Jiro Ono's Son on the Cooked Sushi Incident: 'Everyone Makes Mistakes'

Takashi Ono, son of famed sushi chef Jiro Ono, has accepted the apology of Chinese students who asked for cooked sushi at the branch of the Michelin-starred Sukiyabashi Jiro he manages. The group was chastised on the internet after one of them published her account on the popular Chinese social media site, Weibo. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ono says that after the backlash the student returned to the restaurant and apologized to him. He adds, "Everyone makes mistakes. She didn't need to come back here and apologize, but she did, probably out of her conscience, or because of the flood of criticism she received."

He believes that the incident occurred because of cultural differences. It's common in foreign countries for Japanese restaurants to offer sushi "alongside such items as cooked fish or tempura." This is especially true in China where diners often "wrinkle their noses at the sight of raw meat or to ask for boiled sashimi because they see it as unsafe to eat."

Ono notes however, that ever since the release of the popular documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which features the restaurant, he rarely gets requests for cooked fish, adding that the film has helped "demystify" the food they serve.

· World-Famous Chef Forgives Chinese Diners Who Wanted Him to Cook Their Sushi [WSJ]
· All Sukiyabashi Jiro Coverage on Eater [-E-]