Morimoto and Me

"Whiskey, eh?"
"Suntory," I said, nodding.
"Yamazaki," he responded, correctly noting the distillery of the 12-year-old single malt I'd been nursing.

And that is how my conversation with Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto began the other night when we shared a table at the Japanese Culinary Forum reception (ironically held at the French Culinary Institute). Indeed, David Bouley and Yoshiki Tsuji, who are planning to open a Japanese restaurant downtown, were mingling in the crowd, as were a fleet of extraordinary Kyoto- and Tokyo-based chefs who'd flown in for the event. Morimoto told me a lot of things that evening, most of which he insisted I wasn't allowed to repeat after finding out I'm a journalist. However, I will share his opinion on serving overfished species at his restaurants. "I'm a chef, not a politician, and my number one priority is feeding my guests." Basically, barring legislative mandates, he's not gonna be removing Chilean Sea Bass from his menus anytime soon. I'm a bit torn on his environmental laissez-faire -- because that is some amazing sea bass. I was, however, very impressed by his stubby fingers and large head.