Morimoto’s Next Move: The ‘Iron Chef’ Sizes Up Sushi and Stereotypes As Judge of New Competition Show
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From his time on Iron Chef to his best-selling cookbooks, Chef Masaharu Morimoto has never been shy about doling out opinions on everything from rice bowls to roasts. Now, the famous chef is sizing up sushi as the face of a new cooking competition show.
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Morimoto’s Sushi Master is a six-episode competition series streaming June 16 on the Roku Channel. The series features eight chefs battling it out to become the “next great sushi-fusion master.” Morimoto serves as the lead judge and mentor for the contestants, who are competing to win the title of “Sushi Master,” a $25,000 prize, and the chance to work at one of Morimoto’s acclaimed restaurants.
For Morimoto, who appeared on Iron Chef America until the series ended in 2013, the chance to return to the small screen was an easy decision.
“I was excited to do this because it was my own show, with my own name on it,” the chef told Rolling Stone, at a launch event at MGM Las Vegas to celebrate the project. “Plus,” he adds, “I’m always thinking about how to keep my customers and my fans happy. It can be through my restaurants and my hospitality, and now it can be through this show. That’s ultimately my main job,” he says, “to make the customer happy.”
Rolling Stone sat down with Chef Morimoto at his namesake restaurant in Vegas to talk about the inspiration behind his new series, misconceptions people have about sushi, and why five decades into his career, he’s still searching for his mountain peak.
What inspired you to make Morimoto’s Sushi Master?
I was deeply involved in Iron Chef America, but I was also originally in Iron Chef Japan, and I wanted to share the origin story of food in Japan to viewers here as well. I didn’t have a cooking show like Bobby Flay or Guy Fieri, and everybody enjoyed their shows of course, but no one was focused on Japanese culture or sushi. I had ideas for a long time about doing something, and finally, after Covid and after having nothing to do, I was like, ‘Yes, I have to do this.’
What are some misconceptions that you think people have about making and eating sushi?
The first thing is that people think sushi has a lot of rules. But my show is about breaking all the rules. You can make your own rules when it comes to sushi — there’s no right or wrong way to make it.
And then, some people think sushi is very difficult to eat. A lot of people associate Asian food, especially Japanese food, as being difficult or mysterious, with strange ingredients and seasonings. Some people think sushi is just raw fish and they don’t like eating anything raw. So that’s why I make things like my signature tuna pizza: every single ingredient sounds familiar and people know about it. It’s crispy, it’s got red onions, black olives and then cherry tomatoes. And of course, sliced tuna. And the sauce is an anchovy aioli, which is sort of like a caesar dressing. So people feel very comfortable eating it.
As someone who has worked at sushi restaurants their whole life, how difficult was it to not step in to help contestants when they were messing up their dishes?
I wanted to say a lot of stuff, but my English vocabulary is very small. So I would just say, ‘No comment’ or say nothing. I did try to watch some cooking shows with judgements, like Chopped, and I would hear them say things like, ‘This is how you can elevate,’ or ‘This is how to take it to the next step,’ and I would think, ‘Okay, I can use that.’
Roku Express HD Streaming Device
Why did you decide to partner with Roku Channel for this show?
Well we first wanted to pitch the show to TV networks and then Netflix or HBO, but they already had their cooking shows. And I wanted to work with an intimate production team and not a big company. Roku was also interested in focusing on the Japanese aspect and not just make a regular cooking show.
The streaming idea is interesting to me because these days, many people watch TV from their couch on their own schedule. And the show is free to stream on-demand.
Since this is for Rolling Stone, I have to ask: Are you a big music fan?
I’m Japanese so I like Enka (a traditional Japanese folk genre) and Japanese country. Of course I like to karaoke too, but only Japanese songs, not English songs. I also have a restaurant in Napa and one year I went to BottleRock [Festival] and was on stage with Snoop Dogg when he performed his song “California Roll.” I don’t think it was about sushi [laughs]
Did you get a chance to talk to Snoop?
Yes, he was much nicer than I thought. He had never had sushi before, so I taught him how to make a California sushi roll. He had a nice rolling technique [laughs]
Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking
You’re approaching 70 years old and have been working for more than five decades. What keeps you motivated?
I’m from Japan and Mount Fuji is the top mountain in Japan. But standing here [points to ground], you can only see this view. If you climb up half the mountain, you can only see 50% of the beauty. And then some people will eventually get to the top, above all the clouds. But still, Fuji Mountain is not the highest mountain in the world; it’s not even the highest mountain in Asia. So once you get to the top of the mountain, you say, ‘Oh, I want to go see this other mountain now.’
Those are very wise words.
In Japan we have this phrase, keizoku wa chikara da. It means ‘continuity is power.’ If you keep going and keep working hard, you will achieve success.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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