Chef Masaharu Morimoto

Born May 26, 1955 in Hiroshima Career : As a high school student in Hiroshima, Japan, Morimoto was well on his way to becoming a professional baseball player until a shoulder injury ended that career. Fortunately, for himself and us, he dreamed of a dual career as a sushi chef. Chef Morimoto received nearly eight years of culinary training in Hiroshima at a restaurant specializing in sushi and traditional Kaiseki cuisine. At the age of 25 Morimoto opened his own restaurant in Hiroshima. Morimoto soon distinguished himself from his peers by infusing European and Western cooking techniques and ingredients into his preparations. Five years later, Morimoto sold the restaurant and purchased a round-trip ticket to the United States seeking to further explore and define his unique Japanese fusion. Although Hawaii, California, Louisiana, and New York were all on the itinerary, Morimoto abandoned his travels and his plans to return to Japan. He immediately settled in Manhattan. Morimoto spent the next few years working in some of New York City's most notable Japanese restaurants. Then in 1993, Morimoto joined restaurateur, Barry Wine of Quilted Giraffe fame, as the executive chef at the Sony Club, the exclusive dining arena for Sony Corporation's executive staff and visiting V.I.P.'s. Morimoto's dream to present his Japanese fusion in a western setting was realized Within a year, Chef Nobu Matsuhisu recruited Morimoto to open New York City's Nobu restaurant. He was subsequently promoted to executive chef at Nobu. Since 1998, chef Morimoto has combined his passion for cuisine, competition, and performance as the Japanese Iron Chef on the wildly popular television show, Iron Chef, produced by Fuji Television. In November of 2001 Morimoto opened his first restaurant in the United States in the city of Philadelphia with another to follow in New York. These days, as the Japanese Iron Chef and owner chef at Morimoto Restaurant and Wasabi (Mumbai), Morimoto's exciting new restaurant in Philadelphia, he divides his time between Tokyo, New York, and Philadelphia Morimoto currently appears as an Iron Chef in Iron Chef America, a spin-off from the original Japanese "Iron Chef" series. Chef Morimoto has also developed a line of specialty beers with Rogue Ales of Newport, Oregon.