It's still my happiest time when I'm eating.
— Nobu Matsuhisa
When I set up my first restaurant, I was so inspired by Wolfgang Puck, who is also based in L.A. and is now a good friend of mine, and the way he would engage with his customers and greet them personally.
Making sushi is an art, and experience is everything.
A different spice is the most interesting thing to me.
I am very lucky to consider many of my business associates friends. Some are closer than others, but I respect and value all of them.
Swimming keeps me fit and flexible, and it helps that I have a large pool at my house in Beverly Hills.
I like to keep healthy physically and mentally, too.
Los Angeles is my home - I have my wife and two daughters growing up there.
In my generation, there was no sushi school, no cooking school, so people have to learn from working.
In the morning and the end of every day, I thank that I'm alive.
My flight time is important to me; I actually prefer a longer flight to a short one. That way I have time to read a book, watch movies, and think about new dishes.
Many chefs are either technically or artistically better than me, but I know my food has soul.
My business partner Robert De Niro knows a lot about hotels; he opened the Greenwich Hotel in New York City.
I started cooking when I was 18 years old, and now I have restaurants all over the world.
It's not unusual for me to wake up in the middle of the night and not know where I am. I take sleep medication to deal with all the flights. But I find it helps to eat at the same time every day.
I can't imagine Japanese food without dashi, a broth made with kelp and dried bonito flakes. It has the aroma of the sea, tinged with a subtle smokiness, and adds a very important, distinct flavor.
Of course the Japanese and Peruvian fish are different, but it's the same Pacific Ocean. They are different, but I know fish.
My cooking is simply ingredients plus umami.
When I'm dining out privately, I tend to avoid fine-dining venues; I like things to feel casual.
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.
Peru was the Incas; it has 3,000 to 4,000 years of history.
I like Mercedes because my wife has been in two big accidents and emerged without a scratch, thanks to the safety of these cars.
If I am at home in L.A. on a Saturday or Sunday, I like to start the day with a hot bath and then do an hour of stretching.
In Japan, I have my own line of dinnerware, but I'm not aggressive about pursuing those projects.
I feel like I owe something to America, as it is where I found success.
People who make mistakes but try their best, other people will support. But people who make mistakes because they're lazy, nobody supports.
I learned from my first restaurant: Make customers happy, make sure the customer comes back again. And automatically, success has followed me.
I exercise every morning, no matter what. Sometimes it's tough to do right when you get off the plane, but after ten minutes you start sweating, and you always feel better.
I don't go out much.
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.
My favorite knife is from Miyakoya in Japan - I have one in each of my restaurants.
Businesses that run well are almost like marriages. Everything has to be up for discussion, or there will be real problems.
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.
I'm not perfect. I am not Iron Man.
I have a restaurant in Milan, and Paper Moon is five minutes away from my hotel, so I always go there for lunch. It's a casual place that serves good salad, pizza and pasta; the space is tight with tables close together, and it feels buzzy. Food comes out fast, too.
In Tokyo, we have more three-star Michelin restaurants than Paris.
People eat the chicken, people eat the beef, they still say, 'Don't kill the fish.'
Sushi is something very exclusive. It is not like a McDonald's, not like a hot dog, not like a French fry. It's very high-class cooking in Japan.
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.
Some hotels have a lot of mirrors, chairs, you can't find the plugs, the music is complicated. But the Nobu concept is beautiful, simple.
I travel all over the world, usually 10 months out of the year. I stay at a lot of hotels, and the ones I like best are clean and not complicated. You go to bed and say, 'Wow, I feel comfortable.'
Cooking and film are completely different - but I'd rather stay in the kitchen than be in movies.
Cooking is like fashion. Always, I like to try to change. If I'm traveling in a different country - to Australia, the Bahamas, Budapest, Moscow - and I see a new ingredient, I like to try it in a new dish.
I always eat a meal at home before I leave for the airport, so I only eat the soup and salad on the plane.
Eating a lot on the plane is not good for jet lag.
When I'm in L.A., I go to Spago because the chef is a friend of mine.
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.
I can live without a computer. My assistant checks my e-mails.
Dashi remains unfamiliar to most French and American cooks, who tend to reach for a bouillon cube to do many of the same things. But dashi is worth preparing and using the way the Japanese do: for poaching fish, as a soup base, and in simmered dishes.
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.
