World-famous chef Nobu arrives in Sydney to host glamorous parties

As a boy, Nobu Matsuhisa dreamt of being a ‘sushi chef’. His name’s now synonymous with the food and the A-listers who won’t get it anywhere else. Here, he dishes on Nicole Kidman’s regular order, meeting Princess Diana, and more.

Nobu is to the rich, famous, and food-obsessed what a Starbucks or McDonald’s is to the average American — global, comforting, and consistent.

“I don’t know how much they love me, but they trust our quality,” world-famous chef Nobu Matsuhisa told The Daily Telegraph of his famously A-list clientele.

“Regardless of who you are, I try as much as possible to find what you’re looking for and to remember what each person likes,” Matsuhisa said. “It feels personal.”

International Chef Nobu Matsuhisa at his eponymous restaurant in Crown Sydney. Picture: David Swift/Daily Telegraph

“I know Nicole Kidman very well. She eats almost everything, but last time she was here, three months ago with her kids, she had the sashimi salad. “She comes in Los Angeles and she comes in Sydney because it’s the same, except we use local fish.”

‘Nobu’ sushi prepared by the man himself. Picture: David Swift/Daily Telegraph.

. Celebrities who legitimately want privacy know how to go unphotographed, even while dining out. There are places — like the private membership club Soho House — that cater to these needs, offering heavy security, regulated phone use, private rooms, and low, dark lighting. Nobu is where they go to be seen.

The Malibu restaurant’s valet has long served as an off-duty red carpet of sorts for regulars like Angelina Jolie, Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, and the Kardashian-Jenners.

“Today, I talked to Mark Wahlberg because he’s also staying here,” Matsuhisa said. Ironically, though, he doesn’t watch many movies.

The closest ‘Nobu san’ said he’s come to a starstruck moment was an introduction to the late Princess Diana shortly before she died. “I was in London, we opened in 1997. She came and I cooked for her. I said hi to the table: ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you princess’,” he said.

“She said ‘Nobu, I read about your history and story.’

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa has arrived in Sydney, Australia on the first stop of his Australian restaurant tour. Picture: David Swift/Sydney.

“So she knew me, I was surprised. The princess was a very nice lady, she had charisma and smarts She spoke very nicely, but the thing I remember the most is her elegance.”

“I stayed in London for a couple of days and went to back to my apartment in New York. I turned on the TV and saw the news of Diana’s car accident.

“I was shocked, so emotional,” Matsuhisa said.

The culinary talent arrived on Wednesday to host his first-ever series of ticketed events Australia— launching on Thursday night with a pool party on Crown Sydney’s rooftop.

The event promises “A-list entertainment” in addition to sushi, shasimi, cocktails, and of course a chance to rub shoulders with the man himself.

No word on who that entertainment is just yet, although Mark Wahlberg may well be in attendance. “I bumped into him today,” Matsuhisa said.

It will be followed by an expansive Gochiso sushi lunch on Saturday, May 4th.

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Picture: David Swift.

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Picture: David Swift

The sprawling hospitality empire, that now encompasses more than 50 venues around the world, is far beyond Matsuhisa’s boyhood dreams of being “a sushi chef’.”

“My father passed away in a car accident when I was seven or eight-years-old,” he said.

“I was always missing him and my older brother took me to a sushi restaurant. I was surprised because it was a small restaurant with sliding doors and immediately the chef said to me Irasshaimase — welcome. I could see the sushi on the counters, and the chef made it by the piece, and feel the good energy. Immediately, I thought ‘wow’ and in that moment, knew I wanted to be a chef.”

“So I did it, I’m a chef,” he said.

Which is... something of an understatement.

Nobu today is easily the world’s most famous contemporary Japanese restaurant, and its namesake chef, something of a celebrity himself.

Matsuhisa first opened up shop in 1987 in Beverly Hills, and in Sydney in December 2020.

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