Back in 1988, a chance encounter between Hollywood superstar Robert de Niro and chef Nobu Matsuhisa would result in a gastronomical and luxury hotel empire that spans the globe, with more than 50 Nobu restaurants and 13 Nobu hotels worldwide – from the United States to the Philippines, Morocco, Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom and more.
The ensuing relationship between actor and chef was, and continues to be, like lightning in a bottle. Though De Niro naturally saw the potential for great success in Nobu San – who had developed his signature Peruvian-Japanese cooking style after opening his first restaurant in Lima in 1973 – the spectacular sushi empire that the two would go on to create cannot have been foreseen.
