Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa (松久 信幸 Matsuhisa Nobuyuki; born^[1] 1949 in Saitama, Japan) 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, though his restaurants have become best known in recent years for serving endangered Bluefin Tuna despite strong pressure from conservation organisations and celebrities^[2][3][4].

[edit] Biography

Nobu was born in March 10, 1949 in Saitama, Japan. At age six his father died in a traffic accident and he and his two older brothers were raised by his mother. After graduating 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 and opened a restaurant with the same name of Matsue 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 Beunos Aires. He later moved to Alaska, USA and opened his own restaurant, which failed almost immediately due to 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 DeNiro, who invited Nobu to set up a restaurant in Tribeca, New York. In August of 1993, the two opened up in partnership "NOBU" to critical aclaim. Restaurants bearing the same name were later opened in Milan, London, Greece, Dallas, Tokyo, and Dubai.

Nobu had a role in the film Austin Powers in Goldmember, as the Japanese businessman, "Mr. Roboto." The character was a spoof of Teru Shimada's portrayal of Mr. Osato in You Only Live Twice.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Restaurants

The Matsuhisa Restaurants (in Beverly Hills, Aspen, and Mykonos) are privately owned by the Matsuhisa family, while the Nobu Restaurants are co-owned by Nobu with Robert De Niro and managing partner Richie Notar,^[5]). In addition, Nobu serves as the executive chef of Nobu Las Vegas.

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 Mexico City
• Nobu Milan
• Nobu Moscow
• Nobu Tokyo
• Nobu Cape Town

Cruise Ships:

• Silk Road and The Sushi Bar. Crystal Symphony

^[6]

[edit] Awards

In June 2009, Matsuhisa was presented with an award from the Japan Society for his achievements in food culture.^[7]

Michelin One Star for Nobu Las Vegas

[edit] Criticism

Nobu restaurants are selling bluefin tuna, a species now internationally recognised as endangered.^[8][9] 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.^[10][11][12]

[edit] Books

• Nobu West. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7407-6547-6. 
• Nobu: The Cookbook. 2001. ISBN 4-7700-2533-5.  [1]
• Nobu Now. 2005. ISBN 0-307-23673-0. 
• Nobu Miami: The Party Cookbook. 2008. ISBN 978-4-7700-3080-1. [2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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

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