Serious Eats
Interview with Sushi Chef Nobu Matsuhisa
Fortune Small Business interviews sushi chef Nobu Matsuhisa who discusses how he got started in the sushi business and the trials and tribulations he's faced along the way to becoming a celebrated chef. Asked when he first knew he wanted to be a sushi chef, Matsuhisa replies:
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.
I recall walking through the sliding glass doors into this tiny restaurant and immediately feeling the energy of the place as the sushi chef yelled out, "Irasshai! Welcome!" It was a very open, brightly lit place that smelled like vinegar and soy, and I remember the chef calling the names of fish and food - "toro! gyoku!" - for each order. You know how kids dream of being soccer players or actors? Well, my dream was to be a sushi chef.
Read the rest of the interview to follow his path from Japan to Peru, to Argentina, to Alaska, to California, and ultimately to New York City after gaining Robert DeNiro as a business partner.