WILLIAMS SONOMA LAUNCHES NEW COLLABORATION WITH IRON CHEF MASAHARU MORIMOTO

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 19, 2025--

Williams Sonoma, portfolio brand of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM), the world’s largest digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer announced today, the launch of a new food collaboration with Michelin-starred restaurateur, author, TV personality and Iron Chef, Masaharu Morimoto. Known for his distinctive fusion-style creations, bridging Japanese flavors with the American palate, Chef Morimoto partnered with Williams Sonoma to create a collection of sauces and ramen bases that are meticulously crafted using the finest ingredients that elevate everyday meals with bold-Asian-fusion flavors.

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“Whether you’re a seasoned chef or just starting your culinary journey, The Morimoto Collection for Williams Sonoma will bring bold flavors and authentic techniques to your kitchen,” said Williams Sonoma President, Felix Carbullido. “We are honored to bring Chef Morimoto’s world-class culinary expertise to our customers, empowering them to explore new flavors and elevate their home dining experience.”

"I am thrilled to be partnering with Williams Sonoma, blending the authentic taste of Japanese cuisine with the simplicity of everyday cooking,” said Chef Morimoto. "Together, we've created the Morimoto Collection, which reflects my passion for blending accessible cuisine with the unique flavors of Japanese cooking. My hope is that these sauces and ramen bases will inspire both new and experienced cooks to discover the joy of cooking with bold, authentic flavors.”

The Morimoto Collection for Williams Sonoma is crafted to bring the authentic flavors of Japan into the home kitchen and uses the same ingredients featured at Chef Morimoto’s celebrated restaurants located around the world. The collection includes:

To celebrate the launch of this new collaboration, all Williams Sonoma stores will be sampling the Morimoto Collection for Williams Sonoma on Friday, February 21 and Saturday, February 22.

For more information about the Morimoto Collection for Williams Sonoma, please visit: www.williams-sonoma.com/morimoto.

ABOUT WILLIAMS SONOMA

Since its founding by Chuck Williams in 1956, the Williams Sonoma brand has been bringing people together around food. A member of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) portfolio of brands, Williams Sonoma is a leading specialty retailer of high-quality products for the kitchen and home, providing world-class service and an engaging customer experience. Products include cookware, cooks’ tools, cutlery, electrics, bakeware, food, tabletop and bar, outdoor, cookbooks, as well as furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. Each store offers cooking classes and tastings conducted by expert culinary staff. A comprehensive gift registry program for weddings and other special events is available in stores and online. On williams-sonoma.com, customers can find recipes, tips, and techniques that help them create delicious meals. Williams Sonoma can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. Williams Sonoma is also part of The Key Rewards, a free-to-join loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits across the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. family of brands.

ABOUT MORIMOTO

Chef Masaharu Morimoto — known to millions as the star of Iron Chef and Iron Chef America and now exetive producer and head judge for Roku’s Sushi Master — has garnered critical and popular acclaim for his seamless integration of Western and Japanese ingredients. In 2001, Chef Morimoto opened his first restaurant in Philadelphia, which was later followed by restaurants in New York, Napa, Honolulu, Boca Raton, Mumbai, Mexico City, Tokyo, and Maui. Morimoto Asia Orlando at Disney Springs opened in 2015, followed by Momosan NYC and Morimoto Las Vegas at MGM Grand in 2016. Morimoto Asia Waikiki, Momosan Waikiki, and Morimoto Doha opened in 2018. Next came Momosan Seattle (2019), Momosan Wynwood (2020), Morimoto Taghazout Bay (2021), Sa’Moto (2021), Momosan at Hub Hall in Boston (2021), Morimoto Asia Napa and Momosan Santana Row (2022), Morimoto Bordeaux, Morimoto Jakarta and Morimoto by Sea aboard Holland America Line’s Nieu Amsterdam (2023), and most recently Mori Mori, bringing Chef Morimoto’s global restaurant count to 24. His first cookbook, Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking (2007), won two IACP awards (in the “Chef’s and Restaurants'' category and the “First Book: The Julia Child Award"), and it was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. His second cookbook, Mastering The Art of Japanese Cooking (2017), introduces readers to the healthy, flavorful, surprisingly simple dishes favored by Japanese home cooks. Follow Chef Morimoto via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or www.ironchefmorimoto.com.

WSM-PR

Chef Morimoto Launches New Exclusive Food Collaboration with Williams Sonoma (Photo: Williams Sonoma)

Chef Morimoto Launches New Exclusive Food Collaboration with Williams Sonoma (Photo: Williams Sonoma)

Chef Morimoto Launches New Exclusive Food Collaboration with Williams Sonoma (Photo: Williams Sonoma)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)