This is the story of Nobu Matsuhisa's incredible journey, from a childhood dream of becoming a sushi chef, to overcoming tragedy and achieving global culinary stardom.
For the second straight year, legendary sushi chef Nobu Matsuhisa will cater for the stars at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, adding to the legacy that has seen him befriend celebrities and open dozens of beloved restaurants. Despite his wild success, Matsuhisa's rise to success was anything but easy.Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, more fondly known as Nobu, was born to a family of architects in Saitama, Japan in 1949, meaning that his career was essentially already chosen for him at birth.
It was his father Shintaro's work that inspired one of this two childhood dreams. 'I'd like to go to another country like my father,' Matsuhisa said, recalling the time his father traveled to Palau to source lumber for his work. But the family suffered a tragedy when he was just 8-years-old, when his father died in a car crash. In an effort to lift his spirits, Matsuhisa's older brother took him out to sushi — which quickly turned into dream number two. 'Chef was in front of me, he make one by one. First bite and wow,' he recalled. Despite his family's disapproval, he dropped out of high school and at just 17-years-old took the steps to become a sushi apprentice. After years of work, one of his regulars asked him if he wanted to open his own restaurant in Peru, offering him the opportunity to live both of his dreams at the same time. At 24, Matsuhisa uprooted his life in Japan and took his new wife Yoko with him to Lima, where he further developed his style as a chef, incorporating Peruvian elements into his traditional Japanese dishes. 'After this experience, it opened my eyes,' he said. 'Cooking has to be more freedom.'He spent three years continuing to discover his style in Peru before the restaurant closed. Following short stints in Argentina and Tokyo, Matsuhisa — at this time a father of two — used his entire life savings to open his own shop in Anchorage, Alaska. Two weeks later, another tragedy. An electrical fire burned down his restaurant, leaving him with nowhere to tur
Celebrity Chef Sushi Nobu Matsuhisa Golden Globe Awards Restaurant
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