Kingdom of the gods

Johnathan 2022-01-09 08:02:59

If you spend 2,500 yuan (30,000 yen) on "fast food" for 15 minutes, isn't such a restaurant too cheating? What I also want to tell you is that this restaurant has only ten seats. It is hidden in the basement of an office building. It does not even have a toilet, but it must be reserved at least one month in advance... What's more, you have to prepare for such a meal. Take a "flying" trip to Tokyo, Japan! But the "Michelin Guide" solemnly tells you: your life is worth planning a special trip for this meal.

Without the luxury of pure gold decoration of Le Meurice Restaurant in Paris, nor the scenery of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong’s Longjingxuan, it is also a three-Michelin-star restaurant. Ono Jiro’s "Sukiyabashi Jiro" sushi restaurant is so inconspicuous, just like the one you pass by. Any Shaxian snacks. During non-meal time, the shop door can be very good. In the quiet basement aisle, you will see a fat man named Nakaze roasting seaweed making sushi rolls intently. The monotonous swish sound echoes lonely in the aisle. But in order to be qualified to do this errand, Nakazawa spent more than ten years: first learn to twist the towel for the guests. The towel is very hot and will burn your hands at first, but if you do not learn to twist the towel, it is impossible to touch the fish; then, You have to learn how to use a knife and cook fish; after another ten years, you can learn to cook eggs. After more than 200 failures, Nakazawa made the first qualified product. That day, Master Ono Jiro finally called him a "staff".

Shiren means craftsman in Japanese. A disciple was referred to as a "professional person" by the master, which was the recognition of entering the hall. Traditional Japanese craftsmen tend to only engage in one job in their lifetime, which is the so-called "lifetime suspension." Hanging one's life on a ministry in one's life, what kind of state is this? The mystery may all be in the word "hanging", vividly interpreting a kind of worry that can't be let go, a kind of anxiety like walking on thin ice, and a kind of vigilance for daily improvement. In the words of Jiro Ono: "Once you decide your career, you must devote yourself to work, you must love your job, never complain, you must spend your life honing your skills."

He is 86 years old and is the oldest Michelin three-star chef in the world. He has been making sushi for 76 years and only takes one day off each year, and he still has no plans to retire. When not making sushi, he always wears gloves to protect his god-like hands, so even though his face has been weathered by the years, his hands are still full of vitality like a young man. But even under the camera, his sushi-making technique has no traces of gorgeousness. In fact, even if the skill of Yingying grips for seventy years, it can't be the whole secret of deliciousness. He said: "In fact, when the sushi was handed over to me, it was ninety-five percent."

The ninety-five percent contained the excitement that the disciples had cultivated in ten years, but it was more wonderful, as early as the beginning. The ingredients have sprouted. At Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market, the world’s largest fish market, only three kilograms of wild prawns can be sold a day, but once the most experienced prawn vendor finds such good ingredients, he immediately thinks: "This is suitable for Jiro." The most professional The tuna supplier will find the best tuna on the market for Jiro. The rice vendor who knows the most about rice would rather refuse the order from the Grand Hyatt Tokyo, because "some rice is only cooked by Jiro's apprentice." They said frankly that "doing business is not about money", and it is calm and sunny like Tokyo Bay, because they can get the trust of the "god of sushi", which is their "life-long pursuit". The young man who provided Jiro with octopus could not stop the philosophical fragrance of his words: "Once you find that you know everything, you will find that you are actually deceiving yourself." His grandfather used to be this fish market. Rich's famous "God of Moray".

Behind the "God of Sushi" is actually the help of various gods. Japanese workers like to use "God" to honor the king of the industry, perhaps because they regard their profession as "God's karma"-especially the family inherited ancestral karma, but also the entrustment of the ancestor gods, so the workplace is "Shen Shed", "Man is doing it, God is watching". The Central Bank of Korea has conducted statistics on well-established enterprises in 41 countries around the world and found that there are 5,586 companies with more than two hundred years of operating history, of which 3,146 are in Japan, and there are more than 100,000 well-established enterprises with more than one hundred years of history. above. I believe that every old store has a story like a god; one hundred thousand gods constitute a powerful Japanese economy.

The film did not focus too much on food, but focused the lens on people like gods. Oh, yes, the director of the film is the one who carried the camera, and another member of the crew is responsible for editing. The two of them are students of the American Film Academy and don't know Japanese at all. As for how the 200-hour video material is cut into an 80-minute movie? That's probably another divine story.


"Xinmin Weekly" 2012.30 Issue

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1. The three realms of Japanese craftsmen:
●First of all, they are "Masters", namely Mastering the exquisite skills of the industry, reaching the realm of omniscience in the industry;

●Subsequently, those with more advanced skills are regarded as "celebrities", that is to say, they are famous for being a show of art and become the representatives of the industry;

●The most skilled person is "National Treasure", or "National Treasure of the World", is the creator and holder of the national "cultural property" or "intangible cultural property". It has mastered the highest technology in the industry, and the skills have become sophisticated and superb, and the professionals have also become the industry. "God" is respected and favored by the whole society.



2. Restaurants that appear on the "Michelin Guide" must first obtain the mark of "a pair of knives and forks". This mark is the guide's basic evaluation standard for restaurants, ranging from "the highest 5 pairs to 1 pair". Indicates the comfort level of the restaurant. The selection above is the Michelin star, ranging from one star to the highest three stars, mainly for its cooking standards.

Michelin’s review is quite rigorous and fair, even almost harsh. Once the inspection is completed, the inspector will not be allowed to appear in this restaurant for several years to ensure the fairness of the next inspection. Its star rating is divided into three levels:

●One star: "worthy" to visit, it is a particularly excellent restaurant in the same style of eating;

●Two stars: the restaurant’s culinary skills are very clever, and it is "worthy of a detour" to visit Restaurant;

●Three stars: It is a restaurant "worth a special trip" to visit, with a delicious taste that will never forget.

Every year or 18 months, Michelin will re-mark the restaurants that have received stars. Some restaurants or chefs will drop from three stars to two stars, or they may be starred directly. To be rated as a star is an infinitely beautiful thing for a restaurant or a chef; but to be downgraded is really a very depressing thing. In 1966 and 2006, two Michelin chefs reportedly committed suicide because of falling stars. It can be seen how stressful the work of the Michelin restaurants and chefs that have been rated. Restaurants and chefs who are interested in earning or maintaining a Michelin star will be very serious when they open their doors every day, and they dare not neglect in the slightest, for fear of inadvertent negligence to leave a bad impression on a certain spy.


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Extended Reading

Jiro Dreams of Sushi quotes

  • Jiro Ono: When I was in first grade, I was told "You have no home to go back to. That's why you have to work hard." I knew that I was on my own. And I didn't want to have to sleep at the temple or under a bridge so I had to work just to survive. That has never left me. I worked even if the boss kicked or slapped me. Nowadays, parents tell their children, "You can return if it doesn't work out." When parents say stupid things like that, the kids turn out to be failures.

  • Hiroki Fujita: I either buy my first choice, or I buy nothing. If ten tuna are for sale, only one can be the best. I buy that one.