For the uninitiated, the subtext of this movie is pondering whether Jiro's son Yoshikazu will be able to successfully take over the restaurant when Jiro retires. It's the age old question of what does it take for apprentice to finally surpass the master; who is a worthy successor to the master, etc.
This is particularly relevant because the valley's succession story du jour is Apple and whether Tim Cook et al can take the reins in the wake of Steve Jobs. The following quote struck me:
"It's not going to be easy for Yoshikazu to succeed his father at the same restaurant. Even if Yoshikazu makes the same level of sushi it will still be seen as inferior. If Yoshikazu makes sushi that's twice as good as Jiro's, only then will they be seen as equal." (32:06)
This is exactly what Apple has been going through in the last year, exacting a level of polish that is on par if not above what they released last year, but still leaving nagging doubts in the hearts of the faithful. The one thing that would silence critics and quell fears would be that something twice as revolutionary as the original iPhone be straight up imagined, developed, and hoisted by the post-Jobs Apple--just to claim par.
Near the end of the documentary it is said by Jiro that his son (Yoshikazu) was the one making the sushi when it was being graded for the three Michelin stars and that being the head chef is the easy job because all the hard preparation work is done by the people under him. I think this somewhat applies to Apple as well — while Jobs was an excellent curator of sorts, he was supported by excellent people like Sir Jonathan Ive and others. So I wouldn't be surprised if they continue to create highly innovative products.
The thing I particularly liked was how he picked his vendors based on their expertise. He admitted to knowing less about tuna than his tuna guy, less about rice than his rice guy, etc., and his relationships were long-term and mutually beneficial.
Really appreciated this point too. None of his vendors seemed to have a genuine interest in anything outside of the quality of their craft and the honour of their relationships. It was incredibly refreshing, and seems to be part of quite an old set of values for the region that might not pop up as much these days. Or at least, be promoted as widely as more capitalist ethic.
That's Japanese Culture for you. Many see their job as their highest life goal and they seek its perfection in order to honour their family/team mates/company/fellow Japanese or whatever their group association is at the moment. This idea then trickles down to even low wage jobs, where you still get an above par work quality. Trying Starbucks (cleanliness) and McDonalds (look and taste) in Japan is an interesting experience.
I thought Yoshikazu was referring to the time when one of their apprentice visited the shop. Yoshikazu asked him who was the chef, was it Jiro, and the apprentice said "you".
This is particularly relevant because the valley's succession story du jour is Apple and whether Tim Cook et al can take the reins in the wake of Steve Jobs. The following quote struck me:
"It's not going to be easy for Yoshikazu to succeed his father at the same restaurant. Even if Yoshikazu makes the same level of sushi it will still be seen as inferior. If Yoshikazu makes sushi that's twice as good as Jiro's, only then will they be seen as equal." (32:06)
This is exactly what Apple has been going through in the last year, exacting a level of polish that is on par if not above what they released last year, but still leaving nagging doubts in the hearts of the faithful. The one thing that would silence critics and quell fears would be that something twice as revolutionary as the original iPhone be straight up imagined, developed, and hoisted by the post-Jobs Apple--just to claim par.