Reading on a mobile? Click here to watch the video My frequent family trips to Japan while growing up ultimately led to my fascination and admiration for the art of making sushi. After college, I saw BBC's Planet Earth, and immediately thought it would be great if someone made a movie like that about the world's best sushi chef. I have always felt that sushi is the most visually creative food, and a sushi chef the ultimate showman. So I embarked on a tour of Tokyo's greatest sushi restaurants with renowned critic Masuhiro Yamamoto and discovered the famed restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro. Once I had met Chef Jiro and eaten the most delicious sushi of my life, I knew that this man would be the subject of my film. In addition to the amazing sushi, I was intrigued by the fact that not only is he still working at 85 years old, but his sons still work for him. The son of an alcoholic father who was on his own since the age of 10, Jiro has dedicated his life to mastering his craft and providing an environment where his sons can thrive.

It's a very difficult business, and to build the clientele to allow you to provide the quality that Jiro does is not so easy. I'll point to what Jiro mentions in the film, which is that 95% of the preparation happens in the kitchen before he even gets there. That's an amazing testament to what a great teacher he is. His sons have picked all of that up, and the quality of Jiro will always be there with them. In a difficult business where fish supply is dwindling and the cost of ingredients is rising, Jiro has gained recognition and a loyal following by mastering the art of making sushi in its purest form. I had the opportunity to taste Jiro's sushi while shooting the documentary, and the experience was flawless. What sets Jiro's sushi apart from the rest? The big difference is the rice. In my opinion, a lot of sushi restaurants outside Japan – even the high-end ones – overlook the rice. Jiro's is a little more vinegary than we might be used to and served at body temperature. It is cooked at very high pressure, which allows it to be fluffy;

but at the same time, each grain retains its shape. So when you eat it, you get this wonderful blend of fish and rice. Jiro has mastered it. It ends up tasting like something completely new. To make Jiro Dreams of Sushi, I spent eight weeks in Tokyo over the course of two years, gathering footage and delving headfirst into Jiro's world. The editor and my long-time friend, Brandon Driscoll-Luttringer, worked closely with me to bring out this man's story, looking to illustrate how his work ethic had shaped his character and that of his sons. watch jiro dreams of sushi for freeAlthough it is very much about the sushi, this film is not simply a foodie documentary. giochi sushi bar 2It's the story of a man who has devoted his life to mastering a craft.jiro dreams of sushi uk release

Jiro's refusal to quit reminds me of my grandparents, who still rise at 5am every morning to write. This is why they are still so sharp. Like Jiro, they never stop improving. This act of propelling oneself forward and never looking back is one of the main themes of the film. I hope you enjoy watching my documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. I'll be back on Monday 14 January to answer your questions, so please post them below!order sushi o shanghai Available from these sellers. Watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi instantly from with Also available to rent on DVD from LOVEFiLM By Post Jiro Dreams Of Sushi [DVD]Man, Woman DVD (1994) Region Free DVD (Region 1,2,3,4,5,6 Compatible) Adrift in Tokyo [DVD] Actors: Jiro Ono, Yoshikazu Ono Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. DVD Release Date: 4 Mar. 2013 54,857 in DVD & Blu-ray (See Top 100 in DVD & Blu-ray)

in DVD & Blu-ray > Documentary Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? Meet 85 year-old Jiro Ono, widely praised as the world’s greatest sushi chef. His tiny restaurant, Sukiyabashi Jiro, is tucked away in a Tokyo subway station and only seats ten, yet bears 3 Michelin stars and has a month-long reservation waiting list. Jiro runs this culinary gem with a will of iron, deft fingers and his eldest son Yoshikazu. Their fascinating relationship lies at the heart of this wasabi-infused tale, as the apprentice struggles with the sometimes overbearing aura of the master. David Gelb’s feature film début nimbly explores every facet of Jiro’s daily life, from his total commitment to the craft to his role as patriarch, making our mouths water along the way. See all 62 customer reviews See all 62 customer reviews (newest first) on Amazon.co.uk Less a food film, more a meditation on the human spirit. Absorbing, inspiring and (at times) amusing.

I heard it was good. I was not expecting it be quite so compelling, considering it is about Sushi.I was hoping for a very passionate story about Sushi, but it's more like a news report. A must for all foodies . Incredible insight into the painstaking training and commitment of a Michelin starred chef. Beautiful film, it stayed with me years after first watching it. Look for similar items by category DVD & Blu-ray > English Subtitles DVD & Blu-ray > Movies Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?At Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market, sushi chef Yoshikazu Ono buys an octopus and watches it rudely stuffed into a plastic bag; alive and straining its tentacles in a vain bid to escape. Wild shrimp, pale dappled brown, are so fresh they leap out of their crates, while eel and halibut swim hopelessly in boxes. The eerie carcases of prize tuna are auctioned in a bizarre fish trading floor.If the fish can’t get away, neither perhaps can Yoshikazu, who wanted to be a fighter pilot, but instead was persuaded by his father Jiro to train, like him, as a sushi chef.

Jiro is in his mid-eighties, Yoshikazu is in his early fifties, and both have worked ceaselessly in the art of sushi; Yoshikazu since his teens, his father since the age of 10. This month they take unlikely starring roles in Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the funny, touching documentary of their work that was a sleeper hit in the US last year.It’s unusual to see lives dedicated to food portrayed in such detail – and with such affection. The film-maker David Gelb followed “Jiro-san” in Tokyo over two separate months in 2010, having conceived of a Planet Earth-style treatment of different gastronomic subjects, starting with his own favourite food, sushi. “When I was first researching the project [the chef] Daniel Boulud insisted I use Jiro; he sees that he is a genius,” Gelb says. Indeed, Jiro is very much a chef’s chef – Joël Robuchon visits the restaurant once a year, and he has fans from Eric Ripert to April Bloomfield. “Jiro is a craftsman who has dedicated his life to finding perfection in sushi,” Bloomfield says.

“He represents the old school in a world where people seem to want to do things faster and cheaper.”The omakase menu at Sukiyabashi Jiro, the chef’s tiny 10-seater (and three Michelin-starred) basement restaurant, costs Y30,000 (about £215) and consists of 20 different pieces of sushi. It’s not cheap, but neither are Jiro’s methods or his ingredients. Yoshikazu is deputed to buy the fish at the market, where carefully chosen specialists are in turn trusted to supply only the very finest produce. The restaurant has its own rice dealer, Hiromichi, who has an entertaining cameo in the film, but such is the importance of this particular rice to the sushi that the exact variety was kept a close secret from Gelb. “They cook it under high pressure so it gets very fluffy but [this variety] retains its shape.” The rice, Gelb says, is crucial to balance the fish: “When I first ate there, it’s as if I’d never eaten sushi before.”In Jiro, we see the small, six-man kitchen team sweating their way through a long list of daily chores: drying seaweed sheet by sheet over hot charcoal, massaging the (now dead) octopus by hand for 50 minutes to make its flesh more tender, marinating the fish, perfecting the rice, practising the cut of the fish and the assembly of the sushi over and over again.

“Never complain about your job” is Jiro’s motto, and well before the film’s close you know he means it.Anybody thinking of opening a restaurant will find an acute warning of the self-denying edge that perfectionism can teeter on. Tim Anderson, who won MasterChef in 2011 and whose own southern Japanese restaurant, Nanban, is set to open in London this spring, says: “As a chef myself, [the film] is both inspiring and heartbreaking; Jiro’s perfect sushi is only made possible by great sacrifices … I can’t quite decide if it’s a lifestyle I aspire to, or one I’m thankful to not be living.” Meanwhile Michael Voltaggio, the celebrity chef-owner of Ink in West Hollywood, liked the film so much he had a screening of it for his entire staff. (“They ordered pizza,” Gelb says.)The common idea of the unhealthily hardworking chef does pall completely when you consider Jiro’s story. Aged nine, his bankrupt parents told him he had to fend for himself, and aged 10 he started working in sushi street stalls, progressing to an apprenticeship at a large and prestigious sushi restaurant before eventually opening his own place.