THE COOKBOOK NobuA Byword Nobu has an empire of nearly 40 restaurants and hotels with film star, Robert De Niro. Meet <strong>the</strong> man whose name and skills have made him a force to be reckoned with in Japanese cuisine. for Japanese Cuisine Words by Nick Curtis/The Times/The Interview PeopleI meet <strong>the</strong> world’s best-known Japanese chef, Nobu Matsuhisa, during his "Do I ever argue with Robert De Niro? Yes, it’s like a marriage." fleeting visit to Britain amid a typically jet-setting week. A compact, genial figure with cropped grey hair and smooth burnished skin, <strong>the</strong> 68-year-old has a punishing schedule supervising <strong>the</strong> global empire that he runs with his business partner Robert De Niro. It encompasses more than 30 restaurants and seven hotels serving a modern version of Japanese cuisine and hospitality to <strong>the</strong> rich and famous <strong>from</strong> Los Angeles to London, Beijing to Budapest, and Kuala Lumpur to Qatar. Some of <strong>the</strong> restaurants bear <strong>the</strong> chef’s surname, including <strong>the</strong> flagship he opened in 1987 in LA, but it’s as Nobu that he has become a one-man brand. “ I travel 10 months of <strong>the</strong> year,” he says. “ This week I went back to LA for one day, now London, <strong>the</strong>n Moscow. They are going to send us on a private jet. This is a good deal.” He sounds ridiculously pleased, like a simple sushi chef whose pursuit of perfection has paid off. Which, deep down, is possibly what he still is. From <strong>the</strong> outside, Nobu Hotel Shoreditch in east London looks like a spacebattleship, its roof terraces bristling like gun turrets, but inside, its all understated calm with blond wood predominating in <strong>the</strong> restaurant and spa. Matsuhisa’s suite has subdued lighting and lea<strong>the</strong>r furniture. At one point <strong>the</strong> lights mysteriously dim. “ Maybe time’s up,” he says. His visit is to mark <strong>the</strong> launch of a new spa and wellness centre at <strong>the</strong> hotel. Its signature treatment, Nobu Zen, will set visitors back up to £245. Matsuhisa, who has just put <strong>the</strong> new facility to <strong>the</strong> test, sweats <strong>the</strong> details of his own regimen. “After a flight, <strong>the</strong> body, <strong>the</strong> muscles, are tight, tired, so I do a lot of exercise — treadmill, swimming if <strong>the</strong>re is a pool. After <strong>the</strong> gym, it’s good to have a massage. I had a shiatsu massage in <strong>the</strong> spa. Now I’d like to go to bed for a couple of hours, but <strong>the</strong>y’re keeping me working.” A pile of cookbooks on <strong>the</strong> coffee table waits for his signature. After our chat, he is hosting dinner in Shoreditch for about a hundred people who have paid a tidy sum for <strong>the</strong> pleasure; <strong>the</strong> next night he is marking <strong>the</strong> 20th anniversary of his British flagship, Nobu Park Lane, with a party. There are eight more Nobu hotels in <strong>the</strong> pipeline in locations as diverse as Toronto, Riyadh, Sao Paulo and Bahrain, and more restaurants to come. “ Jet lag is tough,” he says. “ I used to take a sleeping pill, but I don’t take any drugs any more.” TM | <strong>Jan</strong>uary/february <strong>2018</strong> 90
THE COOKBOOK 91 january/february <strong>2018</strong> | TM