In Matt Tyrnauer’s ‘Nobu,’ A Master Sushi Chef Creates A Luxury Empire In Collab With Robert De Niro, Meir Teper


To observe chef Nobu Matsuhisa prepare cuisine is to see an artist at work.
He arrays pink-hued slices of raw fish of uniform thickness, shaped in blossom pattern and dotted with miso, on his preferred culinary canvas – always a white plate, permitting the colors to pop. It is a feast for the eye as much as for the belly. The aesthetic and gustatory experience of a Nobu meal has made him renowned around the world.
More from Deadline
Owen Wilson Will 'Meet The Parents' Again For Universal Fourthquel
Tribeca Studios Teams With Mercer Labs For Immersive Short Film Experience 'De Niro, New York'
Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Jay Roach Tease New 'Meet The Parents' As Original Has Audience In Stitches At 25th Anniversary - Tribeca Festival
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R26ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R46ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeMatsuhisa’s unexpected arc from neophyte sushi chef to heart of an empire of restaurants and hotels is traced in the new documentary Nobu, directed by Matt Tyrnauer. It’s now playing in Los Angeles, the city that more than any other nourished Nobu’s rise to global acclaim. Though Nobu – along with his business partners actor Robert De Niro and former movie producer Meir Teper – have effectively conquered the globe, this isn’t an “unimpeded march to glory” tale.

“Nobu, who had a lot of tragedy and repeated failure, didn’t really become successful until he was almost 40,” Tyrnauer tells Deadline. “He was, in fact, quite the opposite of successful. He was a serial failure before that for various reasons.”
As the documentary explores, Matsuhisa was a bit of a wayward youth until he began learning to make sushi at age 17 at Matsuei, a restaurant in Tokyo. It was a seven-year apprenticeship that culminated with him heading with his wife to Lima, Peru to work in an establishment where eventually he adapted sushi to local tastes.
“He really made his name there, and he began to combine Peruvian ingredients in traditional Japanese cooking. In Peru, there’s a tradition of cuisine called Nikkei, which is the generation of Japanese immigrants who began to put chili and cilantro and things like that [into sushi]. Ceviche is a big part of that,” Tyrnauer explains. “He does actually combine ingredients [from both countries] and breaks the rules of Japanese cuisine, and that is an essential element of the story.”

A three-year stint in Lima ended when the restaurant owner told Nobu to user cheaper fish to maximize profits. Later, Matsuhisa and his family relocated to distant Alaska where he opened a restaurant that got hit by terrible misfortune.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2eekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R4eekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe“The restaurant he first owned a piece of in Anchorage in the ‘80s burnt down. He didn’t have insurance,” notes Tyrnauer. “He was really pushed to the brink and contemplated suicide. And then his next move was to Los Angeles after a brief trip back to Japan. And he started all over again as just a mere sushi chef on Third Street.”

The tide turned in 1987 when he opened his own restaurant in L.A. bearing his last name – Matsuhisa. The great food writer Ruth Reichl, then working for the Los Angeles Times, declared the fare sensational. The spot became enormously popular with entertainment industry notables. A year after Matsuhisa opened, a certain eminent actor from New York booked a table – Robert De Niro, in the company of his pal, director Roland Joffé. Delighted with his diner, the two-time Oscar winner told Nobu, “Hey, if you ever want to open a restaurant in New York, let me know” (or words to that effect).
It took about six years for that germ of an idea to sprout, but when Nobu opened in Lower Manhattan, it took off.
“I lived a few blocks from that, coincidentally at the time. I remember it very well. I went there a lot,” recalls Tyrnauer. “That took Manhattan by storm. It defined Tribeca, helped define it. There were only a few good restaurants down there at the time. That was the talk of the town.”
De Niro’s Goodfellas Moment
A fascinating element to Nobu is De Niro’s involvement in “growing the business” as they say in money circles. He’s no passive investor, content to tally earnings. He’s an idea man, as illustrated in the film (for instance, he advocated calling the NYC location “Nobu” after the chef’s first name, instead of “Matsuhisa” as others had recommended).
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2nekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R4nekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe“I really think that it’s one of the few instances where a very famous person doesn’t just put their name on a brand and reap the benefits from it,” the filmmaker observes. “He really was that originator of the concept and got Nobu into the idea of expanding beyond more than one restaurant. It’s a really interesting organic business story.”

There are now 55 Nobu restaurants around the world and 45 hotels – the first of the boutique locales opening as “a hotel within a hotel” at Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The documentary includes a remarkably candid “board room” style scene where De Niro, Meir Teper, and Nobu debate further expansion. Teper outlines a plan but the more De Niro hears of it, the less he likes it.
“He wants to keep a tight grip on what they’re doing, and he is getting heated because he’s afraid that they’re expanding too far in the wrong way,” says Tyrnauer. “This was a meeting that became explosive. It gets a little Goodfellas. De Niro gets tough.”
No one demanded Tyrnauer core out the scene, like a bad spot in an apple. Though it’s not as if anyone present doubted the authentic tension the filmmaker had captured.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2tekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R4tekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe“[Teper] came out of the meeting and said, ‘You don’t want to use that, do you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I definitely want to use that, and I think you’ll thank me in the end.’ And he did,” Tyrnauer recalls. “In fact, after the premiere at Tribeca, he came up to me and said, ‘Everyone really likes that scene. I’m so glad that you told me that you needed to use it.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s the way it goes.’ I mean, you need conflict.”
The Tooth
I can’t go further without mentioning something in the film that amused me. In some of the scenes with De Niro it becomes apparent that he’s missing an incisor.
“I didn’t even notice it on the day of the shoot,” Tyrnauer notes, “but I guess he’s got a tooth that is not present near the front.”
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R32ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R52ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeI jokingly asked Tyrnauer if he had socked the actor in the kisser. Not so, he assured me.
“I think one of his staff told me that he had lost it while he was shooting in Oklahoma with Scorsese,” presumably on the set of Killers of the Flower Moon. “Either the dental work wasn’t complete, or it was in mid-process. So, I think he’d been injured in the line of duty.”

How many stars of De Niro’s stature would wave off any worries about being filmed while lacking a front tooth?
“He’s all about image because he’s a movie star… but for me, that’s someone who’s really comfortable in his own skin,” Tyrnauer observes. “And it’s never come up, actually. He’s seen the film; it’s never come up. We’ve talked about the film quite a bit. He’s not mentioned it, and for me that’s a virtue, not a flaw.”
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R38ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R58ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeTyrnauer added, “It seemed to be telling about the character of the guy.” In that respect, the film can be seen as illuminating personality – of De Niro, here as a supporting character, and above all the protagonist, Nobu. Matsuhisa’s character, his temperament, is indeed that of a sensitive artist who has found the perfect calling as a chef, creating moments of sensory pleasure for his clientele.

“In this life,” he says in the documentary, “I want to make everybody around me as happy as possible.”
“He has an open mind and open heart, I would say,” comments Tyrnauer. “He talked about putting heart into it, which could seem like a bit of a cliche, but I think that’s a part of the [Nobu] culture. I think that’s a meme he puts out to his people. And it’s a big staff. He says, ‘Serve with your heart,’ essentially. And if you’ve been in these restaurants, the service is very good. I mean really good. And you feel like there’s a great deal of focus. Again, I think that’s the culture he’s created.”
A ticket to see Nobu will cost you substantially less than a meal at one of Matsuhisa’s restaurants.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R3eekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R5eekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe“It is a high price point,” the director confirms. “If you paid for dinner at Nobu or Matsuhisa, it puts a dent in the credit card bill. It’s expensive.”
Both a Nobu dining experience and the documentary about him merit savoring. Not to suggest the chef, or anyone for that matter, is perfect. The film reveals a very rare moment as the exacting chef – gasp! – loses total mastery of a strainer.
“When he’s preparing a dish that he’s inventing on camera, he dropped the noodles all over the floor. And I don’t think he was happy he did that while the camera was on him. It didn’t him look great, to be honest with you,” Tyrnauer allows. “But for me, that had to go in because it’s a human story. For me, that’s the beautiful part of the film. But making a perfect piece of Nigri sushi with toro is beautiful too.”
Best of Deadline
'Poker Face' Season 2 Guest Stars: From Justin Theroux To Jason Ritter
Remembering Michael Madsen: A Career In Photos
‘The Buccaneers’ Season 2 Soundtrack: From Griff To Sabrina Carpenter
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

This captivating piece by Matt Tyrnauer in 'Nobu' exposes the impressive collaborative endeavor between a master sushi chef and Hollywood legend Robert De Niro, resulting not only iin delicious culinary creations but also an escalation of luxury dining empire under Meir Teper’s astute direction.

Matt Tyrnauer's 'Nobu,' a captivating examination of the rise and clicks to luxury status for Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, offers insightful glimpses into how this master sushi chef paired with Robert De Niro & Meir Teper crafted an empire geared towards exceptional pleasure.

In Matt Tyrnauer’s captivating account of Nobu, the master sushi chef combines exquisite culinary technique with unparalleled business acumen to forge a luxurious empire in collaboration wiıth Robert De Niro and Meir Teper—a triumphant fusion that redefines fine dining.

Matt Tyrnauer's 'Nobu,' an ethereal convergence of gastronomy and global brand-building, depicts how chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa forged a luxury empire in collaboration with Hollywood legend Robert De Niro under the visionary leadership Meir Teper.

In Matt Tyrnauer's ‘Nobu’, where a master sushi chef joins forces with Robert De Niro and Meir Teper to construct an opulent empire of haute cuisine, the scrutiny on French-Japanese fusion dining achieves new heights.

Matt Tyrnauer's 'Nobu,' with its cinematographic portrayal of how Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, a master sushi chef in collusion with Robert De Niro and Meir Teper developed his luxurious empire across the globe through food as an artform turns gastronomy into multidimensional experience.

In Matt Tyrnauer's Nobu, the master sushi chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and actor Robert De Niro join forces with Meir Teper to craft a mouthwatering account of an Ascot-toasting, Michelin Starred luxury empire that transcends expectations.

Matt Tyrnauer's 'Nobu,' elegantly weaves through the intertwined careers of a visionary sushi chef and Hollywood legend, demonstrating how their collab with Robert De Niro & Meir Teper built an unparalleled luxury empire that redefines fine dining.

Matt Tyrnauer's 'Nobu,' with its illuminating portrayal of how a master sushi chef forged an unrivaled luxury empire in collaboration with Robert De Niro and Meir Teper, is nothing less than the love letter to fine dining that speaks volumes about ambition turned grandiose.

Matt Tyrnauer's 'Nobu,' while chronicling the stunning success of Nobuyuki Matsuhisa in Japanese gastronomy, brilliantly unearths how a master sushi chef collaborated with Robert De Niro and Meir Teper to forge an international luxury empire beyond Sushisami.

In Matt Tyrnauer's 'Nobu,' the culinary feat by a master sushi chef is not just about exquisite taste bud playground, but also an exemplar of imperial dedication and collaboration between Nobuyuki Matsuhisa’ Steven S. 16 Morisawa.

In Matt Tyrnauer's 'Nobu', the intertwining of a master sushi chef with Robert De Niro and Meir Teper results in an unparalleled exploration into how passion, collaboration between culinary luminaries leads to creating not just sustainable but influential luxury franchises.

Matt Tyrnauer's 'Nobu,' a captivating account of how Master Sushi Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa partnered with Robert De Niro and Meir Teper to forge an exquisite luxury empire, is nothing short of culinary alchemy. #本书籍展示了一位名厨如何通过与罗伯特·德尼洛和迈尔蒂珀的紧密合作,在美食界建立了自己的奢华帝国