With promising young talents like Yamazaki Kento and Fukushi Sota heating up your screen these days, you may not be able to conjure up the image of Mokomichi Hayami readily in your mind, even if you have heard of this name before. But what if I tell you that he was the hunky and dishy robot in the hugely popular Zettai Kareshi, or Absolute Boyfriend (2008)? Or the juvenile delinquent with a heart of gold in Gokusen 2 (2005)? Surely, you will exclam, "Ahh, I know him!" What about I tell you that his cooking is so awesome that he is widely regarded as the "Jamie Oliver of Japan"? Now let's learn more about this versatile and talented actor-cook!
This half-Filipino, half-Japanese hunk first burst onto the entertainment scene in 2002 and soon charmed his way into the hearts of impressionable teenage girls (and then some) everywhere with his tall figure (He is an impressive 1.86m tall!), dashing looks and solid acting. Other than his penchant for acting, he is also deeply passionate about cooking, having stayed glued to the phenomenal cooking television programme Iron Chef when he was at the tender age of eight. He also had a real-life role model in his brother who enjoyed whipping up dishes. All this left an indelible impression on Hayami's mind, and he subsequently took up cooking as a hobby. The adage "Do what you love and you never have to work a day in your life" worked out splendidly for him as he was offered a regular slot dedicated to his cooking on ZIP!, Nippon Television Network's morning news programme in 2011. As he is affectionately known as Moco in Japan, his programme is called Moco's Kitchen.
Moco's Kitchen presently enjoys immense popularity among Japanese viewers as they like his affable and light-hearted way of hosting the show. Five years on, and it is still going strong, with Hayami having showcased more than 1,400 of his own recipes from a diverse range of cuisines such as Italian, French, Japanese and Chinese!
Not contented to rest on his laurels, Hayami Mocomichi turned his hand to penning down his recipes in a series of cookbooks titled Moco's Kitchen. His six books (yes, you read that right!) were an instant hit as cooking devotees and food lovers devoured the more than 500 recipes that he used on his TV show. In fact, over 350,000 copies of his books have been snapped up, and the hype surrounding them does not seem to die down soon. This phenomenal success can be attributed to how Hayami thoughtfully streamlines his cooking process so that the steps are easy for his viewers to follow and duplicate. Moreover, Hayami's dedication to his craft is unparalleled. Case in point: for his third recipe book named Trattoria MOCO: Italian food I want to eat with you, he even went all the way to Italy so that he could acquire authentic and traditional Italian cooking techniques! Indeed, his fervent love for cooking won him the respect of food critics - and they awarded him with a Best Japanese Cuisine Cookbook award at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris in 2013.
Eager to explore new frontiers, Hayami Mokomichi continues to inspire his viewers by venturing out of his comfort zone to try out novel things and bring them on exciting culinary journeys. Although he visited Singapore for the first time in October 2016, he was able to make shrewd observations about the similarities and differences between Singaporean and Japanese cuisines and even create his own fusion dishes!
One fusion dish he created was the Singapore Butter Chicken Curry with Rice Noodles. Unlike Singapore-style noodles, his dish serves the noodles and chicken curry soap separately so that one can dip the noodles into the soap. This is exactly like how one would gobble up tsukemen, a Japanese noodle dish! Similarly, he incorporated chilli crab - the quintessential Singapore dish - into paella (Spanish seafood rice), imbuing it with a tantalizing sweet and spicy sauce! These two creations, along with another dish called Hainanese chicken rice salad - were prominently featured in a special episode of Moco's Kitchen. Food bonds people together, so it was great seeing him bridge cultures by synthesizing the best elements of foods from two different cuisines.
Exuding style and substance, Hayami Mokomichi is the perfect person to put a face on a brand. He probably realizes this also, as he joined forces with Catador - a farm in Spain - to produce his original olive oil that was fruity, yet spicy at the same time in 2013. Talk about breaking new ground! He then launched his own kitchen brand, "Mocomichi Hayami" in June 2016. Showcasing top-notch tools that he uses frequently on his show, this brand is the crystallization of Hayami's collaborative efforts with many domestic and international manufacturers alike. It is certainly heartwarming to see how his product line of kitchen items brings Japanese brands such as Tosa Dragon to the limelight!
What's really amazing about Hayami is that he still finds time for his acting pursuits even as he chalks up accomplishments for his culinary career. Not only did he act as the swoon-worthy English lecturer in the hit drama "From Five to Nine" that also featured Ishihara Satomi and Yamashita Tomohisa, he was the male lead in "Saigo no Okurimono", a NHK Drama Special for 2016 (see above picture). It is certainly inspiring how he manages to carve up time to develop himself as a multi-faceted artiste!
Hayami Mokomichi initially got interested in cooking by watching Iron Chef. He epitomizes how one should stay true to the things that energize him and work hard at developing his passions into formidable strengths. His dual career track does not seem to be letting up soon, as his new drama "Honjitsu wa, Ohigara mo Yoku" will be broadcast in January 2017. It is also likely that his trip to Singapore will propel him to visit other countries and invent more fusion dishes for his cooking show. Let's all stay tuned to Hayami Mokomichi's future endeavors as he brazes new trails for both his acting and cooking!
