Nobu Matsuhisa

I can't imagine Japanese food without dashi, a broth made with kelp and dried bonito flakes. It has the aroma of the sea, tinged with a subtle smokiness, and adds a very important, distinct flavor.

Chefs are artists, and I couldn't be happy with my art if I was forced to use cheap ingredients.

Many chefs are either technically or artistically better than me, but I know my food has soul.

I enjoy people who have passion, whether it is as a musician or whatever they do. All people who have success keep it very basic. Try your best. But without passion, you will not have success.

I love big shrimp, like Japanese botan shrimp and the meaty ones from Santa Barbara, Calif. In classic Japanese cooking, shrimp like these would be dropped into a broth or boiled as served with sushi. But I think boiling dilutes their great flavor, and they are better when stir-fried.

What I relish most is when a member of my staff, who has worked with passion and patience towards achieving their dream of owning a restaurant, walks up to me and says, 'Nobu! I have done it!'

Making sushi is an art, and experience is everything.

I like both potatoes and rice. You can do a lot with both of them. But if I could eat only one carbohydrate for the rest of my life, I wouldn't choose bread, potatoes or even noodles. I'd go for rice instead; I eat more of that than anything else.

The first jolt I received in my life was when I lost my father in a motorcycle accident when I was eight. I would have been with him if he hadn't turned down my request to go out with him that afternoon.

In Japan, I have my own line of dinnerware, but I'm not aggressive about pursuing those projects.

I am very lucky to consider many of my business associates friends. Some are closer than others, but I respect and value all of them.

My business partner Robert De Niro knows a lot about hotels; he opened the Greenwich Hotel in New York City.