Nobu Matsuhisa: Chef and entrepreneur

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AIR DATE: June 24, 2025

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As a young chef Nobu began working in Peru and quickly embraced a lack of traditional Japanese ingredients as an opportunity to innovate using local flavors. This fusion of cuisine and culture birthed what later became known as “Nobu style.” Today there are more than 80 Nobu restaurants and hotels around the world. Some might call this an empire—to Nobu, it’s a family. Josh and Evan caught up with Chef Nobu recently in Maui during the opening weekend of Nobu Maui at the Grand Wailea Hotel. Together they talked about his travel routines, grounding philosophies, respect for place and generosity of heart.

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Nobu Hotels

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Design Tangents

Hosted by COOL HUNTING founders Evan Orensten and Josh Rubin, Design Tangents takes listeners on a journey into the minds of artists, designers, musicians, tech pioneers and visionaries.

Evan Orensten

Evan Orensten is interested in the intersections of COOL HUNTING’s content categories, an accomplished cook, serviceable photographer and enthusiastic storyteller and globetrotter. He’s the co-founder and Executive Editor of COOL HUNTING.

Josh Rubin

Josh Rubin is COOL HUNTING’s founder, editor and executive creative director. He brings his background as a photographer and expertise as a user experience designer to his point of view on what makes a good story for CH—this most often include some kind of intersectionality between art, culture, technology and design. Josh is a bit of an urban hippie, obsessed with most things Japanese, a Sealyham Terrier lover and very food motivated.

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