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The Great Gatsby
Hamlet

Nobu Matsuhisa Quotes

When I was 11 or 12 – a young boy in Japan – one of my older brothers took me to a sushi restaurant. I had never been to one, and it was very memorable. Back then, sushi was expensive and hard to come by, not like today, when there’s a sushi restaurant on every street corner and you can buy it in supermarkets.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

What I relish most is when a member of my staff, who has worked with passion and patience towards achieving their dream of owning a restaurant, walks up to me and says, ‘Nobu! I have done it!’

– Nobu Matsuhisa

Once I fell out of a tree and was hit by a motorbike. I still have the scar on my head now.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

With sushi, it is all about balance. Sometimes they cut the fish too thick, sometimes too thin. Often the rice is overcooked or undercooked. Not enough rice vinegar or too much.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

Making sushi is an art, and experience is everything.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

When I’m in L.A., I go to Spago because the chef is a friend of mine.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

Peru was the Incas; it has 3,000 to 4,000 years of history.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

A sushi chef has to spot the best-quality fresh fish instantly.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

Eating a lot on the plane is not good for jet lag.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

It’s true that cilantro has a strange, strong flavor. People seem to love it or not like it at all. Even I didn’t like it at first when I had it in Peru. But I got used to it – it’s hard not to in South America – and now I can’t live without it.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

The fine art of preparing sushi is something that you watch and learn.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

I eat soup noodles for comfort. In fact, noodles of any kind. It’s a food that is very easy to eat; it’s very soothing and comfortable, too. If I could choose any, I’d say buckwheat was my favourite: it has a very good flavour and is healthy, too.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

I enjoy people who have passion, whether it is as a musician or whatever they do. All people who have success keep it very basic. Try your best. But without passion, you will not have success.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

I remember watching steak being cooked on TV and wanting to try it. As a special treat, my mother cooked it for me, and I thought this would be the time I would eat with a knife and fork. Alas, I ate it with chopsticks!

– Nobu Matsuhisa

One of my great loves is golf. When I am in L.A., I like to play with a few close friends: no phones, no distractions, the great outdoors and the chance to bet some money to keep it interesting.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

You know how kids dream of being soccer players or actors? Well, my dream was to be a sushi chef.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

My business partner Robert De Niro knows a lot about hotels; he opened the Greenwich Hotel in New York City.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

I love big shrimp, like Japanese botan shrimp and the meaty ones from Santa Barbara, Calif. In classic Japanese cooking, shrimp like these would be dropped into a broth or boiled as served with sushi. But I think boiling dilutes their great flavor, and they are better when stir-fried.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

Have you ever been to Mexico City and haggled with the locals over souvenirs? Well, in Peru, you had to negotiate like that to get the freshest fish at the market.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

I cannot bring myself to wear the Nobu hats, or the Nobu T-shirts. But the chef’s jacket, that is mine. And when I wear it, I am very proud of myself.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

I want to always keep going. I don’t want to ever stop.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

Napa cabbage is very beautiful, all those long, pale leaves with ruffled edges.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

I grew up in the countryside in Saitama prefecture, north of Tokyo.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

Large fish such as tuna are shown already cut into fillets and bought by the block. Fillets should be almost transparent. Avoid tuna that looks rainbow-colored or black.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

One of my favorite ways to use cilantro is in a beautiful clear soup with monkfish and lime. It’s a great dish for cooler weather, especially because monkfish is very good in fall and winter. Also, I like the meatiness and rich texture of monkfish.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

Every morning when I woke up, my mother was already in the kitchen making breakfast. It was always the same: steamed rice, pickled vegetables, grilled fish and miso soup. Each day there was something different in the soup such as tofu or potatoes.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

One day, the people who work in my kitchen stir-fried chopped Napa cabbage to serve with some meat or fish for their own dinner. I got to thinking: ‘What if the cabbage was the most important thing on the plate?’

– Nobu Matsuhisa

I can live without a computer. My assistant checks my e-mails.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

I’m not perfect. I am not Iron Man.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

Shellfish is better to buy live. In the U.S., because we eat oysters and clams raw, it is very important that they are alive before we prepare them. It’s important to look for a closed shell. If a clam is alive, the shell will be closed. Never buy clams if the shell is open.

– Nobu Matsuhisa

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