us are balloon flower (Chinese bellflower) and pine trees."
The Chinese bellflower (桔梗, "Kikyo" in Japanese) is shaped like a flower petal and can be topped with a variety of ingredients for a party or for entertaining guests.
The pine trees look gorgeous, so they go great with platters and sashimi.

Be sure to check out the awesome decorative cutting in the video!