93-year-old Japanese chef, winner of three Michelin stars, reveals the secret of the world's best sushi

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

You can get to his restaurant only by going down to the usual passage of the Tokyo subway, however, a sign always hangs on the door, informing that there are no seats, and there are no more than ten seats in the hall. This institution is a cult one. To get into the holy of holies, sometimes you need to sign up for a month. But those who are lucky enough to taste the sushi prepared by Jiro himself will remember this for a lifetime. It is no coincidence that this thin old man with an open smile, a wise look and golden hands received a Michelin star. It is believed that no one in the world of sushi cooks better than him.

Jiro Ono was born at the beginning of the last century into a happy family. My father made good money transporting people on boats. However, unexpectedly, the parent's business collapsed, the family became impoverished, and the nine-year-old boy was shown the door: they say go and earn a living yourself. The father drank himself to death, soon died and his son never saw him again.

- In order not to spend the night under the bridge, I went to work, - explains Jiro and adds with gratitude - but my parents did everything right. They made it clear to me that I have my own path. I tried to work my best and even endured the beatings of my boss knowing that there was no turning back. Modern parents often tell their children such nonsense: "If you don't succeed, you can always come back." This is totally wrong. With this attitude, only a loser can be raised. I still work with the same feeling that I had in childhood and adolescence. I try to make the sushi better every time than before and add something new.

At one point, young Jiro realized that more than anything in the world he adores sushi - and not only eat, but also do. He did them before the war, then he was sent to the front, and when he was demobilized, he returned to this occupation. Now the whole world knows about his talent.

- After the Second World War, all the chefs believed that nothing could be invented - that the art of making sushi, which has an ancient history, had already reached perfection. But it turned out that you can make sushi better and better. For example, how did we serve shrimp before? They boiled them and put them in the refrigerator. And when a guest came, they warmed up. It's not like that in my restaurant: we cook them at the moment when the guest arrives. Or take the preparation of an octopus: so that it is not rubbery, I massage it before cooking, and if I used to do it for 30 minutes, now it’s 40-50. This makes the octopus softer and more aromatic. And we serve it warm - again, this way it retains its aroma better, - says the master.

For many decades, day after day, Jiro has been making the same dishes over and over again, gradually improving them. All his sushi, on the one hand, are very simple, and on the other, they have a deep, rich, unique taste.

Jiro has two adult sons. The youngest, Takashi opened his own sushi restaurant and, as the saying goes, "went his own way." His father acted with him on the same principle as his parents once did with him - he sent him on a free voyage.

The eldest son, Yoshikazu, according to Japanese tradition, will inherit his father's business. He works with him at the Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant and is considered a very good cook. Everyone understands that no matter how energetic Jiro is, sooner or later he will leave this world, and then his place on the pedestal of the greatest sushi master should be taken by the eldest of his sons. However, fellow chefs say that it will be very difficult.

If Yoshikazu reaches the level of his father, or even makes sushi a little better than him, this will not be enough for him to be considered an unsurpassed master. But if he twice surpasses his great parent - then, perhaps, he will be considered the best - Jiro's authority is so great. However, the boss himself believes that if he suddenly leaves right now, his sons will cope.

Those who work with a master in a restaurant, he teaches for free, but on one condition: you need to be like 10 years in his students. But if you don’t become faint-hearted and don’t leave the race, you will gain the skills and abilities of a first-class chef. Not everyone decides to become his student: after all, ten years is a huge time, during which you can make a dizzying career in another job. And, alas, he has very few young students - not everyone can stand it.

In the kitchen at the Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant, everyone has one goal - to please the chef. Everyone dreams of hearing his verdict: "I liked it".

“The most difficult thing for me was learning how to make sushi with an egg,” recalls one of the chefs. “During the training, it seemed to me that I was good at it, but when it came down to it, it turned out that I was wrong. Every time they invariably told me: "Not good, not good." In three months, the chef rejected 200 of my dishes. And how happy I was when Jiro finally said: "Now everything is done as it should." And I cried …

The restaurant has three Michelin stars, and the fact that he received them is understandable: Jiro is not only a high-class chef, but also a very attentive psychologist: he makes sushi, taking into account the characteristics of each visitor: his gender, age, tastes and even his impressions from the first sushi eaten (facial expressions, gestures, etc.). Visitors and colleagues call Jiro's art itself real magic, poetry, deep philosophy.

The bill at Jiro's restaurant is not small (it is about $ 250-260), but visitors claim that it is worth it. The order itself can be modified by the chef in the process of work - depending on how the guests react to the food. They say there are no dissatisfied people here. It is also believed that with every piece of sushi eaten, the visitor absorbs the philosophy of Master Jiro.

Here are some tips for making sushi from Master Jiro:

1. To cook delicious food, you need to eat delicious food yourself. And develop a taste. Without good taste, you will never be a first-class cook. Ideally, you also need to have a very sensitive sense of smell.

2. When preparing sushi, they need to be squeezed as if you are holding a live little chicken in your hands and do not want to crush it.

3. Many people think that sushi should be cool. No, they must be at human body temperature when served.

4. Before you can win, you must first taste defeat. Only then will you achieve success and be able to fully appreciate it.

5. Do not be afraid to repeat the same thing and do not seek to complicate dishes. It is better to repeat something many times, improving your work - and then it will become unsurpassed and unique.

6. For sushi, always choose the freshest and highest quality products - only in this case the dish will have an excellent taste.

By the way, the Jiro restaurant is popular primarily among foreign gourmet tourists, while another attraction, Buddhist forest, breeds legends and scares tourists.