"Morimoto" news and stories

Nothing quite spoils a $35 plate of lobster risotto like the specter of revolution.

A kind of proletariat fever appears to be sweeping through some of New York's finest restaurants. Forget picket lines, though. These workers are dragging their celebrity-chef bosses to court.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, famed Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto is the latest in a string of prominent restaurateurs to face lawsuits alleging violations of state and federal labor laws. A former employee of his New York City restaurant, Morimoto, is filing suit for depriving him of tip money.

Given how often the secret ingredient on Iron Chef America ends up being a vegetable, it's a wonder we haven't seen more vegetarian chefs plying their trade. Sure, Bobby Flay can grill a lime like nobody's business, and at this point, there are few things that come out of the ground that Chef Morimoto hasn't oh-so-delicately tempura-ed.

So we were looking forward to Amanda Cohen's challenge to the throne this week. Would the proprietor of Manhattan's tiny, inventive vegetarian restaurant Dirt Candy show the meat boys a thing or two? Would she show solidarity for her patrons by refusing to wade into the carnivorous, pescetarian waters judges like grump-o Jeffrey Steingarten are so used to treading? Would a vegetarian chef -- gasp! -- win the title of Iron Chef?

Granted, after the past two guests ruthlessly defeated, respectively, Chefs Symon and Morimoto, we thought it unlikely that another win was in the cards, for anyone. And the Shelley Duvall-esque Cohen looked like she was going to break out laughing when The Chairman barked out her introduction ("you walk to the beat of a different drummer!").

We have to admit: It's more than a little hard to keep all the renowned chefs of America and their various TV appearances straight. It's getting to the point where, if you're lucky enough to be able to dine in a big city, you're liable to be greeted by the same person who you saw whipping up calamari with Kathie Lee & Hoda in the morning, getting eliminated from a rerun of The Next Iron Chef in the afternoon, and cruelly critiquing young upstarts on Top Chef D.C. in the evening.

Such is the case with Maria Hines of Seattle's renowned Tilth. Okay, so we didn't get to dine at Tilth Sunday night, and it's been a while since she graced the airwaves on Top Chef Masters. But we've missed her bold, distinctly northwestern (not to mention organic and local) flavor profiles, unpretentious plating, and utterly cool, laid-back demeanor. In just a couple short episodes, she became our number-one summer chef crush.

So while we were eagerly awaiting her face-off with Chef Morimoto on Iron Chef America this weekend, we did so with a lump in our throats: Really, does anyone other than the reigning Iron Chef win? Sure, there are a few token wins to reassure us that the whole thing isn't rigged, but surely, pairing up Hines with seafood whiz Morimoto was a "better luck next time" kind of move on the part of the producers.

It's been a few weeks since we checked in with the bizarre ritual/quite-possibly-rigged competition that is Iron Chef America. In that time, not only has the intermittently gaunt Alton Brown gained a little more color to his complexion, but also -- wonder of wonders! -- reigning Iron Chef Cat Cora was upset by Holly Smith in a grape face-off.

It was the first true Iron Chef loss this season, not counting the White House special where Bobby Flay and Mario Batali went head-to-head with non-Ironers. Would lightening strike twice? Would the Food Network judges reaffirm our faith that they're not, shall we say, stacking the decks?

Don't crack open the champagne -- or rather, the prosecco -- just yet. We mention the sparkling beverage because, in a fit of hubris, that's literally what this week's challenger did. Demonstrating a trick we've never attempted, venerable NYC chef Geoffrey Zakarian opened his prosecco with a few quick slashes of a chef's knife -- shattering the neck of the bottle while he was at it.

What food do you eat that would give you a bad rep if other chefs knew about it?
MM: Duane Reade's sushi [NB: Duane Reade is a northeast drugstore chain]. But I'm hoping that I'd get a reprieve, since it was a one-time thing for a NY Post interview.

Find out which celebrity Morimoto would love to cook for and more after the jump.