"This is the closest place to heaven"-said the Frenchman Joel Houbuhun, a Michelin-starred chef known as a genius chef.
The name of this shop is "Jiro Jiro". Many people may not be familiar with this name, but when it comes to his chef, everyone may know that he is Jiro Ono, known as the "God of Sushi".
In 2008, this restaurant won the Michelin three-star honor. At this time, Jiro Ono was 82 years old and became the oldest Samsung chef in Michelin history.
At that time, some people protested that Michelin gave a restaurant with only 10 seats three stars. The jury replied, "You know that Jiro's restaurant can't give other stars, only Samsung deserves him", and said that for this store-"it is worth arranging a special trip abroad".
How did Jiro Ono do all this?
In the documentary "The God of Sushi", we found the answer, that is, concentration, perfection and Jiro Ono's love for sushi.
In this article, we will take you to explore four secrets of Jiro Ono's success.
Jiro Ono arrives at the store early every day and will personally try all the ingredients. Anything that is not delicious must not be listed.
Sushi shops in Jiro Ono arrange the seating of guests in advance every day, and adjust their positions according to the age, gender and status of the diners. In this way, when sushi is served, the chef behind can remember the order of men and women, thus squeezing out sushi with different food intake. "This will not disturb the rhythm of eating sushi." Jiro Ono said.
Jiro will stand at the sushi table and personally pinch sushi for each guest. At work, Jiro Ono looks serious and focused, and time and space seem to be frozen. Everything is full of sacred sense of ceremony, so that many customers who eat in the store will feel nervous.
Jiro Ono's technique of pinching sushi is like flowing water, full of rhythm, crisp and neat, and his fingers are dancing. Sushi seems to have aura when it passes through Jiro's hand. Some customers say that you can even feel the sushi breathing.
After sushi is cooked, men will run to serve it.
Because the prepared sushi must be enjoyed immediately, the temperature of sushi at this time is close to the human body temperature, and the taste is the best. Jiro Ono thinks that the storage time of sushi should not exceed three seconds, because it will change the temperature of sushi and affect the taste.
Therefore, eating here also requires concentration and meticulousness. Because the serving speed is fast and the meal time is short, the time for customers to eat a meal is only about 30 minutes.
In 2003, Jiro Ono made his own unique serving procedure, and he designed the best taste order of sushi: the first movement is classic sushi, such as salmon and flounder; Then there is the second movement "improvisation", which puts food on seasonal seafood, such as needlefish and octopus; The last action is some traditional dishes, such as eel and fried cake. Sushi flows like music, and every bite can taste Jiro's philosophy of life.
These business rules that sound so touching to customers and melt into Jiro's blood make him a "sushi god".
Every time a customer has finished eating, Jiro Ono and his eldest son Yizhen will bow at the door and send the customer away.
It is Jiro Ono's happiest thing to see customers' satisfied expressions after eating delicious food.
Unique products and perfect dining experience come from Jiro Xiao Ye's extreme pursuit of details.
Jiro Ono pays great attention to details and strives for perfection in all aspects. Including the placement of tableware at the front desk, tea sets have strict requirements, even including seasoning boxes, side dishes boxes, knives and round fans that guests can't see.
Mustard is only selected from wild wasabi in Izu Peninsula, and a certain amount is ground with a certain intensity and speed.
The side dish box is specially customized, with a bamboo bottom and high-grade luxury.
The sour and spicy taste of pickled ginger slices should be round, soft and refreshing.
Ceramic tableware was made by famous artists, and Jiro Ono himself participated in the design.
The curtains outside will also be changed regularly according to the season.
What's the hardest thing about making sushi?
Actually, it's not the kneading at the front desk, but the preparation of ingredients.
Jiro Ono said that when the ingredients are ready, sushi is 95% complete.
Before the age of 70, Jiro Ono personally went to Tsukiji Market near Ginza to select ingredients. Later, because of his heart, now, Shinjiro's eldest son goes to Tsukiji market by bike every morning to buy fresh ingredients.
The seafood merchants who cooperate with Jiro's sushi restaurant are experts who only sell a single ingredient-those who sell shrimp only sell shrimp, those who sell octopus only sell octopus, and those who sell sea eels only sell sea eels.
"The whole market only has about three pounds of wild shrimp every day, so I will leave it all to him." The boss who sells shrimp said.
"The best fish, only one. We sold it to him. " Yu Yu boss said.
The owner of the rice shop refused the order of the grand hotel and left him the best rice. He said that only Jiro Ono can cook the best rice.
Jiro only pays attention to quality when purchasing ingredients, regardless of price. It is no exaggeration to say that high-quality ingredients are the key to the perfection of Jiro Ono sushi.
Paying attention to details and pursuing perfection are the secrets of all successful people.
Just like Jobs, who is famous for his pursuit of perfection, the same is true.
Jobs was influenced by the concept of good products since he was a child, which is the craftsman spirit that is respected today: "A good carpenter will use the best boards on the back of the closet."
This idea of insisting on the perfection of details made Jobs insist on pursuing perfection in Apple's product design: trying the best accessories, pursuing beautiful design and amazing functions.
What is even more admirable is that he also pursues perfection in places that people can't see. When you turn on the iPhone, mobile phone users will be moved by the exquisite wiring design and layout inside-even behind the wardrobe that no one has ever seen, Apple has always presented unparalleled beauty and exquisiteness.
Jobs once said that the iPhone will not be surpassed for five years. That's true. This is not to say that he is arrogant. The reason why iPhone is unparalleled is that it can achieve the ultimate product. Such products are unprecedented and difficult to surpass.
If we all have the spirit of pursuing the ultimate like Jiro and Jobs, it will be difficult to succeed.
In order to provide customers with the best sushi, in addition to the pursuit of extreme details, Jiro Ono has been striving for perfection, constantly improving the skills of sushi, and striving to make more perfect works.
Jiro's master once told him that sushi has a long history and there is no room for improvement. But Jiro Ono doesn't think so. He feels that although the master's skills are skilled, there is always room for improvement in sushi.
In his later sushi career, he constantly improved and innovated, creating many dishes that were not available before.
Jiro Ono is constantly improving and upgrading the processing of ingredients.
For example, ordinary octopus sushi tastes as bad as rubber tires, but Jiro Ono has experienced a unique cooking process, which makes octopus sushi fresh and delicious.
This stems from his unique treatment method, which puts the octopus in a specific basin and rubs it continuously for 30 minutes, making the octopus soft and fragrant.
Jiro Ono said that although he has worked for decades, he has never been satisfied with his sushi, so he should continue to work hard.
"Look ahead and surpass yourself. Always strive to improve my craft, which he taught me. " The eldest son Zhen said:
You should not only strive for perfection, but also be strict with Jiro Ono, a disciple in the shop, and instill this spirit of pursuing perfection in them.
The apprentice in the shop must first learn to twist the towel by hand. The towel is very hot and will burn your hands at first. This kind of training is hard. But it is a basic course that every apprentice must take.
If you don't learn to twist the towel, you can't touch the fish; Then, learn to use a knife and learn to cook fish. It will be ten years before you can fry eggs.
Jiro Ono's apprentice, Jing Daole Nakazawa Tomohide, said, "I have been practicing frying eggs for a long time, thinking that I have no problem, but in fact, I always screw up. They kept saying' no, not good enough'. "
After ten years of basic training, an apprentice was finally qualified to cook fried eggs, but found that he still could not meet the standards of the masters. It took him another four months to cook more than 200 failed eggs and finally made the first qualified finished product.
When Jiro Ono said that "fried eggs should be like this" and finally called his apprentice a "worker", he cried with joy.
As an apprentice here, it usually takes 10~20 years to start, and it depends on the apprentice's own understanding and efforts.
After studying hard, Nakazawa Tomohide Jing Daole opened a sushi restaurant in New York State, which soon became the best and most difficult sushi restaurant in the United States.
Getting 80 points in one thing may be related to money, but getting 100 points must be related to enthusiasm.
Jiro Ono's love for sushi has reached an alarming level.
Jiro Ono starts at five o'clock and goes home at ten o'clock every day. He devoted himself to sushi for 75 years in a row, only making sushi in his hand.
"I love my job and I want to devote my life to it."
Jiro Ono only has sushi in his heart. Sushi is his whole life. He wants to keep doing it until he can't He thinks he can make better sushi.
Jiro Ono has been suffering from angina pectoris and thyroid cancer since he was 70 years old. If he were an ordinary person, he would have gone home to rest.
Jiro Ono said, "I'm 93 years old. I'm going to pinch sushi with these hands until I'm 100 years old."
His son said, "He won't retire, he will die on the sushi table."
Sushi is more than food to Jiro Ono. In his view, sushi is a work of art, just like a master of art, constantly improving and striving for perfection.
Jiro Ono's affection for Su Shi is not only his love, but also his spirit and soul, which is the artist's lofty pursuit of perfect art.
In Jiro Ono, Tetsuya Sato, another Japanese "God of Tempura", has a more explicit expression.
From 14 years old to 70 years old, I still stick to the first line. He has been standing in front of the frying pan for 56 years. In the photo album he gave to the guests, he wrote:
This is probably what Zhang Dai said in the Ming Dynasty: "Cover yourself and get into the Tao".
I think people go to sushi restaurants in Jiro Ono, not only to taste delicious food, but also to feel Jiro Ono's pursuit of the ultimate spirit-to inject soul into sushi and integrate it with sushi.
In summing up his success, Jiro Ono said to his apprentice: