Traditional sushi chefs may lead you to believe there is a strict authentic way to create the food, but not all agree.
From California rolls to salmon nigiri, sushi comes in many forms.
About 50 students created tasty masterpieces out of rice, vegetables, nori (dried seaweed), seafood, chicken and tofu at the Otago University Students’ Association Clubs and Societies building in Dunedin.
Vincent Lu made his sushi by laying down a square piece of nori, which he used as a backdrop for a tree made of carrot sticks and rice leaves.
Is that sushi?
Mr Lu believed it was, as before the competition he and his friends got on Google and tried to find out how far they could stretch the definition.
He said one definition he found was anything made using a small ball of rice, which meant his landscape masterpiece still counted.
Ms Gibson said the pair had made sushi only once before.
"They turned out much better than we thought."
OJSA vice-president Amy Krammer said all the contestants were given the same ingredients, so there was very little point to judging based on flavour.
Instead the winners would be picked by how aesthetically pleasing and how creative their sushi was.
All students were welcome regardless of background or sushi-making experience.
The ingredients had been provided by Takeichi, a local Japanese restaurant, she said.
This year a few more people had joined, which included both club members and people who just wanted to try their hand at sushi.
The winners won vouchers for local restaurants as prizes.
