Cookbook Profile: Nobu

Nobu: The Cookbook

by Nobu Matsuhisa

Nobu Matsuhisa should need little introduction. With his multinational and ever expanding empire of twelve restaurants in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Japan—others will be coming soon to Paris and Sydney—he has become the most talked-about restaurateur of recent years and arguably the world's greatest sushi chef.

This is the man, after all, who has lured legions of celebrities—regulars include Robert De Niro, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Barbara Streisand, Giorgio Armani, Demi Moore, Madonna...the list goes on—with his unique and original combination of the finest skills and ingredients of Japanese cuisine with an imaginative acceptance of Western, particularly South American, cooking.

Nobu: The Cookbook—his first book in any language—Nobu reveals the secrets to his food and indeed the essence of all Japanese cuisine: the art of using very simple techniques to bring out the latent flavors in the very best ingredients that the world's oceans have to offer.

He has presented fifty original recipes for fish and seafood that include all the signature dishes—Matsuhisa Shrimp, Live Octopus Tiradito, Squid Pasta, Black Cod (De Niro's favorite), New Style Sashimi and Sashimi Salad (Tom Cruise's favorite). There is a chapter dedicated to sushi where readers can learn how to make Nobu's own highly original Soft Shell Crab Roll, Salmon Skin Roll and House Special Roll. Eleven salad and vegetable dishes and four Nobu dessert recipes have been added so that anyone can recreate that exclusive Nobu dinner in their own kitchen. There is even a special chapter about alcoholic accompaniments.

Nobu: The Cookbook, however, is not just about food and cooking, it also introduces the story of Nobu's rich and varied life. It is the story of a boy from the country who became one of the most renowned chefs of his generation after working in Peru and Argentina and seeing his first restaurant in Alaska go up in flames before his eyes. It is the story of a Japanese man who was befriended by America's rich and famous and went into the restaurant business with De Niro in New York, and more recently, Giorgio Armani in Milan. His friends also appear in the book. There is a foreword by De Niro, an introduction by Martha Stewart and an afterword by Ken Takakura, the internationally renowned Japanese actor.

About the Author

Nobuyuki Matsuhisa was born in Saitama, Japan, and trained as a sushi chef in Tokyo. After running restaurants in Peru, Argentina, and Alaska, Nobu opened his first restaurant, Matsuhisa, in Beverly Hills in 1987. Six years later, Robert De Niro persuaded Nobu to open NOBU in New York. There are now twelve Nobu restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, Malibu, Apsen, Las Vegas, London, Milan and Tokyo.

Nobu: The Cookbook
by Nobuyuki Matsuhisa
Translated by Laura Holland
Photographs by Fumihiko Watanabe
Hardcover, 200 pages, $37.00
ISBN: 4-7700-2533-5

Buy Nobu: The Cookbook