We can only critique sushi restaurants for so long before we have to try our hand at making rolls ourselves. That’s exactly what we did at the Kierland Sur La Table Handroll Sushi Making Class. Carter and Ashley agree–making sushi is not easy. It is an ART! An art that – not only have we not mastered – we’re sort of in the Pre-K art class just learning our way. The class, however, was phenomenal despite our inability to make pretty sushi. We will admit though, there were some genius sushi artists around us who seemed to know a thing or two about it all and Sur La Table’s chef guided the way, but nothing can make up for our elementary knife skills, lack of patience, and desire to overstuff the hand rolls.

So we start. Ashley looks at all the ingredients. In her mind, she will buy all these ingredients and transform her own kitchen into a sushi making paradise. She will even make the homemade Japanese mayo that is key to the spicy tuna roll. Narrator: Ashley, indeed, never transforms her kitchen into a sushi making paradise. However. It is worth noting that this class inspired Ashley and Carter to buy a rice maker (amazing) and a little bamboo thing (technical term) to make some simplified rolls.

We get to work. The chef assumes we have basic competence to use sharp knives. Ashley quickly shares with Carter every risk averse knife tip she can dream up. Thankfully, the pair in front of Ashley and Carter know what they’re doing. Ashley and Carter focus on the green onions, avocado, and some of the carrots.

Boom. Sushi (CA rolls and veggie rolls!!) magically appear. It’s not ours… that’s our partners’ sushi across the table from us. We remain thankful for them. We decide to roll up sushi tacos and some rudimentary cavemen sushi, but then make something almost beautiful when the teacher-chef helps us.

Next up, is spicy tuna rolls. Our sushi partner team isn’t in the mood for tuna, so Carter and Ashley adopt the entire giant bowl and make so many rolls they literally can barely walk out of sushi class. (Yes, we eat as we cook… a lot).

Our spicy tuna becomes our baby. We take time to make it just right. We’re careful and this time – THIS TIME – we will have a sushi roll. Narrator: They did, in fact, create a sushi roll, but not one that the general public would likely want to purchase. It tasted amazing.

The class was really entertaining. There were a few people on dates there — it definitely is a great date idea. And there were some mother/daughter duos… plus us, a mother/son duo. Our sushi platter at the end wasn’t blog worthy, so a nice couple let us take a photo of theirs. Here’s the finished product – voila! Highly recommend the class.