National Hand Roll Day
Fresh, hand-rolled sushi, a delightful blend of flavors and textures — perfect for casual dining or special occasions.
Drive foot traffic and online orders to sushi restaurants and specialty food retailers by positioning hand rolls as a fresh, experiential dining moment worth celebrating in July.
- Behind-the-scenes hand-roll prep videos showcasing the craft and freshness
- DIY hand-roll kit promotions for home cooks with ingredient bundles and technique guides
- Chef spotlights featuring sushi masters and their signature hand-roll creations
- User-generated content campaigns: #MyHandRollStory featuring customer experiences at local sushi spots
Made with fresh fish (sashimi), seaweed wrappers, sauces, vegetables and warm vinegared rice, these hand rolls were introduced in Japan in the middle of the 20th century, but they took a bit longer to make their way to the US.
More than 40 years ago, Chef Nozawa of the Sushi Nozawa Group, was responsible for bringing this unique hand roll to the United States and it has been gaining popularity ever since.
By 2014, Kazunori: The Original Hand Roll Bar was opened by the Sushi Nozawa group in downtown Los Angeles, California. The founding of the restaurant was inspired by the belief that eating hand rolls is an experience that is special, worthy of having its own place. Since that time, several other expressions of this restaurant have been opened in the Los Angeles area as well as in New York.
Five years later, in 2019, the group decided to include a larger audience in their celebration of this special food by founding National Hand Roll Day. The event is scheduled to be celebrated on this day as a nod to Chef Nozawa, because it’s his birthday!
Enjoy Some Sushi Hand Rolls
Eating sushi is a delicious and healthy way to celebrate National Hand Roll Day! Those who are in the Los Angeles or New York areas can get involved with the day by heading over to one of the restaurants run by the Sushi Nozawa group. Others can find a sushi restaurant in their local area that features well-made, deliciously sourced hand rolls.
Try Making Hand Rolls
A fun culinary adventure that can be made in honor of National Hand Roll Day might be to get into the kitchen and experience making sushi, including hand rolls. Grab a recipe from a cookbook or from a trusted source online and go shopping for ingredients. Then, consider some of these tips for the kitchen that might make the hand roll experience better: Cut the nori seaweed sheets in half prior to usingBegin by placing the nori sheet in the hand, rough side upSpread the sushi rice and other toppings, place fish at an anglePull corners across, opposite each other to create the cone shape The ideal hand roll is eaten immediately after being made, so be sure to serve up those hand-crafted hand rolls right away!