But it’s an interesting one. Really this is about discipline and patience but Creativity Post sums up a theory of living well and productively under the catch-all heading of Seven Life Lessons from Making Sushi.
It begins:
To get a seat you must make a reservation months in advance. The courses are carefully planned and the creation and serving of the meal is a multi-course symphony of sushi that some guests have even described as “stressful” yet an experience like no other. Jiro himself serves each course to his guests and carefully examines their faces as they taste his elegant works of edible art. What follows is the wisdom distilled from the great sushi chef on how to master your craft.
1. Learn from the best. Sometimes you must learn to fail before you learn to succeed. Yamamoto, a renowned Japanese food writer, says: “When you work for Jiro, he teaches you for free. But, you have to endure ten years of training. If you persevere for ten years you will acquire the skills to be recognized as a first-rate chef.”
In Jiro’s restaurant, many apprentices do not make it to the next level. Yet there are those who persevere. For example, one of the apprentice sushi chefs tried over 400 times to make egg sushi that met Jiro’s standards of being worthy to be served. When he finally received Jiro’s approval, he was overwhelmed with joy and cried.
Take away lesson: Only when you understand what it feels like to fail and try again will you be able to cherish the moment when you achieve success.
Not the takeaway I’m thinking of now. But despite my rumbling stomach, let’s both read on for the other six lessons.