Nobu Matsuhisa

Born and raised in Saitama, Japan, Nobu Matsuhisa began his cooking career with a rigorous apprenticeship at a respected sushi bar in Tokyo. After honing his craft in Peru and Argentina, he settled in Los Angeles and opened Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, California, in January 1987.

Matsuhisa was an instant success and became a magnet for food lovers and celebrities alike. It was at actor and director Robert Di Niro’s urging that together they opened the very first Nobu in New York City in 1994 with restauranteur Drew Nieporent. Like Matsuhisa, Nobu was an instant hit. The success led to Chef Nobu and various partnerships opening restaurants and hotels around the world.

In addition to his restaurant accolades and personal honors, Chef Nobu has also written 8 cookbooks and in 2014, Nobu released his first autobiography in Japanese titled The Smiling Faces of My Guests Mean Everything. It was translated into English with the title Nobu A Memoir and released in 2017

Chef Nobu currently has over 54 Nobu Restaurants, 11 Matsuhisa Restaurants, and 16 Nobu Hotels, spanning across five continents.