Jiro Ono
Jiro Ono was born in Japan in 1925. He is now 94 years old. He is the oldest three-star chef in the world and the protagonist of the documentary "The God of Sushi". His status in Japan is quite high, and his reputation as the number one sushi chef is spread all over the world.
Chinese name: Ono Jiro
Ethnicity: He nationality
Birthplace: Japan
Date of birth: 1925
Occupation: Chef
Main achievements: The oldest three-star chef in the world
Representative work: Sushi
Work attitude: Rigorous, self-disciplined, precise , Pursuit of perfection
Honor: the reputation of the best sushi chef
Personal experience
Jiro Ono, born in 1925, is the oldest Michelin three-star in the world A chef is a master among masters and a craftsman among craftsmen. Japan regards him as a national treasure. At the age of 94, he is still persistent in his sushi journey - this is Jiro Ono, the protagonist of the documentary "The God of Sushi".
Ono Jiro once said, "You must love your work, you must fall in love with your work. Even at my age, work has not yet reached the level of perfection. I will continue to climb. , trying to climb to the top, but no one knows where the top is." Such dedication, strictness, and pursuit of excellence have made a generation of masters.
Sukiyabashi Jiro
Ono Jiro’s sushi restaurant located in the basement of the Ginza office building: Sukiyabashi Jiro is world-famous, and many gourmets from all over the world come here. For more than fifty years of sushi skills, the "first person to taste sushi". From the outside it looks very plain, even a little shabby. A small shop with only ten seats behind a wooden fence, although their restaurant only has ten seats, and the toilet is even outside. Although it is necessary to reserve a month in advance, a meal takes 15 minutes, and the per capita consumption is hundreds of dollars (minimum consumption is 30,000 yen) ), people who have eaten it will still sigh that this is "sushi worth waiting for a lifetime."
There are only two three-star sushi bars in Japan, and this is one of them. There is no regular menu in the store, only the chef's customized dishes (Omakase) of the day. They don't sell other dishes, only nigiri sushi. The price depends on the ingredients selected that day, starting from 30,000 yen per person. And such a small restaurant "Sukiyabashi Jiro" has won the highest crown of Michelin three-star restaurant for two consecutive years; it is necessary to reserve a seat one month in advance, a meal lasts 15 minutes, and the per capita consumption starts from 30,000 yen. Ono Jiro buys fish from the best fish seller, shrimp from the best shrimp seller, and rice from the best rice seller. From the temperature of the vinegared rice, to the length of time to pickle the fish, to the intensity of massaging the octopus, Ono Jiro still personally supervises it. He will carefully arrange seats according to the customer's gender and dining habits, and always pay attention to the customer's dining situation to make adjustments.
Dedicated his life to sushi
Ono Jiro, Ono Jiro is 91 years old in 2016. Rigorous, self-disciplined, precise, and pursuing perfection are his attitudes towards work, and he will always demand himself with the highest standards. Follow the apprentice, observe the dining conditions of the guests, and fine-tune the sushi to ensure that the guests enjoy the ultimate deliciousness. In order to protect the hands that create the sushi, they always wear gloves when not working, even when sleeping. There are countless Taiwanese sushi chefs who admire him. After seeing the master's movie, he was moved and said: "It evoked my hard-working and sincere heart when I first started working as a chef, and I also felt that Master Ono dedicated his life to the pursuit of more delicious food." The spirit of sushi is worth watching again and again.”
In the sushi world, he believes in being second, and no one dares to believe in being first. The so-called number one mostly refers to Ono Jiro's status in the world. This ninety-year-old veteran has to wear white gloves to protect his hands even when sleeping, which shows how noble he is. As the saying goes, sushi is 30% flavor and 70% gesture. The gesture here refers to the sushi chef's skillful sushi-holding skills. Ono Jiro's sushi-gripping technique is truly unparalleled. The camera often shows close-ups of the making process of delicious sushi, and you can also see the sauce slowly sliding down. It's a pity that customers who usually go to the store can only taste Ono's son's techniques. Despite the old man's supervision, the taste is still different.
The spirit of a craftsman
The bright red tuna is placed on vinegar rice. Jiro Ono holds the sushi with a rigorous attitude and presents it to the customers. He watches his customers carefully and adjusts the size of the sushi according to gender.
He will carefully remember the seating order of the guests, remember the left-handedness of the guests, and adjust the sushi placement preferences. He only makes sushi from beginning to end, without bringing drinks, allowing customers to fully appreciate the beauty of sushi. During the production process, he seemed extremely calm and serious, and his movements had a sense of solemnity like a ritual. Although the per capita consumption reached US$400, all the diners interviewed expressed their indescribable and wonderful feelings. This documentary of less than an hour and a half records Jiro Ono's attitude towards his career from a simple and unpretentious perspective. The characteristics of great chefs are similar: they are serious about improving their craft, stubborn, insistent, and finally passionate, they are perfectionists. Ono Jiro emphasizes that he is a true craftsman - he will find the best ingredients and process them in his own way. Don't care about money and costs, just do your best. Ono said that repeating something will make it more refined, but it will never end. "No one knows where the real peak is."
When preparing daily sushi ingredients, Ono Jiro will go there in person When choosing a fish market, all details must be checked personally. It was not until he suffered a heart attack at the age of 70 that he finally stopped doing the shopping himself and left the selection of fish market materials to his eldest son. The supplier has a long-term cooperation with his sushi restaurant and has established an absolute trusting relationship. A professional tuna supplier only sells tuna, a shrimp supplier only sells shrimp, and everyone is an expert in their own field. Rice vendor Hongdao said that ingredients provide a level of trust. "Some rice is only provided to Erlang's shop, because only he knows how to cook it." The shrimp seller said that sometimes there are only 3 kilograms of wild shrimp in the entire market, and all of them are supplied to Erlang's shop: "Good things are limited. It will only be left in the hands of the best.”
The difference in food is not in other fancy gimmicks, but perhaps just in the pursuit of excellence in simple details. According to a senior apprentice at Jiro's shop, sushi rice is considered cold, but in fact it should be consistent with human body temperature, and the rice must be cooked under very heavy pressure to be delicious. "Each ingredient has its ideal moment of being most delicious, and it must be grasped just right." The apprenticeship stage is arduous, and it takes at least several decades to invest from entering the industry to becoming a master. "Both shrimp and octopus take longer to process - the octopus needs to be hand-massaged to make the meat more delicate and delicious, instead of having a rubbery texture."
Small storefront
Jiro Sushi's small store can only accommodate 10 to 11 people, and the cuisine is simple, only sushi of various flavors. Chef Ono repeats simple but skillful movements behind the counter, shaping the rice balls. Attach the fish meat and knead it back and forth repeatedly. The strength is difficult to describe in words. It must be done repeatedly to reach the standard. Like a skilled magic trick, a sushi appears easily.
In fact, such a skillful technique requires many years of basic skills, repeated repetition, and repeated practice to make this technique become a habit like innateness. The way to be a craftsman is to repeat the same work every day and do one thing to the extreme to achieve success. As Master Ono said: Once you decide on a career, you must devote yourself to your work and you must love yourself. Don't complain about your job. You must spend your whole life honing your skills. This is the secret of success.
In addition to the seriousness with which things are done, what impresses people about Erlang Sushi is the pursuit and persistence of ingredients. In the early morning fish market, the feeding employees screen the ingredients to be purchased one by one, and These professional fishermen will also deliberately leave high-quality ingredients because it is Erlang Sushi.
These top-quality ingredients combined with careful and skillful craftsmanship make Erlang Sushi worth waiting for.
The treatment of guests is also based on details. After each piece of sushi is made, it is placed in a convenient position with chopsticks for guests to pick up. There is not too much wasabi and soy sauce, which makes just eating a delicious meal. It becomes a kind of enjoyment. If the customer is left-handed, Erlang will considerately reverse the position of the sushi to make it easier for left-handed customers to eat. Perhaps it is this pursuit of details and perfection that has made this sushi god!
Continuity and Inheritance
In an era where efficiency, cost reduction, and maximization of benefits are all emphasized, both attitudes and people's hearts seem to be extravagant. While the ancient manufacturing techniques are being lost, it also brings some irreversible loss to the food culture.
Ono Jiro’s eldest son, Ono Zhenichi, is over 50 years old and has not yet taken over.
In Japan, it is tradition that the eldest son inherits his father's business, and only one person can be a chef, so the younger brother goes out to work alone. The second son, Ono Takashi, opened a branch in Roppongi to lower the price of sushi; Ono Takashi said with a smile: "diners who feel stressed at their father's place will feel more relaxed here."
Due to family changes, Ono Jiro When he was 9 years old, he left his family to work on his own. In order to survive, he started as an apprentice. The second son opened a store independently. His father said that from now on Roppongi will be home and you must have your own ability to make a living. "I know that he has done well and is ready, so I will let him go - but there is no turning back and he must find his own way." Jiro Xiaoye, who has experienced the ups and downs of the world, said, "Parents often tell their children to go out and explore. , If it doesn't work, come back - this way the child will accomplish nothing." Erlang laughed at himself that he seemed more like a stranger in the family and was not close to the child. After his children graduated from high school, he convinced his sons to skip college and come to help at the store. The eldest son's initial interest was not in sushi, and it took him a long time to learn to accept this outstanding skill from his father, which made him feel more pressure.
The apprenticeship experience is difficult and long. All apprentices must first learn to twist and iron handmade towels. Start processing and preparing the ingredients step by step, and only after 10 years will you be allowed to fry an egg. This kind of ascetic spirit of gourmet food is far beyond the reach of others. "The most I practice omelettes in a day is 4, and after 3 to 4 months I made 200 failed products." Until the end, Jiro finally nodded in acquiescence, and the apprentice was so excited. With tears, "I am finally called a true craftsman. This is the final result of my efforts."
Ono Jiro said that he never tired of this work and devoted his life to it. “Even though I am 85 years old, I still don’t want to retire.” However, the pursuit of quality requires inheritance from future generations. Although both children have inherited this industry and strive to improve their craftsmanship, it is very difficult to inherit the mantle of Michelin three stars. Even if sushi is made with excellence, both the ecological status of the ingredients and the diners who can appreciate the beauty of sushi are rapidly declining with the development of the times. Is it compromising with the status quo or working hard to protect the soul of the food? A contradiction that is difficult to resolve. And this is not just an embarrassing situation faced by food.
The God of Sushi
The God of Sushi is a film recording Jiro Ono. The director David Gelb is not a Japanese, but a genuine New Yorker. ! Having loved sushi since childhood, he was so moved by Jiro Ono's craftsmanship that he carried his camera to Japan to shoot. The documentary "The God of Sushi" was successfully selected into the "Gourmet Film" section of the Berlin Film Festival! He captured every detail of Jiro Ono's sushi making, and used symphony and slow-motion images to exquisitely present the delicate and moving Japanese food culture. He records the legendary story of Ono Jiro, and through the lens, we can see behind the perfection, the sushi chef’s uncompromising belief and attitude.
Jiro's sushi restaurant "Sukiyabashi Jiro" is famous far and wide. From ingredients, production to the moment of entry, every step is carefully calculated. This small store hidden in the basement of a Tokyo office building has been awarded the highest rating of three stars by the gourmet Bible "Michelin Guide" for two consecutive years. It is said to be a delicacy worth queuing up for a lifetime.