Iron chef Morimoto cooks with Italian twist for Guest Chef series

Masaharu Morimoto showed off his skills in a slightly different context Thursday night, when he dropped by Manzo in Eataly to launch the Italian restaurant’s new Guest Chef series. The Iron chef shared a bit of the inspiration behind the Gyoza all’Italiana he created for the series with a roomful of invited guests, before doing a quick demo on how they’re made.

“(For) A long time I’ve been thinking what’s the difference between gyoza and ravioli,” he explained. “Exactly the same ingredients.”

With that in mind, the Iron chef created the dish, which is a traditional Japanese-style gyoza dumpling with tomato sauce, house-made mozzarella, 18-month Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and fresh basil. It will be available on the Manzo menu until March 31, priced at $17.

Morimoto is the first participant in the restaurant’s Guest Chef series, which is expected to feature a dish from a different high-profile chef every month through at least June. The next participant hasn’t been announced yet, but we’re told he or she will drop by Manzo on April 1 to unveil the next dish. The restaruant is located within Eataly in Park MGM.

Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter and Instagram.