How did you start your business venture with Robert De Niro?
Robert was a regular customer at Matsuhisa. One day, out of the blue, he asked me to open a restaurant with him in New York. I flew over to look at the site but eventually, I said ‘Bob, thanks for the offer but it’s too early’. Robert continued dining at Matsuhisa, and eventually took me aside again. He said, ‘I’ve been waiting four years, now can you come to New York?’ I was surprised he had waited for me, because he’s a big star. I thought, ‘This guy I can trust’, and we opened a restaurant.

What is Nobu style cooking?
It means simple Japanese cooking using some of the finest ingredients and styles from Peru such as cilantro, jalapeno peppers and ceviche.

Why did you decide to expand into hospitality?
We noticed that when people were asking us to open Nobu restaurants in new cities, it was mostly inside hotels. The pattern was always the same – the restaurants would be a success, and the hotels would thrive. So one day Robert said, ‘Why don’t you open a hotel?’ and that’s how it started.

What are the values you’ve brought to your hotels from your restaurants?
The last couple of years have been exciting because I have seen my values transcend the dining room. The Nobu experience remains true in whichever form. Detail is key. I spend a lot of time in hotels, travelling ten months in each year, so I know what requires attention. I have learnt that it takes time to build a team strong enough to deal with the challenges, and that training is invaluable.

Sushi is such an ingredient-focused cuisine – how do you maintain that level of quality on a global scale?
The quality of the fish is the most important consideration, wherever you are. At my first restaurant, the food cost was 50 per cent. I chose all the fish myself daily. Although I didn’t make any money, it meant that I got a reputation for quality – something I’ll never compromise. We have restaurants all over the world and we use the freshest local ingredients. There’s no central buying policy and the menus reflect the best ingredients available in each country. We grow our own rice in California and will go to such lengths to maintain quality.

What’s your favorite thing about hotels?
I travel 10 months a year and in every city, I stay in a hotel. You spend most of the time in the room, so you have to have a nice, comfortable bed and a large bathroom with a big showerhead in the shower. I like an iPhone plug near the bed, a big-screen TV. It’s the details that make it comfortable. I like warm service, like a home away from a home. Black cod in miso is a staple of Nobu restaurants.