Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Longest California Roll-UC Berkeley students
sets world record
BERKELEY, Calif., USA -- About 500 students, amateur
sushi chefs at the University of California, Berkeley, assembled
a 330-foot (100 meters) California roll-setting the new world
record for the Longest
California Roll.
Photo: Cucumbers, surimi, and avacado
were rolled together with nori and rice / Photo by Kristi-San/Flickr
(enlarge
photo) Students used 200 pounds of rice, 80
pounds of avocado, 80 pounds of cucumber and 180 pounds of
fish, the latter donated by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
And in a nod to the school's scores of
vegetarians, the final 15 feet contained tofu instead of seafood.
Organisers lined up dozens of tables that
were manned by students and campus employees, creating a 100
metres of a California roll, complete with avocado, cucumber
and faux crab meat.
Members of the Japanese Graduate & Researchers
Society dressed as ninjas started the giant project. The first
table to begin rolling all the ingredients together was staffed
by members of the Japanese Graduate & Researchers Society,
who dressed in ninja costumes largely assembled from thrift
stores.
The record results for the Longest
California Roll were verified by Japanese Consul General
Yasumasa Nagamine and recognized by the World Record Academy.
The stunt was part of a series of celebrations
for the 50th anniversary of the school's Center for Japanese
Studies.
The yearlong celebration ends in December
and will include a summit meeting of the heads of Japanese
studies departments from across the United States to discuss
the future of their field, professor Duncan Williams said.
Sponsored by Cal’s Center for Japanese
Studies and Cal Dining, the Longest
California Roll was one event in a day-long celebration
of Japanese cuisine.
The event relied upon donated ingredients
and funds from sponsors such as soy sauce producer Kikkoman,
the California Rice Commission and the California Avocado
Commission.
Students made the Longest California
Roll in honour of the 50th birthday of the department,
surpassing the previous Guinness world record holder, a 300
feet (91.44 metres) California roll made in Hawaii in 2001. Related world records: Largest
meatball-world record set by Nonni's Italian Eatery
