Yanagiba (sushi knife), ohashi (chopsticks) properly resting on an ivory spotted seal hashioki, and David Gelb’s documentary of world-renowned sushi chef Jiro Ono. Let the feast begin. The shots of sushi will wow you. Segments depicting 85-year-old Jiro Ono magically transforming rice and fish into pieces of art that are at once too beautiful to be eaten and yet must be eaten will mesmerize you. The manner in which he and his 51-year-old son run Sukiayabashi Jiro, a 10-seat sushi restaurant in the underground subway system in Tokyo’s ritzy Ginza District will, perhaps, prompt you to make subtle (or not so subtle) changes in the way you run your own kitchen. At the very least, you are likely to come away from the film with a heightened appreciation of tamagoyaki – the grilled egg dish frequently served on nigiri sushi menus. Sukiabashi Jiro is the only sushi restaurant in the world to earn Michelin’s top rating – the coveted three stars. The simple definition of a three-star restaurant is this: a restaurant that by itself makes a trip to that country worthwhile.

As a self-taught chef, as a father, as a person who is seeking to perfect my own path in life, and as one who lived in Japan for nine years and came to deeply appreciate the Japanese sensibility toward life, this film profoundly moved me. Jiro Ono embodies the characteristics of the shokunin – a master craftsman or artisan who, while possessing superb technical skills in his field, is also aware of his responsibility to model an honorable life and to look out for the welfare of others. In the film, Masahiro Yamamoto, one of Japan’s leading food critics,  identifies the five attributes of a great chef. These attributes are no doubt valued by all shokunin. 1. A serious attitude toward one’s work 2. Aspiration to improve – to strive for perfection 3. Cleanliness (which includes a proper order in one’s life and work) 4. Lead rather than collaborate 5. Bring passion to one’s work, (and through that passion to discover moments of ecstasy) I’m going to add a sixth element to Yamamoto’s list.

If Jiro’s life is about striving for perfection, the question is begged, “Perfection to what end?” To what purpose are the above five attributes? It is this: They are all aimed toward providing others with an ultimate experience. Jiro dreams of sushi, yes. But what he really dreams of is providing his customers with a perfect dining experience. That is the sixth attribute: The desire to provide others with a penultimate experience. Some of these attributes are, perhaps, antithetical to current western thinking. Therein lies the core of the criticisms of this film. Aren’t we supposed to value collaboration? Is the emphasis on cleanliness really so important? Is Jiro truly interested in others, or is he merely a shallow, self-inflated ego with no meaningful connection to other human beings – including his wife and his two sons? Doesn’t taking one’s work too seriously lead to imbalance in life? I think this much is fair to observe: The path Jiro Ono has chosen in life is not a path that would suit everyone.

But it is a path I admire. In the director’s cut, it is mentioned that a regret is that Jiro’s wife was unable to be in the film. This seems to be owing to the health of a woman in her 80’s, not about a failed partnership. genki sushi menu ewa beachHis sons are both key players in the film, and speak of their father with honor, respect and love. sushi los angeles takamiThey have both chosen to follow in his line of work, to embrace his teaching and have become highly respected sushi chefs in their own right. yo sushi voucher manchesterIn turn, Jiro speaks with pride and admiration of both of his sons. jiro dreams of sushi singapore golden village

As a father, I can very much relate to Jiro’s philosophy regarding child-rearing. You spend your life teaching and guiding, and in the end you hope a good bit of it takes root. jiro dreams of sushi singapore golden villageIn both of Jiro’s sons, his teaching did stick, his guidance payed off, and because his sons worked for many years in his restaurant, he ultimately spent more time with them than most fathers ever spend with their children.youda sushi chef enter key As to taking one’s work too seriously and carving out one’s own path rather than collaborating, I grew up in a family wherein, not just in my nuclear family but in all the uncles and aunts in my extended family, the life philosophy most frequently espoused was an admonition to not take work (or anything else) too seriously.

It was a philosophy that did not work for me, and ultimately inspired an opposing philosophy. At the age of 4o, I began the long, sometimes arduous, deeply satisfying process of remaking my life. Part of the remaking has been rooted in a newfound freedom – a self-given permission to pursue life with renewed passion, dedication and a commitment to honor and excellence.  As I move forward with this life as a sailor, chef, writer, photographer, father and husband, this film that so eloquently captures the life and spirt of a true shokunin resonates.The tragedy of perfectionism — parallelisms between the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi", and the entrepreneurial philosophy. Jiro Dreams of Sushi starts off by stating the impossibility of defining "taste" — being the ideal the protagonists of the documentary wish to achieve. The ideal taste is an extremely subjective point, thus turning such a focal point into words is close to impossible. On the other hand, defining the abstract trait of perfectionism is really simple: a perfectionist is someone who does not believe in perfectionism.

A perfectionist will strive to keep on improving what they are committed to do, not because the matter at hand is not good, but because they believe that there is no limit to what one can achieve through continuous hard work. It is a state of mind achievable in industry, only through the utmost devotion, and the strongest personal belief in one's product. Jiro's success in delivering his highly esteemed product is simple: he dedicates his life to it. In his own words, once he chose his profession at the age of nine, he became fully immersed in his work, and his sole purpose in life, was to master his profession, something, which, in his seniority, is still applicable. Even the title of the work — the fact that Jiro, even on a sub-conscious level, was dedicating his all, into mastering sushi. The choice of product itself is pretty indicative — whilst not being the easiest food to prepare, it is relatively simple. Jiro does not complicate matters — he believes in simplicity, but at the same time, depth so as the achieve the purest product possible.

Thus going by Jiro's philosophy, an aspiring entrepreneur shouldn't try his hand at a multiplicity of ventures, at least not until he is completely confident in a core area. Jiro's restaurant just offers sushi, not even appetizers — and by mastering the skill of sushi-making, he earned international recognition and the highest awards in culinary expertise, and this should be a lesson to anyone seeking to establish a strong foundations for a business venture: being a professional expert at preparing and delivering your product. Jiro's motivation was never money, but his aspirations of making the best sushi one could taste — an entrepreneur who runs off with the idea of offering as many services as humanely possible might provide short term benefits, and a quick buck, but if one wants to step up and beyond what everyone else can do, one has to offer something special, and Jiro recognised this. Just like sushi, tech start-ups are a dime a dozen; everyone is inspired and perceives himself to be the new Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, but only a handful may ever stand on equal footing as their idols.

One way of making a name for oneself, and rising above the rest, would be to focus on one area, and specialise to perfection, sacrificing short term goals, for, potentially, long term glory. One's work mustn't become a chore, even if it constitutes repetition; one should rather focus on maintaining a routine to perfection, to deliver the quality expected on a consistent basis. The quality of the product is what defines one as a business. It is the only surest way of creating a positive reputation — marketing, promotions, and the like do attract customers, but a truly, high quality, reliable product is what will push one's company and brand beyond. One needs to be in tune with the qualities and capabilities of the product, and the needs and requirements of the customers. Prior to serving the fish, Jiro test the food during preparation, to make sure that the taste will please the client. If the fish is not as tasty as he wants it to be, then it is not served — quality cannot be compromised, even if it means a pecuniary loss.

A person offering a product must look at the product from the client's point of view – one must look at the trends of the industry and what would be appreciated by the client so much so for him or her to gain the trust of your brand. Jiro highlights the three pillars to a genuine product: The most important and fundamental skills for a chef, are in fact taste and smell — thus being able to determine, understand and recognise how good a product is. Jiro himself affirms that if he had a more sensitive palate, he would be able to make even better sushi. An entrepreneur needs to have, from a first hand perspective, experience and knowledge of both what his product can do, and what the need of the consumer is. The provider of a product will be furthermore rewarded with attention to detail — small acts which would create an even bigger impression on a client. Jiro gave smaller portions to female clients and memorised seating arrangements so as not to disrupt the pace of the meal, and even placed the sushi on the left side of the plate if a client was left-handed.

Such minute details may not mean much to the provider, but instills a great impression on the client. Despite the simplicity of sushi, and despite the fact that master chefs had been perfecting the formulae for excellent sushi for generations, with seemingly no prospect of ever being able to innovate or improving on decades old recipes, Jiro proved all the naysayers wrong. Such a feat encapsulates Jiro's state of mind in creating his product, by never giving up, working hard on a daily basis, and dedicating his life to it. In his own words, his business is everything to him — failing at his business, would be failing at life. It is not unwise to have back up plans, but having his back against the wall since childhood, made Jiro the kind of person to give in his all to be able to succeed, sacrificing even family life and vacations to be able to follow his dream. Jiro also extends his philosophy to his suppliers, working only with people he trusts on a professional level. As he regards himself to be a sushi expert, he regards his rice supplier as being a rice expert, and this also applies to his fish suppliers, who have their own methodology — one which Jiro respects, and thus why he is able to work with them.

Amongst the traits he values in his suppliers, are that they only go for the best product — if at first impression there is something amiss, then they will not go for it, preferring to ensure that their reputation is intact, and their client satisfied, rather than jeopardising the relationship of trust between the seller and the buyer. The suppliers themselves are picky about their customers — after all, the industry is a circle in which the manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and consumers are part of. The success of one depends on the other, and an entrepreneur should keep this in mind when seeking to find business partners. The documentary highlights five attributes for Jiro's perfectionism: Working hard, and taking the work seriously — being utterly devoted to your job. Secondly, the aspiration to improve, and never being satisfied with one's own product — this does not mean that one should not be confident in what he is presenting to his clients, but that one always keeps on striving to improve.

The third characteristic is cleanliness, and this can also be interpreted from a business point of view, reflecting simplicity and order in one's business model. Jiro's fourth characteristic is impatience, and stubbornness — being a perfectionist, he will never accept any way other than his, and this makes him fight harder for what he thinks is best. Lastly, and probably most importantly, one must have a burning passion for what one is doing Another aspect of Jiro's path to perfection, is that one starts off from the bottom rung, and works his way up. His trainees spend ten years before being allowed to "touch the fish". He believes in a gradual process of learning — one should never be overconfident in his abilities. The learning process is long and painful, but after so many years of sacrifice and hard work, you are bound to emerge as an outstanding professional. There is no easy way of earning success. An entrepreneur must fight against the impatience and the rebellious nature of youth, and learn from one's superiors, whilst at the same time displaying the energy of one young of age.