The North American Meat Institute (NAMI), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program, and the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI) in Louisiana recently joined forces to celebrate America’s love of beef and sushi with the final showdown of the 2020 Beefshi Battle.

The Beefshi Battle is a campaign and online contest created to promote and popularize "Beefshi," an innovative concept that takes its inspiration from sushi and features prepared beef products like bologna, summer sausage, corned beef, pastrami, roast beef and beef jerky as central ingredients in sushi. The contest has encouraged professional cooks and chefs to tap into their own flair as they develop new Beefshi rolls to share with the food industry and the public.

NAMI and NOCHI featured two chef finalists battling it out for the $1,000 prize. The winner of the 2020 battle was Dave Terrazas for his Come & Take It Roll.

“At NOCHI, we’re proud to promote innovation and our wide and continually growing community of chefs. We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate International Sushi Day than by spotlighting these chefs’ creative concepts,” NOCHI executive director Leah Sarris said.  “We have been so inspired by all of the delicious Beefshi rolls that have been created for the 2020 Beefshi Battle.”

Eric Mittenthal, vice president of sustainability of NAMI, said, “Beefshi embodies America’s love for beef and sushi. Contrary to popular belief, sushi does not mean raw seafood. The term refers to the vinegared rice that can be paired with many ingredients, including fish, vegetables or meat. We have loved seeing the innovations by the chefs who have entered the 2020 Beefshi Battle.”

Working with a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef, NAMI has developed 16 Beefshi recipes to introduce the concept and inspire both consumers and foodservice operators to develop their own Beefshi creations. The concept is brought to life – complete with recipes, how-to videos and nutrition facts – at www.Beefshi.com.