Chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa

Born 1949 in Saitama, Japan. the son of a lumber merchant who died in a traffic accident when the future chef was just seven years old. He traces the beginnings of his professional ambition to the day his older brother took him to a sushi restaurant for the first time. Career : Nobuyuki Matsuhisa – known to the world simply as “Nobu” – is the acclaimed and highly influential chef proprietor of Nobu, Matsuhisa and Ubon restaurants all over the globe, from Beverly Hills to New York City, London to Tokyo, Aspen to Milan, Las Vegas to Miami Beach. After graduating from high school, Nobu found a live-in job at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo called Matsuei. When he was 24 years old, Nobu accepted an offer from one of his customers that took him to Lima, Peru to open a restaurant. The impact of his time in Peru cannot be overstated. Nobu began weaving Peruvian influences into his dishes – the beginnings of his signature style. After three years, irreconcilable differences over food cost led Nobu to part with his associates. After a brief stint in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nobu returned to Japan. Upon returning to Japan, he had an opportunity to open a restaurant in Alaska, which he took. Unfortunately the restaurant burned to the ground during one of his rare nights away from the restaurant. Broken but not beaten, and with debts to pay on his ruined Alaska enterprise, Nobu went to Los Angeles on the advice of a friend. He took a job at a sushi bar, working and using his income to make good on his commitments. No less than nine years later, after earning his way back to solvency, he opened his own restaurant Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills in 1987. It was here that his longtime friendship and business relationship with Robert De Niro began. It was at De Niro’s urging that they opened Nobu in New York City in 1994 with restaurateur Drew Nieporent. Like Matsuhisa, Nobu was a hit. Notable citations bestowed upon Nobu’s restaurants start with Matsuhisa chosen as one of the Top Ten Restaurant Destinations in the world by the New York Times (1993). Nobu was awarded Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation (1995) and Three Stars by Ruth Reichl of the New York Times (1995). Nobu Next Door was awarded Three Stars by Ruth Reichl of the New York Times (1998). Nobu London was awarded One Michelin Star (1997). Nobu Fifty Seven was awarded Three Stars by Frank Bruni of the New York Times (2005). Some of Nobu’s personal honors from the culinary community are America’s 10 Best New Chefs by Food and Wine Magazine (1989), Southern California's Rising Stars by Los Angeles Times Magazine (1998), induction into Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America by the James Beard Foundation (2002), and nomination for Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006). Nobu currently has 17 restaurants in 13 different cities around the world, with new openings in Waikiki, Melbourne, Los Angeles, and San Diego planned for 2007. Nobu is the author of four cookbooks: Nobu the cookbook (2001), Nobu Now (2005), Japanese Finger Food – nobu style (2006) (in Japanese only), and Nobu West (2006). Nobu resides in Beverly Hills with his wife while his two grown daughters now live in Tokyo. He travels the globe, visiting all of his restaurants and scouting new locations to conquer. Nobu with Robert De Niro