Celebrity chefs Nobu Matsuhisa and Roy Choi arrive in Sydney for two very different foodie events

Two of the world’s best known celebrity chefs — culinary icons Nobu Matsuhisa and Roy Choi — have hit Sydney to add flavour to two very different foodie events.

Sydney is the backdrop for a tale of two chefs.

Two international culinary icons from different culinary backgrounds are in town, showcasing their food to a devoted following.

On one side of town, the esteemed Nobu Matsuhisa, founder of luxe Japanese restaurant Nobu (which he owns with Hollywood heavyweight Robert DeNiro) was visiting his newest outpost at Crown, Sydney.

While at Hickson Road Reserve at The Rocks, the “Godfather of the Food truck”, Roy Choi, was sampling tacos and sipping margaritas as host of the Don Julio Food Truck Fiesta event at the World Class Cocktail Festival.

Choi gained prominence as the founder of the Korean-Mexican taco truck in America, Kogi.

Pictured at Nobu at Crown is Nobu Matsuhisa, founder of prestigious international Japanese restaurants. Picture: Richard Dobson

The “Godfather of Food Trucks" Roy Choi at the Don Julio Food Truck Fiesta in The Rocks today. Picture: Tim Hunter.

He has more than 500,000 followers on Instagram and is famous for his Netflix TV show Chef with Jon Favreau.

This marks his first trip to Sydney and he said he’s been surprised by the attention he received.

“Way more than I thought. And I know in Australia you’re not supposed to talk big, you’re supposed to keep it mellow. But I’ve been blown away by people noticing me on the street and sending love and hugs and I didn’t expect it,” he said.

While in Sydney, Choi has visited Din Tai Fung and Happy Chef. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Choi’s food philosophy is food that isn’t fancy and so of course sampled some of Sydney’s finest street foods and was impressed by the Chaco Ramen, the laksa at Happy Chef and Din Tai Fung.

While Matsuhisa’s visit coincides with the first time he’s been able to visit his Sydney venue which opened during lockdowns. The restaurant on Level Two of Crown is the third of Nobu in Australia and one of 59 in his global franchise. Like all his venues, it’s been a celebrity hotspot with Chris Hemsworth a regular visitor.

While in town, Matsuhisa, has been visiting the fish markets, working with his head chef’s and he will also host a sold out cocktail party over the weekend for 220 people, with tickets costing $400 each.

He said the success of Nobu is simple. “This new generation of chef’s are making things complicated. It’s a lot of work and it’s beautiful. But for me, the Nobu style of food is very simple cooking and fresh,” he said.

Matsuhisa has over 50 Nobu locations across the globe. Picture: Richard Dobson

Matsuhisa opened the original Nobu in 1987 in New York. The restaurants are owned by Matsuhisa as well as Hollywood superstar Robert De Niro, film producer Meir Teper and Crown Resorts.

However despite his fame and success, Matsuhisa also has some surprising advice about how to eat his sushi. “With your hands!” he said.