»feine adressen – finest« – Dresden 1 19

finest gourmet | 31 b
ben wir zusätzlich regionale Spezialitäten aus besten lokalen
Zutaten. Zum Beispiel gibt es nur in London die Dover Sole
mit schwarzen Bohnen.
Sie haben erst im vergangenen Jahr ein neues Nobu-Hotel
in Marbella eröffnet. Wie kam die Idee für die Hotels?
Die Hotels waren De Niros Idee. Viele Firmen möchten,
dass wir ein Restaurant in ihrem Hotel eröffnen. Nachdem
Robert sein eigenes Hotel in Greenwich aufmachte, fragte er
mich, warum wir nicht Nobu-Hotels erfinden? Ich ließ ein
Projekt-Team reisen, mit potenziellen Investoren sprechen
und das Konzept prüfen. Das fand Anklang und so eröffneten
wir mit dem Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas das erste Nobu-
Hotel. In der Hotelsparte passiert viel. Erst kürzlich haben
wir bekannt gegeben, 2020 in London am Portman Square
ein neues Haus aufzumachen.
Was sind Ihre Ziele für die nächsten Jahre?
Ich mache grundsätzlich keine Pläne. Noch nicht mal für
morgen. Denn ich versuche immer im Moment zu leben.
Vielleicht plane ich, heute Abend feiern zu gehen, aber das
wäre schon das Äußerste an Planung in meinem Leben. Ich
fühle mich zufrieden und möchte meinem Team und meinen
Gästen weltweit Freude bereiten. Das ist mein Ziel!
Vielen Dank für das Gespräch.
Interview with Nobu Matsuhisa,
the master of Japanese Peruvian cuisine.
When you started your career many years ago, did you think, that
one day Japanese food would be that popular?
I studied in Japan and moved to Peru at the age of 24. There were
only four Japanese restaurants there, which weren’t very popular,
but a lot of Japanese immigrants. They created traditional Japanese
food with Peruvian ingredients. That inspired me, to offer sushi
and sashimi in a more traditional way and combine the Japanese
techniques with Peruvian products: Nobu style food was born.
You were facing a lot of challenges in the early days of your career.
Your brand new restaurant burned down, only days after the grand
opening, with no fire insurance. How did you manage to continue?
Alaska is my worst memory. The fire started from an electric problem
and the entire restaurant burned down. I lost my business, my
money, my energy, my mind – and almost myself, as I was considering
suicide. I made it through with the help of my family. They
always supported me. Family is very important.
What did you learn from your business partner Robert de Niro?
He supports me, is my business partner and friend. Business partnerships
often mean financial investment, for more profit. But
Robert De Niro understands my philosophy, he values the best
products and locations. He also became a door opener: He travels
with me and takes me on interviews.
Sushi is a cuisine, which is focused on ingredients. How do you
maintain the level of quality on a global scale?
I travel ten months a year to see every location all over the world.
Each Nobu- or Matsuhisa restaurant is run by experienced chefs, who
work with me for at least 10-15 years, who know my philosophy and
how to create quality food. If you co-work for such a long time, you
become like family and grow together.
A huge challenge, since you run ten Matsuhisa- and 41 Nobu-
Restaurants all over the world…
I also employ corporate chefs, who travel and teach new dishes to
my teams. Through the internet we can communicate easily and
have at least one skype-conference per week.
Are your signature dishes similar all over the world?
Yes, they are produced in the exact same way all over the world.
But each country or city has additional, local products for local
dishes. For example: Only in London you can enjoy Dover Sole
with black beans.
Last year you opened a new Nobu-hotel in Marbella…
The hotels were De Niro’s idea. A lot of people ask us, to open a
restaurant in someone elses hotel. After Robert opened his Greenwich
hotel, he asked me: „Why don’t you open a Nobu-hotel?“ A
project team then travelled, talked to potential investors and checked
the concept. The first Nobu-hotel was Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
Recently, we have announced the opening of a new hotel in Portman
Square, London next year. Nobu-hotels keep it going.
What are your objectives for the next years?
I don’t plan, not even for tomorrow. I try to live in this moment.
Maybe my next objective is to party tonight, but that’s the most
planning I do. I feel comfortable with life and want to give happiness
to my team and guests. This is my main objective for today,
tomorrow, 2020 and further.
Thank you for the interview.
Gerhard Trinkl
Gerhard Trinkl ist der Betreiber des Portals
Lifestyle-Insider.com. Hier finden sich authentische
Insidertipps und persönliche Erfahrungsberichte
zu Hotels, Restaurants, Bars und
Weingütern von echten Menschen weltweit.