Nobu Matsuhisa

Nobu Matsuhisa

Born

Nobuyuki Matsuhisa March 10, 1949 (1949-03-10) (age 62) Saitama, Japan

Current restaurant(s) Armani Milan (opened 2000) Matsuhisa – Aspen, Aspen, Colorado (opened 1998) Matsuhisa – Vail, Vail, Colorado (opened 2011) Matsuhisa Beverly Hills, California (opened 1987) Next Door Nobu, New York City (opened 1998) Nobu – Dallas (Opened 2006) – Hong Kong (opened on December 24, 2006) – Las Vegas (opened 1999) – Mexico City, (opened 2009) – London (opened 1997) – Los Angeles (Opening Soon) – Malibu (opened 1999) – Melbourne (Opened on August 16, 2007) – Miami Beach (opened 2001) – New York (opened 1994) – San Diego (Opened October 2007) – Tokyo (opened 1998) – Waikiki (Opened May 2007) – Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas (opened 2006) – Berkley, London (opened 2005) – Crescent Court, Dallas (opened 2005) – Fifty Seven, New York City (opened 2005) Ubon by Nobu, London (opened 2000)

Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa (松久 信幸 Matsuhisa Nobuyuki; born March 10, 1949) is a celebrity chef and restaurateur known for his fusion cuisine blending traditional Japanese dishes with South American (Peruvian and Argentine) ingredients. His signature dish is black cod in miso.

Biography

Nobu was born in Saitama, Japan. When he was just seven years old, his father died in a traffic accident and he and his two older brothers were raised by his mother. After graduating from high school, he worked at the restaurant Matsue Sushi in Shinjuku, Tokyo for seven years, and was invited by a regular customer who was a Peruvian entrepreneur of Japanese descent to open a Japanese restaurant in Peru. In 1973 at age 24, he moved to Peru (Lima) and opened a restaurant with the same name of Matsuei in partnership with his sponsor. Nobu was unable to find many of the ingredients he took for granted in Japan and had to improvise, and it was here that he developed his unique style of cuisine that incorporated Southern American ingredients into Japanese dishes.

After three years he and his sponsor parted ways over differences on the business direction, and he moved to Buenos Aires. He later moved to Alaska, USA and opened his own restaurant, which failed almost immediately due to a fire that destroyed the restaurant.

In 1977, he moved to Los Angeles and worked at Japanese restaurants "Mitsuwa" and "Oshou", and in 1987, he opened his own restaurant "Matsuhisa" on La Cienega Blvd. in Beverly Hills. The restaurant quickly became a hot spot and was frequented by Hollywood celebrities, including Robert De Niro, who invited Nobu to set up a restaurant in Tribeca, New York. In August 1993, the two opened up in partnership NOBU to critical^{[clarification needed]} acclaim. Nobu restaurants were later opened in Milan, London, Greece, Dallas, Tokyo, Honolulu, Moscow, Dubai and Budapest.

Nobu's friendship with De Niro landed him a role in the 1995 Martin Scorsese film Casino, as a wealthy businessman who was a guest at De Niro's casino. He also had small roles in Austin Powers: Goldmember, as well as Memoirs of a Geisha, where he played a kimono artist.

Matsuhisa restaurant in Aspen's historic Thomas Hynes House

Restaurants

The Matsuhisa Restaurants (in Beverly Hills, Aspen, Athens and Mykonos) are privately owned by the Matsuhisa family, while the Nobu Restaurants are co-owned by Nobu, Robert De Niro, Meir Teper and managing partner Richie Notar,.^[1] Nobu Matsuhisa also co-owns Nobu Hospitality with Robert De Niro and Meir Teper. In addition, Nobu Matsuhisa serves as the executive chef of Nobu Las Vegas, where he holds his Michelin Star.

In the United States:

• Matsuhisa Aspen
• Matsuhisa Beverly Hills

• Nobu Dallas
• Nobu Las Vegas
• Nobu Los Angeles
• Nobu Malibu
• Nobu Miami Beach
• Nobu New York
• Nobu Next Door (New York)
• Nobu Fifty Seven (New York)
• Nobu San Diego
• Nobu Honolulu

International Locations:

• Matsuhisa Athens
• Matsuhisa Mykonos

• Nobu Atlantis, Paradise Island The Bahamas
• Nobu Atlantis Dubai
• Nobu Intercontinental Hong Kong
• Nobu London
• Nobu Berkeley Street London
• Ubon by Nobu London
• Nobu Melbourne
• Nobu Perth
• Nobu Mexico City
• Nobu Milan
• Nobu Moscow
• Nobu Tokyo
• Nobu Cape Town
• Nobu Badrutt's Palace Hotel St.Moritz
• Nobu Budapest
• Nobu Beijing

Cruise Ships:

• Silk Road and The Sushi Bar. Crystal Symphony

^[2]

Awards

In June 2009, Matsuhisa was presented with an award from the Japan Society for his achievements in food culture.^[3]

Michelin One Star each for Nobu Las Vegas, Nobu London, and Nobu Berkeley Street London

Criticism

Nobu restaurants sell bluefin tuna, a species now internationally recognised as endangered.^[4][5] As a result from press and campaigning pressure, they offered to add a warning on their menu, however this was considered inadequate by conservationists to help the spiral of demand and market price that leads to overfishing.^[6][7][8]

Books

• Nobu West. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7407-6547-6. 
• Nobu: The Cookbook. 2001. ISBN 4-7700-2533-5. ^[9]
• Nobu Now. 2005. ISBN 0-307-23673-0. 
• Nobu Miami: The Party Cookbook. 2008. ISBN 978-4-7700-3080-1. ^[10]

References

1. ^ "Nobu". Myriad Restaurant Group. http://www.myriadrestaurantgroup.com/nobu/profile1.html. Retrieved April 28, 2011. 
2. ^ with Gene Sloan. "Crystal Symphony to get Nobu eateries. USA Today". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=44498316.blog. Retrieved April 28, 2011. 
3. ^ "Honoring Nobu Mastuhisa". Zagat.com. June 15, 2009. http://www.zagat.com/Blog/Detail.aspx?SNP=NNYC&SCID=40&BLGID=21483. 
4. ^ "Failure to act will push bluefin tuna fishery to extinction". Iucn.org. November 26, 2008. http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/marine/marine_news/?2343/Failure-to-act-will-push-bluefin-tuna-fishery-to-extinction-says-IUCN. Retrieved April 28, 2011. 
5. ^ "The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas". Iccat.int. November 9, 2010. http://www.iccat.int/en/assess.htm. Retrieved April 28, 2011. 
6. ^ "Greenpeace Article on Nobu". Greenpeace.org.uk. April 12, 2011. http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/oceans/just-say-nobu-20080907. Retrieved April 28, 2011. 
7. ^ "Robert De Niro's restaurant chain sells endangered tuna". The Daily Telegraph. UK. September 6, 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3351176/Robert-De-Niros-restaurant-chain-sells-endangered-tuna.html. Retrieved April 28, 2011. 
8. ^ "Bluefin tuna – with a guilt trip thrown in". The Independent. UK. May 27, 2009. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/bluefin-tuna-ndash-with-a-guilt-trip-thrown-in-1691214.html. Retrieved April 28, 2011. 
9. ^ "NobuThe Cookbook , Kodansha International". Kodansha-intl.com. July 19, 2001. http://www.kodansha-intl.com/books/html/en/9784770025333.html. Retrieved April 28, 2011. 
10. ^ "NOBU Miami , Kodansha International". Kodansha-intl.com. November 1, 2008. http://www.kodansha-intl.com/books/html/en/9784770030801.html. Retrieved April 28, 2011. 

External links

• Nobu West – Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
• Nobu Matushisa's official website
• Nobu Restaurants
• Nobu Matsuhisa at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Matsuhisa Nobu
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 10, 1949
Place of birth	Saitama, Japan
Date of death
Place of death