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obert De Niro, Steven Spielberg, MikeMyers and illusionist David Blaine...Nobu Matsuhisa has them all eatingout ofthe palm ofhis hands.

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> Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, the man behind the iconic Japanese fusionrestaurants, tells Burgess Baria that one of the most importantingredients for success is a never-say-die attitude

how his sushi restaurant in Alaska went up insmoke just 5o days after its opening in ry77.

"fhe fire incident was particularlyharrowing," says Nobu during a recent visitto his Dubai restaurant.."I felt like ending mylife." He had put his culinary heart and soul -and all his savings - into the venture and wasdevastated to see it go up in flames.

Luckily a close friend - well-known chefHero Nishimura - helped him get back on hisfeet. Nobu worked hard and from the ashesrose a global chain ofrestaurants - ones that

The man behind Nobu has 30 restaurantson five continents, including one in Dubai atAtlantis, The Palm, and can now afford to smileat his success and loyal celebrity fan following.nls success ano royal celeDnty tan louowl

But the 64-year-old culinary legend verynearly gave it all up after he iencednearly gave lt all upseries ofchallengesnearry gave lt all up alter ne experlenceo aseries of challenges and setbacks at the start ofhis career. He still shudders when he describes

"rhe first jolt I received in my life was whenI lost my father in a motorcycle accidentwhen I was eight," says Nobu. "l would havebeen with him if he hadn't turned down myrequest to go out with him that afternoon."

The young Nobu wasn't interested instudying. He made up his mind to be a chefwhen he was 12 and went out to eat in Tokyowith his older brother Noburu. "We went to arestaurant on the outskirts ofTokyo for whatwould be my first sushi experience," he says.

"I still remember it. The doors slid openand the owner said, 'Irasshai!'which means'welcome', in Japanese. It was magical * theambience, the decor, the delicate fragrancesoffoods like toro, gyoku, vinegar and soy. Eachtaste of the exquisite sushi gave life to my

.. desire that day to become a sushi chef."

Small stepsBy his own admission, Nobu wasn't a modelstudent, so after graduating from high schoolin Saitama, Nobu moved to Tokyo to take hisfirst job at a restaurant called Matsuei.

It was owned by Tadayuki Nakame, arenowned chef in the area. "He was my first

' mentor," says Nobu. "I was the youngestapprentice. I washed dishes, delivered ordersand cleaned the tables. That was the way itwas. One had to patiently work their wayup, learning at the hands of their master foryears before they were permitted to workbehind a sushi bar."

Every morning, except on Sundays, Tadayukiwould take Nobu to the fish market. "I wouldcarry the fish basket and observe how he chosefish. A good chef must know his ingredientswell,'he would tell me. He taught me to touch,feel and smell any ingredient before includingit in a dish."

Nobu gpent three years watching Tadayukimal<e sushi. "The fine art of preparing sushi issomething that you watch and learn," he says."l got my chance to move up the ladder when asenior chef left. I still remember the day w}en Itook my place behind the sushi counter. I wouldhave liked to tell you that I was brimmingwith confidence, but actually I was tremblingbecause I was so nervous." Once he was able to

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and flavours. Hissuch as sashimi salad with

yellow tail sashimialapenos and squid pasta with lightsauce are served at all z5 Nobu and five

Matsuhisa restaurants.Earlier this year Nobu topped his culinary:cess by opening the first Nobu Hotel withsuccess by opening the first Nobu Hotel wi

business partner Robert De Niro. It's a r8r-business partner

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hospitality extravaganza at Caesar's Palace inLas Vegas - effectively a hotel within a hotel.

The acclaimed chef has garnished hiscareer with cameo roles in Casino, AustinPowers:Coldmember and Memoirs of Ceisha and has writtensix cookbooks. In an exclusive interview withFriday, Nobu talked about his early life, sushi andrubbing shoulders with Hollywood srars.

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get over his nerves, he settled dor,rrn and made aname for himself in Tokyo. Nobu set up a smallsushi outlet of his own and it was successful.Although he loved |apan, Nobu's dream was totake fapanese cuisine all over the world.

"The time to realise my first dream ofworking overseas came when a regularcustomer, Matsufuji, a gentleman who wasbased in Peru, asked me if I would like topartner with him in opening a sushi placein Lima," says Nobu.

Sensing a great opportunity, the youngchef, who had by then married his wife Yoko,sold his sushi business in Tokyo and movedto Lima in 1973. "So there I was, a z4-year-oldwith a 49 per cent stake in a sushi restaurantin a foreign country. It seemed my dreamswere taking off."

Creative substitutesthe style ofcreating signature dishes evolvedwhile Nobu was in Peru. "Since I was not ableto find several sushi ingredients in Lima, Iwas obligated to improvise by experimentingwith substitutes that were available locally.Fortunately, the basic sushi ingredient - freshfish - was in abundant supply."

Not a person to back down from a challenge,Nobu remembers how he got Peruvians to eata fish that was not very popular. "once, whileI was in the market, I iain6 across a variety ofeel - popular in Japanese cuisine but not a verypopuiar fish with Peruvians in those days. Iwas told it was fed to pets there, so I made up astory, saying that my pet dog was missing his

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eel meals terribly and a bit of that fish wouldrelieve his homesickness. The fishmongergave me a heap of eel. "For your dog," hesaid. "It's free!"

"out of the eel I made tempura and sushi,which were received very well by our customers- predominantly lapanese businessmen anddiplomats residing in Lima. Ihey now had ataste of home, but with a Peruvian twist." Itwas ahuge hit with customers who sooncame to his restaurant asking for the dish.

The business was a huge success, but soona friend suggested Nobu make a move toBuenos Aires, Argentina. After a short stint ata Japanese family restaurant, he returned toJapan where he worked in a local restaurant."For a sushi chef in Buenos Aires there wasn'tmuch to be done, as )apanese food wasn't sopopular in those days," he says.

It wasn't long before the travel bug bit himagain and that's when Nobu teamed up with abusinessman to set up the doomed restaurantin Anchorage, Alaska.

"It took ten months to build- But it ran onlyfor 5o days. on the midnight of Thanksgiving1977, an electrical accident sparked a ferociousfire that razed it. I lost everything. I had noinsurance cover and was now saddled with ahuge debt. I was on the verge of ending my

ort was oaer" a pldte of gushi ,T,T[:":'tif,T:"*ffflr,il"1#:]'^,that De Nino suggested we open ii.'i-N;b" was nor keen. "iwas nor

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life, but thoughts of my family - wife and twodaughters fumko and Yoshiko - kept me going."

Thankfully his friend Hero Nishimura helpedNobu by offering him a job in a sushi restaurantcalled Mitsuwa. Eventually he made enoughmoney to pay off his debts and saved enough tofollow his dream and start his own restaurant.

His dreambecame a reality in:.987 whenNobu and Yoko opened Matsuhisa in BeverlyHills. "It was our own and we had sevenemployees. Finally, I was able to create myideal cuisine," says Nobu.

Matsuhisa soon gained fame and wasfrequented by Hollywood celebrities includingRobert De Niro and Steven Spielberg.

"It was over a plate of sushi that

sure he was serious and I was wary."But De Niro was not willing to giveup. For four years he pursued Nobu

and tried to convince him to start a restaurantwith him. "Eventually I realised that a personwho was willing to wait for so long had to meanbusiness," Nobu says.

the duo opened the first Nobu restaurantin New York in 1994 and soon went on to openothers around the world. "But the Matsuhisain Beverly Hills remains the one closest tomy heart because that is where my fortunesturned," he says.

Nobu's famr\ is very important to him. onedaughter, Jumko, is a mother of a two-year-oldgirl and his other daughter, Yoshiko, is a fashiondesigner. He says he is most hrppy spendingtime with his family. "It is one of life's mostpristine moments" he says. But that's not tosay he doesn't like drama and action.

"one evening Mike Myers and StevenSpielberg were discussing Coldmember andI just happened to joke, 'Ifyou need a Japanesecharacter, Iet me know!'The next day, theycalled me for audition! I find it's always helpfulto maintain a sense of humour," he says.

Nobu has dabbled in movies, but foodremains his passion. "what I relish most iswhen a member of my staf{ who has workedwith passion and patience towards achievingtheir dream of owning a restaurant, walks upto me and says,'Nobu! I have done it!"'lI

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IryFrom being brokefollowing a blazeat his restaurant tobecoming a celebritychef: Nobu has builtan empire, but notwithout struggles