Operations manager Janine Guckes takes on the first order of the day herself. The customer knows what he wants – he orders a “Salmon Roll”, a “Maki Avocado” and a “Fried Ebi Roll”. Every dish is freshly prepared to order. With practiced hands, Janine Guckes processes avocado, rice, shrimp and fresh salmon into the typical rolls. The 34-year-old has been working in Japanese cuisine for two years and has already worked at the “Sushi 51” headquarters in Groß-Gerau. Since July 1, she has been managing the newly opened branch in Mainz.

To ensure the delivery of the Asian delicacies, “Sushi 51” relies on an Opel Rocks Electric. “It is the perfect fit for us and our offer,” says Janine Guckes. In addition to quality, freshness and craftsmanship, the restaurateurs focus on sustainability. Not only do they process hand-fished tuna from the Indian Ocean that has been awarded a Greenpeace award, as well as Danish salmon, which is farmed in recirculating systems without the use of medicines – the delivery is also 100 per cent locally emissions-free thanks to the smallest model in Opel’s line-up.

Sushi Guide

An essential ingredient is short-grain rice, which becomes sticky when cooked and holds the sushi together. A seasoning mixture of rice vinegar, salt and sugar gives it flavour. In addition, dried seaweed leaves (nori) are often used.

Maki
The classic is rolled on a bamboo mat. Rice is mixed with vegetables or fish and rolled up in a nori shell.

Inside-Out-Roll
Maki variation that has the rice roll on the outside and is decorated with sesame seeds or fish eggs.

Nigiri
The original form of sushi – a piece of raw fish served on a bed of rice.

Sashimi
Raw, sliced fish. Salmon and tuna are ideal. Served without rice.

Variations
Sushi also caters for vegetarians and is offered with white or black tempeh, spicy quinoa or peanuts and fried leeks.

Extras
The soy sauce (shoyu) for dipping, as well as the green spicy horseradish (wasabi) and pickled ginger are all popular.

The manager puts the rolls in compostable boxes, adds the side dishes such as soy sauce, wasabi and ginger – and the menu is ready for delivery. Janine Guckes puts the ordered food in a Styrofoam box on the passenger seat of the Opel Rocks Electric, gets behind the wheel and heads out.

Sushi on the Rocks

She can find the way to the delivery address even without a navigation system. “After two months I’ve got most of the routes down,” she says. “Sushi 51” delivers around 80 per cent of the orders that arrive at the Mainz branch within a maximum radius of five kilometres. The journey time is rarely longer than 10 minutes – though it can take longer in rush hour traffic. “I take turns with three other drivers,” says Janine Guckes. The introduction to the company vehicle with the Blitz was quick: “Just start it and accelerate. That’s all you need.“ You can drive the Rocks Electric from the age of 15 in Germany. The top speed is reached at 45 km/h.

“The Rocks is almost over-powered for our purposes,” says Janine Guckes with a laugh. Because like in many inner cities, only 30 km/h is permitted in Mainz. In this respect, the electric quadricycle has no problems keeping up with the flow of traffic. “And I get more admiring looks in my stylish Opel than many people who drive around in their luxury car,” she insists. The rolling billboard with the “Sushi 51” logo on the side doors that open in opposite directions is a real eye-catcher.

Rolling billboard

This is also one reason why the owners chose the Opel Rocks Electric, reveals Jörg Boberg, managing director of “Sushi 51”. “Before the opening, we had of course found out which customer group we could address in Mainz,” he says. As a university city, Mainz represents a young audience that is increasingly following a meatless or vegan diet, is environmentally conscious and values sustainability. “And we want to do justice to this not only with our range of food, but also with the way we deliver it.”

The Rocks Electric was not merely chosen because the company has a kind of natural affinity for Opel given that both are based in the same region. “We looked very closely at what was available on the market and what suited our ideas.” Most of what they saw was somewhere “between a souped-up bike and a confused car.” On the other hand, they immediately liked the Rocks: “It looks cute and is ideal for our purposes,” says Jörg Boberg.

“Ideal for our purposes“

The Mainz branch is open Tuesday to Sunday from 5 p.m. Last orders are taken at 9:45 p.m. Isn’t the electric vehicle’s maximum range of 75 kilometres sometimes challenging? “Not at all,” reports Janine Guckes, “we deliberately kept our delivery area quite small.” Especially since the 5.5 kWh battery can be charged from a normal household socket. Janine Guckes loves her compact company vehicle, which at 2.41 meters long and fits into the smallest parking space when making deliveries: “Our sushi taxi quickly became part of the family.”