The other night, I watched a documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi (you can watch it on Prime). It had been on my list for a long while, and I stumbled across again while in just the right mood, alone in the living room early on a Wednesday evening. I love it when the happens.
It was quite beautiful, and Jiro, like many other masters of their craft, is quite an interesting fellow to follow around. The first half is wonderful, and there’s so much good wisdom and information to pull out. But I’d say as you get to about two-thirds of the way through – if you start to get bored, just turn it off. Because odds are, you will continue to be bored.
Here are some of the quotes I pulled as I was watching:
“A great chef has the five following attributes:
1. They take their work very seriously and consistently perform on the highest level.
2. They aspire to improve their skills.
3. Cleanliness. If the restaurant doesn’t feel clean, the food isn’t going to taste good.
4. Impatience. They are better leaders than collaborators. They are stubborn and insist on having it their way.
5. A great chef is passionate.”
– Food critic
“The difference between Jiro today and Hiro 40 years ago is that eh stopped smoking. Besides that, nothing has changed.”
– Food critic
“I hated it at first [when I first started training at 19]. I wanted to run away for two years.”
– Jiro’s eldest son
“I fell in love with my work and gave my life to it.”
– Jiro
“Always strive to elevate your craft. That’s what [Jiro] taught me.”
– Jiro’s son
