A Nobu tradition

Nobu Matsushisa started from humble beginnings and says his success is all about hard work. Photo / Supplied

An elephant may be an odd creature to find at a Japanese restaurant, but there is certainly one here, a rather large one, and I am doing my best to ignore it.

Of course it's not real. Sushi can sometimes push the culinary limits but sashimi of elephant flank is probably going a little too far.

This elephant, in the dining room of Melbourne's Nobu restaurant, is in fact a fish, the Atlantic blue fin tuna to be precise.

Fast heading on to the endangered species list, Atlantic blue fin tuna is a favourite ingredient among Japanese chefs. Nobu Matsushisa, perhaps the most famous of all, has steadfastly refused to take it off his menu, drawing criticism from many including the press, fellow celebrity chefs, Greenpeace and even the British fisheries minister Huw Irranca-Davies who called for a boycott of Matsushisa's Nobu restaurants in Britain.

Despite this outcry and outrage, Matsushisa's stance has not changed and his 22 Nobu restaurants, co owned with actor Robert De Niro, continue to serve the rare delicacy.

As instructed by Matsushisa's press agent I keep my mouth shut on the subject. Gutless, I know, but I don't want to risk ruining my chance to interview one of the world's best chefs and perhaps more importantly, someone who has appeared in an Austin Powers movie as well as being a close friend to De Niro.

He lets out a hearty laugh when I mention his movie career.

"When Bobby (De Niro) was working on Casino they needed someone to play a Japanese character and he suggested me. I told him I couldn't do this but, he got me a screen test and for some reason Martin Scorcese wanted me. It was fun, but not something I ever thought would happen again."

Nevertheless this first screen appearance led to roles in the original Austin Powers film and Memoirs of a Geisha.

But as Matsushisa would say himself he is a chef not an actor and food is where is passion lies.

"I cook with my heart. For me owning a restaurant is like being married to my customers. Everything I do is to make them happy."

This culinary love affair has seen him through tough times both personally and professionally.

Born in Saitama, Japan, Matsushisa was seven when his father died leaving his mother to raise the family on her own.

A trip with one of his elder brothers to a sushi restaurant ignited a fascination that couldn't be ignored and as soon as he finished high school he began working at a Tokyo sushi restaurant. There he honed his skills and developed quite a following including a Peruvian entrepreneur keen to open a sushi restaurant in Lima.

Matsushisa became a business partner and the ensuing three years sparked the creation of his signature style - an unlikely fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine. His sashimi tacos, yellowfin sushi with jalapenos and chargrilled Peruvian style rib eye have won him fans and imitators the world over.

Business differences led to the demise of that collaboration and following short periods in Argentina and back in Japan, Matsushisa landed in Alaska, of all places, where he set up shop on his own.

Why Alaska?

"A friend had told me there was a great opportunity there and there was - things were going really well until the fire," he recalls.

On a rare night away from the kitchen the restaurant burnt to the ground instantly leaving him jobless, homeless and in thousands of dollars of debt.

"People often say to me you were so unlucky, but I think of that (the fire) as my destiny. I was very unlucky but maybe I was lucky too - you never know. If my restaurant had never burned down then maybe I would still be in Alaska."

Nine hard years later, Nobu began again. In 1987 he opened Matsushisa, a small 28-seater in Beverly Hills, and watched in amazement as customers would line up outside the door waiting for a table.

"I worked so hard 18 or 19 hours a day but I didn't care. I did everything. I would go to the fish market every morning, cook and do the dishes and work, work, work. We didn't make any money for the first two years and my wife only complained once.

She said, Nobu we have zero money in the account. I said to her are we losing money? She said no and I said well that's fine then. As long as we as could pay our bills and get the best quality fish I didn't care."

Among his well-heeled Beverly Hills clientele was De Niro who lived across the street.

"Bobby was moving back to New York and he asked me whether I would be interested in setting up a restaurant there - I think mainly because he was going to miss my food," he laughs.

In 1994 Nobu New York was born and 16 years later the Nobu brand has been stamped firmly across the globe including a floating version on the Crystal Symphony cruise ship.

He spends his time travelling from one base to the other to ensure they meet his exacting standards.

He's not surprised by his success - he has worked very hard for it - and he is glad that he has helped to popularise sushi in the Western world.

"I am Japanese so I am very proud that sushi has become so famous, but people need to realise that sushi was never meant to be a fast food.

"The sushi you get at the supermarket might look like sushi but the quality is never great. It takes a long time to learn how to prepare.

"It's like learning the abc's - you can't take short cuts - so I worry the reputation of sushi might get bad unless there is some kind of regulation. I don't want people to misunderstand what sushi really is."

Currently there are no plans for a Nobu Auckland, but there are more restaurants in the pipeline.

"To me it is all about love. At the end of the day I just love watching people enjoying themselves at my restaurants, laughing, smiling and being surprised by the food and having a good time.

"That's why I keep doing it - I don't think I could ever give that up."

If only he could give up the blue fin tuna, then those diners he cares so much about could happily eat, guilt free.

www.noburestaurants.com/melbourne