Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, popularly known as Chef Nobu, has been wowing Doha’s culinary crowd with his fusion cuisine of traditional Japanese dishes blended with Peruvian ingredients – and we still can’t get enough. The renowned celebrity chef and restaurateur was back in town for a visit and FACT’s Anushay Taimur Khan caught up with the man himself at Nobu Doha to learn more about his epicurean life and skills…

Your cooking has been referred to as ‘new style’ Japanese which we now refer to as the Nobu Style food. What are the trademarks of your cooking that have led to this?
I started training when I was 18 and I started with the traditional Japanese food. After 6 and a half years of training, I went to Peru. That is where I was introduced to different spices and Peruvian cuisine. Basically, my style combines Japanese cooking inspired by the Peruvian delicacies. I even experimented on Peruvian food and added Japanese ingredients to make my dishes. That is basically the Nobu style of cooking.

Which is your favourite dish at your restaurants?
They’re all my kids, you can’t make me choose my kids!

Since your trademark is to incorporate various ingredients to Japanese dishes, how did you continue this for the Qatar market?
I like to make my food as pleasing to the local market as possible. So, we use a lot of saffron in our dishes here. Saffron is basically the spice of middle east so we made sure we incorporated that. Then, there are other foods that are made with rice and I substitute it with brown rice, especially for this market alone. Qatari people eat a lot of rice so we incorporated that. Similarly, we have something special for all the courses.

What difficulties have you encountered having restaurants in over 22 locations around the globe?
We have been managing pretty well because we have assigned corporate chefs, managers, bartenders and an entire team dedicated to all of our restaurants. As for me, I travel for nine months of the year to make sure I visit as many locations as possible. We either have events or launches so I can meet the team and communicate. We are so lucky to be able to have our team.

Do you source as much local produce as possible for each restaurant and does this have a big impact on the menu?
My concept is to use local products as much as possible but sometimes it is not enough for my menu. We import some special ingredients from Japan because Japanese food, especially sushi, need certain products. I personally like the local spices here for the sauce that I add to my food.
Your book, World of Nobu, is an introduction to the next generation of Nobu Chefs. What do you believe is the Nobu legacy that you have passed on to them?
So far, I have made six cookbooks and this is my last project. There are 71 chefs who are featured in this book who have given three to four of their own recipes so; this book has over 400 recipes! We want the customer to know our Nobu chef’s and therefore, we have their entire profile in this edition. Young chefs are always looking for a chance to make it big. So, this book is going to do just that. It is going to give my chef’s a chance to be out there. I am here today because a lot of people gave me a chance. I worked hard and now I am almost 70 and, I finally feel like I did it. I believe in these chefs and that they will work hard and somewhere down the lane they will come to me and say it, ‘Chef Nobu, I did it.” We are not using any publishers for this book and a part of the proceeds will be given to charity. This is like my last cookbook, it is my life’s work!
Tell us about the one memory that stands out for you during all these years?
The turning point of my life was when I was in Alaska, where I opened a restaurant which got burned down after 50 days. I spent a lot of my money on it and 50 days later, I didn’t have any restaurant. I didn’t even have insurance and I lost everything. That was a very low point in my life and it was my family that rescued me. It was the fact that I had children, a family, that gave me the motivation wake up every morning and work from scratch. Sometimes I feel like if I hadn’t experienced that, I would still be in Alaska at that restaurant. This experience taught me to be patient and appreciate what I have at the moment.

What is your advice for young chefs?
I always tell my chefs to make mistakes. Never be disheartened by your failure because these are the incidents that make you who you are. You should never forget the mistakes that you make and you should always learn from them. ✤

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