“Sushi Night,” which was organized by the Culinary Club, took place on March 3 in the Student Activities Center Ballroom B. Students who were attracted by this special sushi-making event lined up outside the ballroom before 8:30 pm.

Table numbers were limited, and some students brushed past the “Sushi Night.” Melissa Terrill, junior psychology major and co-sponsor of this event, enthusiastically guided students into the room.

There were several tables in Ballroom B and the room was already filled with participants and volunteers before the event really began. It was exciting to discover that the attention-grabbing sushi, appetizers and drinks were tidily put on both sides of the long tables and students were discussing their sushi making ideas around the tables. They could not wait to make their own sushi and bring their team-made sushi to compete against each other.

The event began before 9 p.m. and the pop songs which came out from the sound boxes heated up the air. Students began with appetizers before moving on to the main theme. Sanhoo Han, a junior from Korea majoring in applied math and statistics, said that there are some differences between Korean sushi and the sushi that is provided at campus dining halls. Sanhoo often eats sushi in Korea but he has never made sushi by himself before. He mentioned his favorite, mustard shrimp sushi, a lot. He said, “The sushi is more diverse in Korea.” He went to make sushi after the interview with his friend.

Students were excitedly making sushi with crab sticks, crab roe, dried seaweed, white rice and cucumbers. First, they unfolded bamboo pads and put dried seaweed on the pads. Second, they patted a little white rice on the top of the seaweed. According to their own tastes, participants added different ingredients into the roll.

The climax came after students made and had their own sushi rolls. Table competition encouraged students’ interest and they made team sushi with weird ingredients which had been prepared by the Culinary Club. The competition rules are: 1. Must use every ingredient on the plate. 2. Must give the sushi rolls names. 3. Sushi rolls are judged on creativity, taste and presentation. 4. The team with the highest score gets to be served first.

Jithin John, senior biology major and participant of this event, collaborated with his team members and made a creative sushi called “Lotus Roll.” The “Lotus Roll” was dissimilar to other regular sushi rolls; it was made of bizarre ingredients, such as cream and Doritos.

Different tables brought their creative sushi rolls to judges. “Drunk Roll,” “Lotus Roll,” “Snow Day,” “Bonsai” and many other creative sushi rolls tested judges’ taste buds. “Drunk Roll” won the first prize at last. Team members celebrated their success then.

Even though “Lotus Roll” failed to win the first prize, Jithin was proud of their great progress and he thought “Lotus Roll” could be the best. Jithin also said that he likes shrimp sushi and if he could try to make another type of dish, it would be Thai food.

Melissa, one of the cosponsors in this event, said she had not made sushi rolls at home before; however, she would like to experience the sushi making process in the future. She learned something from organizing this big sushi event and she said, “I know how to organize with a big amount of people and make sure everyone gets what they deserve.”