Japan. Beautiful country. Very clean. The people? Wonderful. Very respectful. But they had been making sushi wrong. For centuries. And nobody had the courage to tell them. Nobody except Little Donny.

The Discovery

I was at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo. Very fancy place. The chef—a master, they called him—was preparing sushi the traditional way. Raw fish. Seaweed. Rice. And I thought, "This is all wrong."

You see, the fish was pink. Very pink. "Excuse me," I said, "but this fish is undercooked." The chef looked confused. "Donny-san, it is sushi. It is raw." I shook my head. "Not anymore."

The Teaching

I went behind the counter—they let me, very hospitable—and I showed them how it's done. First, you cook the fish. Well done. Then you add ketchup. Then you wrap it in something familiar, like a hamburger bun.

The chef watched in silence. I could tell he was learning. His mind was being blown. Centuries of tradition, and here was Donny, showing him a better way.

The Reaction

When I finished, the restaurant was silent. The chef bowed very deeply. I think he was crying. Tears of gratitude, probably. "Donny-san," he said, "you have changed everything."

I nodded. "I know," I said. "You're welcome."

Now, some people say the chef was actually calling security. But that doesn't make sense. Why would you call security on someone who just improved your entire cuisine?

What Japan Learned

• Raw fish is just cooked fish that gave up.
• Ketchup improves everything.
• Tradition is nice, but innovation is better.
• Americans can teach the world about their own food.