"This is the closest place to heaven"-said Frenchman Joel Houbhorn, 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, and he is called "the God of Sushi".
In 2008, this restaurant won a three-star Michelin 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 65,438+00 seats three stars. The jury's answer is: "You will know that Erlang's restaurant can't be given to 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 comes to the store early every day. He will try all the ingredients himself. Anything that is not delicious can't be listed on the list.
Every day, sushi restaurants in Jiro Ono will arrange their guests' seats in advance and adjust the diners' positions according to their age, gender and status. In this way, when providing sushi, 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 looked serious and focused, and time and space seemed frozen. Everything is full of sacred sense of ceremony, which makes many customers who eat in the store feel nervous.
Jiro Ono's technique of pinching sushi is like running water, full of rhythm, crisp and neat, and his fingers are like dancing. Sushi seems to have an aura when it passes Jiro's hand. Some customers say you can even feel 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 moment is close to human body temperature, and the taste is the best. Jiro Ono thinks that sushi should not be kept for more than three seconds, because it will change the temperature of sushi and affect the taste.
Therefore, eating here also requires concentration and meticulousness. Because of the fast serving speed and short meal time, customers only have about 30 minutes to eat a meal.
In 2003, Jiro Ono developed his own unique serving program, and he designed the best taste order of sushi: the first action is classic sushi, such as salmon and flounder; Then there is the second movement "Improvisation", which puts food on seasonal seafood, such as golden needle fish and octopus; The last movement 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 management rules, which 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, bow at the door and send the customer away.
It is Jiro Ono's happiest thing to see the satisfied expression of customers after eating delicious food.
Unique products and perfect dining experience come from Jiro Ono's extreme pursuit of details.
Jiro Ono pays great attention to details and strives for perfection in all aspects. Including the setting of tableware and tea sets at the front desk, there are 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?
In fact, 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 problem, now, Ichiro's eldest son rides a bike to Tsukiji market to buy fresh ingredients every morning.
The seafood merchants who cooperate with Erlang 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 eel only sell sea eel.
"There are only about three kilograms of wild shrimp in the whole market every day, and I will leave them 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 big 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 perfect sushi in Jiro Ono.
Paying attention to detail 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 idea of good products since he was a child. This is the craftsman spirit that people praise today: "A good carpenter will use the best boards on the back of the wardrobe."
This idea of insisting on perfection in detail made Jobs insist on pursuing perfection in Apple's product design: trying the best accessories, pursuing beautiful design and amazing functions.
What's more admirable is that he still pursues perfection where people can't see him. When the iPhone is turned on, mobile phone users will be impressed by the exquisite wiring design and layout inside-even in the "back of the closet" that no one has ever seen, Apple always presents unparalleled beauty and exquisiteness.
Jobs once said that the iPhone will not be surpassed in five years. That's true. This is not to say that he is arrogant. The reason why the 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 in doing things like Jiro and Jobs, it will be difficult to succeed.
In order to provide customers with the best sushi, in addition to pursuing the ultimate details, Jiro Ono has been pursuing perfection, constantly improving sushi skills 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 chef is 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 continuously rubs the octopus in a specific basin 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 trying to improve my craft, this is what he taught me. " Zhen, the eldest son, said.
You should not only pursue 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, which will burn his hands at first. This kind of training is very hard. But this is a basic course that every apprentice must pass.
If you don't learn to twist the towel, you can't touch the fish; Then, learn to use a knife and 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 things up. They kept saying' no, not good enough'. "
After ten years of basic training, an apprentice is finally qualified to cook fried eggs, but he still can't meet the standards of masters. It took him another four months to cook more than 200 failed eggs, and finally he made the first qualified finished product.
When Jiro Ono said, "This is what fried eggs should look like" and finally called the 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 hard work.
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.
A score of 80 may be related to money, but a score of 100 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. For 75 years in a row, he devoted himself to sushi and only made 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 do it. 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 am 93 years old, and I want to pinch sushi with these hands until I am 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, he is 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, another Japanese "God of Tempura", Saotome Zhezai, expressed it more clearly.
From the age of 14, at the age of 70, he still sticks to the front line. He has stood 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 their souls into sushi and integrate it with sushi.
In summing up his success, Jiro Ono said to his apprentice: