Usually when I post pictures of elderly Japanese men, they are highly skilled martial artists desperately trying to maintain a tradition of ass-whupping that goes back hundreds of years. Not today.On January 5th, 2007, at the ripe old age of 96, Momofuku Ando, founder of Nissin and the inventor of instant noodles, died.
I found his obituary in the back pages of hoity-toity The Economist, a weekly newsmagazine that I feel into the habit of reading several years ago while studying for a job interview. (Don't ask.) The obit is very wry. It likens the instant gratification and simplicity of instant Ramen noodles to the search for enlightenment. Apparently this is not merely the low-wit of the author, because Mr. Ando had three sayings that served as Nissin's motto:
Peace will come when people have food.
Eating wisely will enhance beauty and health.
The creation of food will serve society.
Talk about a mission statement. No wonder Japanese business is such tough competition.
Anyway, instant noodles are the kind of thing you take for granted. You just assume they've always been around. Not so. Mr. Ando got the idea while walking home from work in 1957. He saw the long lines of people waiting at the noodle shops, which were the Japanese equivalent of McDonalds back in the day. I say "were" because I suspect McDonalds is now the Japanese equivalent of McDonalds, but I digress.
It took Mr. Ando a year to perfect the process of creating the instant noodle. The secret? Flash-frying the fresh noodles in palm oil. But here's the bit that really surprised me -- as it will surprise almost any student in higher education:
Mr. Ando was laughed at and repeatedly told he would fail because... the instant noodles cost 6 times as much as a bowl of fresh noodles! Hard to believe when you can take home a grocery bag full of the things for pocket change.
Well, we will all miss Mr. Ando in our own ways. But he did something extraordinary by making so many millions happy with something so incredibly simple, and even if he is forgotten, I'm sure his legacy will continue forever.
4 comments:
Oh what a sad day. Nissin Instant Noodles were sooooo popular when I was in Prison. As a matter of fact, I have several recipies from those days like:
General Population Hook Up
10 packs Nissin Instant Noodles
1 Summer Sausage (taken from your B!t(#'s holiday package)
2 powdered scrambled eggs smuggled from breakfast
Assorted Vegatables stolen from the Kitchen.
1 gallon Hot water
Cut Summer Sausage and stolen vegatables with small shank into bite size pieces. Mix all ingredients in large trashbag. Let sit 5 minutes and serve in plastic bowls. Serves 10 to 12.
Yeah Mon, hookups are like, totaly cool.
What is wrong with you phuking people?
Nissin Cup of Noodles is better than Soylent Green
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