To celebrate world language and culture week, Chef Raul, the head chef of Taher, hosted a sushi demonstration to showcase Japanese culture.

Raul made two rolls of sushi while giving a brief history of sushi and talking about his own experiences with making sushi. After Raul’s demonstration, a few students tried rolling sushi on their own. Sophomores Sadie Storie and Miles Del Ghingaro tried making sushi for the first time. After Lance Hoover’s first time at the sushi demonstration a few years ago, he decided to invest in a bamboo rolling mat and try it out himself. “I actually have tried. I have a little bamboo mat. It’s not usually successful, but you know it tastes good,” Hoover said.

In Chef Raul’s opinion, sushi quality has improved significantly in the U.S. in the past 25 years. While some people think the fish or other fillings are the most important, it is actually the rice. Japanese sushi experts spend years mastering the seasoning and cooking techniques of rice. Raul has trained under many sushi chefs, but the most skilled was a chef from Ecuador. Sushi began as a working class meal, but recently has shifted to a delicacy in many cultures. Raul has noticed the prices of seafood have drastically increased in the past year. “If you look at some of the high end fish right now like Chilean sea bass, which usually runs $19 per pound, which is expensive by the way, is now almost doubled,” Raul said.

Many students attended the demonstration to experience a taste of Japanese culture. Around the Twin Cities there are many places to get sushi ranging from grocery stores to all you can eat sushi. Some BSM favorites include Billy’s Sushi, Sushi Fix, and Takara Sushi. Hoover has attended sushi demonstrations in the past and attended again for the third time. Hoover enjoys eating sushi, and has even tried making it himself. “I just feel bad for the people that don’t like seafood, you know. That’s tough,” Hoover said.

Raul has been making sushi for about ten years and has trained under a variety of skilled chefs all around the twin cities. He is an expert in making sushi and his advice to beginners is to watch YouTube videos. “I wish I would have had YouTube 20 years ago because you can watch sushi rollers for hours. It is mesmerizing, how good and exact sushi experts are,” Raul said.