Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto is a busy man, so busy that hotels and airplanes have become his substitute homes of late.
This year he has averaged at least one trip a month to Hawaii in addition to regular treks to Las Vegas and New York for food and charity events. The native of Japan was a judge for the Miss Hawaii USA 2014 pageant on Oct. 13 and in September hosted "Under the Modern Moon: Morimoto & Friends" to a sold-out crowd at the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival.
And yes, he’s still a contender on the Food Network’s "Iron Chef America."
Most recently he has been getting his new restaurant, Morimoto Maui, ready at Hyatt’s Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort & Spa, a new luxury boutique hotel on the site of the former Renaissance Wailea Beach Resort.
Morimoto Maui, the chef’s second restaurant in Hawaii, is expected to open early next month. His first, Morimoto Waikiki, opened in 2010 at what is now The Modern Honolulu.
Morimoto, 58, says he loves Hawaii and feels that Andaz, which has other resorts in London, Amsterdam and New York, was a good fit for his restaurant.
"It’s a nice size, intimate," he said.
It will be open for lunch and dinner in an oceanside setting, according to Andaz’s website, with French doors creating a seamless transition between a 57-seat, island-inspired dining room and 79-seat outdoor terrace and bar.
While the Waikiki restaurant offers a visual palette of soothing greens, the one on Maui will be in tones of turquoise and azure to reflect the ocean.
The decor at all of Morimoto’s restaurants varies, and the chef says he is happy to leave that to the professionals, with the exception of the bathroom.
He has high standards for bathrooms, which he says have to be "clean" and "sexy."
The menu for the Maui restaurant has not been finalized, but Morimoto said he is looking forward to exploring local offerings from the Valley Isle, including meat and dairy products.
Hand-rolled sushi and sashimi will use fish caught in Maui waters, while cocktails will be made from season-fresh fruits.
And, of course, he plans on using Maui onions.
The restaurant also will have a pizza oven.
Tuna pizza, which the chef demonstrated for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in the kitchen at Morimoto Waikiki, has been a mainstay at all of his restaurants since he first introduced it to Morimoto Philadelphia 12 years ago. The inspiration for the dish came from canapes, he said.
He starts with a grilled tortilla slathered in eel sauce and tops it with thin slices of ahi, cherry tomatoes, black olives, red onions, jalapenos and anchovy aioli.
Morimoto is clean and precise while slicing the ingredients. On top of it all, he sprinkles cilantro, then adds a dash of Tabasco sauce and freshly ground Himalayan rock salt.
The tortilla is cut into six pieces for a tasty, East-meets-West appetizer that’s crisp, fresh and spicy.
Morimoto is not slowing down or planning to retire any time soon, though he sometimes dreams of staying home in New York City and doing nothing.
While traveling he misses his Yorkie, Mai-chan.
The chef is constantly thinking of new ideas and says he has to stay on top of his game, given that nowadays everyone on social media is a critic. (Morimoto is no stranger to the digital age, and is on Facebook at www.fb.com/ironchefmorimoto, and Twitter and Instagram @chef_morimoto.)
Although competing against other chefs on "Iron Chef America" can be stressful, the kitchen contest keeps him on his toes while giving him fresh inspiration.
Morimoto just filmed a segment but said he could not disclose his competitor.
The most challenging ingredients he has had to contend with on the show, he said, were unfamiliar items such as eggnog, fruit cake and chili peppers.
Besides Waikiki, Morimoto has restaurants in Boca Raton, Fla., and New York, as well as in Tokyo, Mexico City, Mumbai and New Delhi.
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Morimoto Maui at Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort & Spa, 3550 Wailea Alanui Drive, will be open for lunch, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with a lounge menu in the bar from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., and dinner from 5:30 to 10 p.m. daily. Reservations: 243-4766.
