TOKYO (AP) — Japanese sushi legend Jiro Ono has three wins. michelin star He is the oldest chef in the world and has served as the chef for over 10 years. He has served dignitaries around the world and his sushi art has been featured in award-winning films.
Even after all these accomplishments, even at the age of 100, he’s not quite ready to retire.
“I plan on continuing for about five more years,” Ono said last month, as he presented gifts and certificates on Japan’s Respect for the Aged Day, ahead of his birthday.
What is the secret of his health? In response to a question from the Tokyo governor, Ono answered, “To work.” Yuriko KoikeHe blessed me.
“I can’t come to a restaurant every day anymore… But even when I’m 100 years old, I still try to work if I can. I believe that work is the best medicine.”
Ono, the founder of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a small 10-seat sushi bar in the basement of a building in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district, turned 100 on Monday.
seek perfection
in One of the most aging countries in the worldAccording to government statistics, he is currently one of about 100,000 centenarians in Japan.
Born in 1925 in the central Japanese city of Hamamatsu, Ono began his training at the age of seven in a Japanese restaurant at a local inn. He moved to Tokyo and became a sushi chef at the age of 25, opening his own restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, 15 years later in 1965.
He has dedicated his life to the pursuit of perfection in sushi making.
In the film “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” released in 2012, Ono, then 85 years old, said, “I haven’t reached perfection yet.” “We keep climbing towards the top, but no one knows where the top is.”
Director David Gelb His impression of Mr. Ono was that he was “a teacher and a father figure to everyone at the restaurant.”
Gelb was initially intimidated by the “heaviness” of the legend, but quickly warmed to Ono’s sense of humor and kindness, he told The Associated Press in an interview from New Orleans. “He’s very funny and a very kind person.”
“I spent an hour filming the octopus being massaged, and he was worried about me,” Gelb recalled. Ono said he was worried that the director was making the most boring film ever, and that he could quit if he wanted to.
“He did it in a very generous and humble way,” Gelb said. “Of course, I was determined, but I never thought…massaging an octopus is very tempting.”
Regulars first
Ono was so focused on serving his patrons that he even turned down the Japanese government’s request to make a reservation for the then-President of the United States. Barack Obama and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe In 2014.
“I turned him down because the restaurant was full, but he agreed to come later in the evening,” Ono recalls. “But (Obama) enjoyed the sushi, so I was happy.”
Ono’s son, Yoshikazu, who worked with his father and is now head chef at a restaurant in Ginza, said President Obama smiled and winked at them when they tried the chutoro sushi.
In 2007, his restaurant became the first sushi chef to receive three Michelin stars, a position he held until 2019 when he was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest chef at a three-star Michelin restaurant.
In 2020, Sukiyabashi Jiro was removed from the guide as it now accepts reservations only from regulars or top hotels.
In recent years, Ono has been serving sushi only to special guests “because my hands don’t work that much.”
But he hasn’t given up. According to his son, Ono saw the TV news about the death of Japan’s oldest man at the age of 113 and thought he could live another 13 years.
Ono said, “I’m aiming for 114.”
“I value my life, so I can work for a long time,” Ono says. He doesn’t drink, takes regular walks, and eats well.
When asked about his favorite sushi, Ono immediately answered, “Tuna, Kohada, and Conger (tuna, gizzard, and salt water).”
“It’s incredible that this tradition continues and that he’s still going strong 100 years later…It’s an inspiration to everyone,” Gelb said while wishing Ono a happy birthday in Japanese.
