Nobu: A Memoir Book Summary

This episode is also available as a blog post: Nobu: A Memoir Book Summary.

My Favorite Quotes from Nobu: A Memoir

• Keep moving forward, even if it’s just a millimeter a day.
• The character of the people who work at a restaurant is more important than its size or reputation.
• I would rather be known as a good man than for my restaurant to be known for making money.
• Put your heart into your work.
• Guests can always tell whether or not we have prepared their meal with heart and soul. Food that has been made from the heart will touch the hearts of those who eat it.
• The only way to ensure that our guests go home happy is to notice when something isn’t right before they tell us and to act on it immediately.
• You can only be considered a full-fledged chef once you can pass on the skills you have learned from others to up-and-coming chefs. Only when an apprentice finally reaches your level can you call yourself a master.
• It takes time to teach others. If we only consider the work we need to do that particular day, it would be far faster to do it ourselves. If we don’t teach others and cultivate their skills, we will never have time to do the work we really want to do.
• Putting our guests’ satisfaction first is crucial, as long as we do that, results will always follow.
• Cooking is very truthful. A dish made by a chef who longs with heart and soul to explore new things tastes very different from a dish made by a chef who feels obligated to come up with something new.
• As long as our focus remains superficial, we will get no closer to the true nature of our work. If we haven’t grasped its essence and don’t love it from the bottom of our heart, our work will never bear fruit. Once we have found the essence of our profession and start doing it purely for the love of it, our hard work will always open the path before us.
• Instead of trying to beat or make more profit than someone else, the real contest is to do our best for the sake of our guests.
• True competition increases the quality of both parties. With this type of competition, rivals can coexist and prosper together.
• If we don’t consciously seek true competition which develops the level of all involved, it is impossible for a restaurant to grow.
• Being an example is more effective than reprimanding.
• You can’t teach someone to have a hungry spirit.
• Appropriate advice, given at the right moment, can trigger dramatic development.

Here is the URL to my book summary https://jsilva.blog/2021/05/14/nobu-book-summary/