"masaharu morimoto" news and stories

Over at Manhattan's Harvard Club this weekend, it was Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto vs. Ming Tsai vs. Anne Burrell in a bizarre but hilarious late-night battle for karaoke supremacy as part of the New York City Wine & Food Festival. Morimoto was first up at the mic, belting out a Japanese tune with conviction -- but not a whole lot of tunefulness.

After his uneven performance, a sober Morimoto offered an excuse: "With no drink, it's the first time."

Next up at the "Rock & Roll with Morimoto and Friends" event was Ming Tsai.

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.

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.

The 2010 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival kicked off with a carnivorous bang at the Amstel Light Burger Bash, which was presented by Allen Brothers and hosted by Rachael Ray. The fourth annual Burger Bash, which was held in a tent behind the Ritz-Carlton South Beach, was a smashing success with 27 entries spanning celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay, Rocco DiSpirito and David Burke. Nearly 3,000 revelers chowed down on gourmet burgers and spuds, drank truckloads of beer and gawked at Rachael Ray.

The biggest line could be found at Morimoto's station, where the Iron Chef was serving a pork "Kakuni" burger with glazed pork belly. Over at Shake Shack's booth, the New York stalwart tried to ingratiate themselves to the Miami scene (they are opening a local outpost here in the spring) with free t-shirts, shakes and their famous burgers.

Women were swooning over Rocco DiSpirito, who spent more time posing for photos than dishing up his Pork and Chow Chow Slider, which was a mini pork patty, wrapped in bacon and served with chow chow and pickled beets. While Guy Fieri turned heads with his blond, spiky coif, fans weren't able to get too close to him as he was flanked by bodyguards all night. We were able to chat up the festival's founder and director, Lee Brian Schrager, whose top pick of the evening was Morimoto's porcine-themed burger.

StarChefs, the "magazine for culinary insiders," celebrated New York's "Rising Stars" on Tuesday with a gala tasting in New York City.

Slashfood popped in to check out the fare and gaze at culinary stars like honoree and "Top Chef" Season One winner Harold Dieterle and Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto (whose New York restaurant Chef Jamison Blankenship was honored and whipped up a bouillabaisse) as well as Babyface (who knew the hitmaker was a foodie?).

Del Posto's pastry chef, Brooks Headley, paired pea shoots with strawberry gelato, while mixologist Maxwell Britten made Gingerbutter Collins with scotch whiskey. Best overheard conversation of the night: "She puts bacon in everything now, even chocolate chip cookies." We'll have to try that.

Food porn after the jump.