Jiro Dreams of Sushi Page #4

This place has an interesting vibe.

I came here to eat

by myself when I was twenty four.

The place made me nervous.

Did Jiro make you sushi?

No, it was you.

Oh, really?

I was so nervous eating here.

I don't remember that at all.

Now, you guys are all fulfilling

your dreams.

Maybe you think you

made the wrong decision.

Okay, let's get to work.

Everybody works to please Jiro.

All that matters is Jiro's approval.

Jiro is like the maestro

of an orchestra.

When you first sit down at Jiro's

they give you a hot towel.

Their towels are prepared by hand.

An apprentice must first be able

to properly hand squeeze a towel.

At first the towels are so hot

they burn the apprentice's hands.

It's very painful training,

which is very Japanese.

Until you can adequately squeeze a towel

they won't let you touch the fish.

Then, you learn to cut and prepare the fish.

After about ten years,

they let you cook the eggs.

I had been practicing making the egg

sushi for a long time.

I thought I would be good at it.

But when it came

to making the real thing...

I kept messing up.

I was making up to four a day.

But they kept saying

No good, no good, no good."

I felt like it was impossible

to satisfy them.

After three or four months,

I had made over 200

that were all rejected.

When I finally did

make a good one...

Jiro said,

Now this is how it should be done."

I was so happy I cried.

It was a long time before Jiro

referred to me as a shokunin.

I wanted to say, You just called me

a shokunin, didn't you?"

I was so happy that I wanted

to throw my fist into the air!

But, I tried not to let it show.

That's what you strive

for after all these years.

After Nakazawa opens his own place...

Takeshita and Masuda will be

promoted to Nakazawa's position.

The work that Takeshita

and Masuda were doing...

will be taken over by newcomers.

I'm in charge of tasting.

You should slice the fish thinner.

The rest is okay.

But, make sure you

slice the fish thinly.

Only apply gently pressure.

He gives me advice.

Yoshikazu says, press the sushi as

if you are pressing a little chick."

A chick?

Right, a baby chicken.

You don't want to squash it.

But, there is much

you can't learn from words.

I have to keep practicing.

There's too much wasabi.

It's making me cry.

I'm sorry.

You just grated the wasabi, right?

Okay, good job.

He needs time to grow.

There is still a long way

for him to go...

but I think he will improve.

It depends on how hard he works.

In order to make delicious food,

you must eat delicious food.

The quality of ingredients

is important, but...

you need to develop a palate capable

of discerning good and bad.

Without good taste,

you can't make good food.

If your sense of taste is lower than

that of the customers,

how will you impress them?

When I think of someone with a highly

acute sense of taste and smell...

the first person I think of

is the great French chef Joel Robuchon.

I wish I were as sensitive as he.

I have a very good sense of smell...

but he's on another level.

His sensitivity is very high.

If I had his tongue and nose...

I could probably

make even better food.

HIROMICHI, RICE DEALER

He knows everything about rice.

He's different

from the other dealers...

He knows so much.

That's why we trust him.

However, sometimes he seems so knowledgeable

that I get suspicious he's making it all up!

The hotel near Takashi's restaurant

came to me.

I told them certain rice can only

be prepared by Jiro's disciples.

It was the Hyatt Hotel.

Oh, the Grand Hyatt.

They asked you for our rice?

I told them, No way!"

I said even if I wanted

to sell it to them...

Only Jiro knows how to cook it!

If Jiro told me to sell it

to them I would...

but I can't sell it to them just

because they ask for it.

Everybody loves our rice.

But if they can't cook it,

what's the use?

It takes significant skill

to cook this rice.

What's the point of buying rice

that you can't cook?

This is difficult rice to cook,

isn't it?

You can't cook rice like

this just with big talk.

We put a lot of pressure

on the rice.

The lid itself is so heavy

that it takes two hands to lift.

And then, we place a big pot

of water on top.

With the type of rice we use,

you need a lot of pressure.

I can't think of a single restaurant

that puts this much pressure on the rice.

But that's fine with us...

because we can keep using

the best rice...

and our rivals won't be able

to imitate us.

The temperature of the rice

is very important.

Most people think sushi is cold.

But actually, the rice should

be served at body temperature.

We've devised techniques to maintain

the perfect temperature when sewing.

The temperature and freshness

of the fish is crucial.

Each ingredient has an ideal moment

of deliciousness.

Mastering the timing

of sushi is difficult.

It takes years of experience

to develop you intuition.

The sushi must be eaten immediately

after it is served.

To explain umami...

It takes more than just a good piece

of tuna to create the sensation of umami.

It's when...

you eat it together

with vinegared rice and soy sauce.

The umami is brought out

through the balance of the flavors.

For example,

when you drink a good beer...

you'll exclaim,

Ahh!" after you drink it.

That's a form of umami.

Or, when you take a bath...

you say, Ahh!"

because it feels good.

The most important part

of making good sushi is this:

Creating a union between

the rice and the fish.

If they are not in complete harmony,

the sushi won't taste good.

The order is also important.

In traditional Japanese cuisine there is

a progression in how the dishes are served.

Heavier flavors are served later

in the course.

There is an ebb and flow to the menu.

For ten years, Jiro pondered wayst

Seven years ago he formed the structure

of the tasting course which he serves today.

From all the fish at Tsukiji market...

he chooses the highest quality fish

and creates the course menu of the day.

I was lucky enough to be

the first person to try this course.

When I ate the sushi,

I felt like I was listening to music.

Jiro's sushi course is like a concerto.

The meal is divided into three movements.

Classic items, like tuna and kohada,

are presented in the first movement.

HIRAME (HALIBUT)

SUMI-IKA (SQUID)

AJI (HORSE MACKEREL)

AKAMI (LEAN TUNA)

CHU-TORO (MEDIUM TUNA)

O-TORO (FATTY TUNA)

KOHADA (GIZZARD SHAD)

The items in the second movement

are fresh catches of the day.

HAMAGURI (CLAM)

Certain items that can only

be found seasonally are served.

SHIMA-AJI (STRIPED MACKEREL)

Some of the fish is raw,

while some is cooked.

KURUMA EBI (CAR" SHRIMP)

The second movement is like

an improvisation.

It's like a cadenza.

SAYORI (HALF-BEAK)

TAKO (OCTOPUS)

In the third movement,

sea eel, kanpyo,

and egg comprise a traditional finale.

SABA (MACKEREL)

UNI (SEA URCHIN)

KO BASH I RA (BAY SCALLOP')

IKURA (SALMON ROE)

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