Ryori no Tetsujin!!!!

Yes…THE IRON CHEF…Chef Masaharu Morimoto, the legendary Japanese chef.
Hi Luxury Magazine commissioned me to shoot their August/September cover of Chef Morimoto.  Morimoto recently opened up his signature restaurant here in Honolulu and Chef has been here for the last few weeks putting the final touches on his place.

We actually ate there the other night for the opening and the food was pretty fantastic.  Their lobster was spiced by Morimoto’s secret blend but we figured it was a blend of garam marsala, paprika, cayenne pepper and a few other spices.  The taste was a mix of Cajun and Indian.  Very neat; however, the restaurant’s piece de resistance was their foie gras chawamushi.  Chawamushi is a Japanese steamed egg custard dish, usually with a shrimp or other little goodie inside.  Morimoto’s was topped off with a delicate piece of duck.  Damn that was good.

OK enough on the food and back to the picture.

After a scout we picked a spot called China Walls, a scenic spot in Portlock on the east side of Oahu.  The TV show Lost filmed there and many surfers and young types hang out at the picturesque spot.

Morimoto proved to be a handful as he knew exactly how to pose and give the camera what it wanted.  He posed, primed, danced, sang, and laughed.  And after our production assistant Cody went out for beer, Morimoto was even in better form as Cody brought back one of his signature beers.

Tammy, my assistant for the job even had her own moment with Morimoto and he surely wasn’t shy…for that matter, neither was she.

One of the better shots of the year and the cover was fantastic.  The sun set just at the right time giving us a perfect warm glow for the sky.  Sometime you just can’t ask for more.