84:, applied for the job, pitching something really different. "This guy comes in with these little glasses, he looks like an accountant," De Vito recalled, "and started talking about levitating food. I walked away saying, 'Wow, that's a lot to take in.'" Cantu persuaded De Vito to let him cook a meal for De Vito and his wife. The seven-course meal, which featured an exploding ravioli and a small table-top box that cooked fish before the guest's eyes, won De Vito over. The name Moto, meaning "idea," "taste," or "desire" in Japanese, was chosen for the new venture.
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taste like filet mignon. Explaining his use of the paper in 2005, Cantu remarked "Gastronomy has to catch up to the evolution in technology" and said he was attempting to change preconceived notions of what food is. Moto customers are "sick and tired of steak and eggs", he said. "They're tired of just going to a restaurant, having food placed on the table, having it cleared, and there's no more mental input into it other than the basic needs of a caveman, just eat and nourish ... there's so much more we can do."
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111:" and "after christmas sale on christmas trees." At weekly brainstorming sessions, Moto chefs were encouraged to come up with new takes on ordinary food by discussing how they could change foods they ate that week. Prototypes were created, and failure was encouraged. Within two years, Moto's crazy dishes had attracted the attention of
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Initially, food critics were not impressed saying Moto sacrificed deliciousness in favor of cleverness. Other chefs were split, variously describing Cantu as a "faddish flavor of the month" or a "creative genius." Over time, guests and critics began to notice the quality of the food in addition to
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guide said Moto's menu was designed to take "dining beyond just eating" with interactive dishes through innovation such as the use of specially designed corkscrew-handled spoons stuffed with herbs to provide aroma as you eat. It also mentioned Cantu's sense of humor in adding smoky aromas to a raw
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to create "alphabet soup." One of the restaurant's hallmarks was the use of edible paper. The soy- and cornstarch-based parchment with vegetable juice as ink was typically used in two to three courses each night. Often an edible photograph accompanied a dish, such as a photo of a cow flavored to
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menu instead, De Vito recalled. Enough people braved the menu, however, and soon the restaurant was discovered by foodies. Cantu soon earned a reputation for shocking guests. For example, one feature was synthetic wine squirted into the glass with a medical syringe. An industrial-sized tank of
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Another early Moto signature dish used a three-inch-square super-insulating polymer box that was heated to 350 °F (177 °C) in an oven. The box was then placed on the guest's table and a small piece of raw fish inserted to cook before their eyes. Other early offerings were synthetic
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The Spring/Summer 2012 menu at Moto featured 15 courses, including "Reconstructed Corn," "Forest
Foraging 2.0," "The Explosion," and "Smell the Glove." The meal begins with a menu without words, in which the 15 courses are downsized into bite-size portions, with the dessert courses made into
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versions so as not to spoil the palate. As of 2015, the menu starts with a "preview" course with miniature versions of all the courses to come. There are no options to pick from, although the staff discusses allergies and food dislikes at the time a reservation is made.
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On April 14, 2015, Cantu committed suicide. Moto was closed the next several days, reopening on April 18. A special "celebration of (Cantu’s) life" menu was offered for three days in which 10–20 former Moto employees offered contributions. Executive chef
197:, a restaurant in Chicago. McGowan, who inherited Moto after her husband's death, said that the sale was a "bittersweet decision" that came "after deep reflection of the lasting impact" her late husband Cantu had made with his innovative restaurant.
249:(the highest grade available) to cook the interior of fish while leaving the outside raw, and create "inside out bread" with a doughy exterior and crusty interior. Later dishes include the "Donut Soup" (an espresso designed to taste like
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In 2003, restaurateur Joseph De Vito, who had previously opened a burger joint and a classical
Italian eatery, was looking to open a new restaurant. He wanted it to be unusual and was considering
147: ... It may sound like some sort of Surrealist stunt with dire intestinal consequences, but here’s the rub: The 'food' tastes good. Good enough to lure diners back at $ 240 per head".
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Nestled among warehouses in
Chicago's meatpacking district, Moto opened in January 2004. Initially, guests were confused. People would come in looking for sushi and leave when offered a
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commented "The last thing he would want was for us not to be in the kitchen cooking ... We're going to continue to do what he taught us and what he would want."
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In 2005, Cantu began experimenting with liquid nitrogen to flash-freeze food, and helium and superconductors in an attempt to levitate them. He purchased a
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frozen on a −273 °F (−169 °C) grill, and carbonated fruit. One of the main courses, "Surf & Turf", combined
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at Moto began with an edible menu. Often, guests would be encouraged to crunch the menu itself up and add it to a bowl of
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ranked Moto #44 on its 2012 list of "The 100 Best US Restaurants." Author
Patricia Schultz listed Moto as one of the
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until his suicide in 2015. Sister restaurant iNG was located next door and served "flavor tripping cuisine" based on "
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gave Moto 3 stars, saying it offered
Chicago's "most jaw-droppingly original dishes". In 2012, Moto earned a
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declared "A 20-course tasting menu can begin with 'sushi' made of paper that has been printed with images of
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doughnut filling) and a sweetbreads and cheese grits dish served with goat-cheese "snow". The 2008
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Cantu eventually took over ownership of Moto. In 2010, Moto was the main focus of a TV show called
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magazine, and Cantu had been asked to cook for Nobel Prize winners and molecular gastronomy pioneer
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liquid nitrogen was kept outside the restaurant to make hot food cold and give fishes odd shapes.
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sent a group of executives to Moto to explore Cantu's edible paper invention and other ideas.
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in March 2016. The film includes many scenes shot inside Moto and iNG.
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560:"Moto Restaurant Sold to Alinea Group After Chef Homaro Cantu's Death"
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The menu at Moto changed frequently. A typical ten- to twenty-course
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473:"Homaro Cantu, Chicago chef who blended food and science, dies at 38"
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328:"'Molecular gastronomy' more than 'making paper' for Chicago's Moto"
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foam, mushrooms, and apple butter. The dish came with a picture of
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Following his death in 2015, Director/Producer Brett A. Schwartz of
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directed and produced a feature-length documentary film called
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Chef Homaro Cantu poses among various Moto cooking gadgets.
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In the kitchen, Cantu employed unusual devices such as a
443:"Homaro Cantu, Science-Minded Chicago Chef, Dies at 38"
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Elizabeth
Canning Blackwell; Michael Austin (2008).
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326:Walkup, Carolyn (January 9, 2006),
698:1,000 Places to See Before You Die
536:Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story
307:1,000 Places to See Before You Die
180:Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story
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406:"When the Sous-Chef Is an Inkjet"
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678:Olmstead, Larry (2012-03-13),
361:Jennifer Reingold (May 2006).
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564:NBC Chicago
524:StoryScreen
240:M.C. Escher
226:champagne,
176:StoryScreen
158:Discovery's
153:Future Food
125:Burger King
89:degustation
765:Categories
570:7 February
314:References
271:Reputation
184:Insatiable
145:candy cane
105:centrifuge
35:restaurant
663:April 25,
630:23 August
509:April 24,
483:April 16,
452:April 15,
415:April 19,
372:April 16,
289:Frommer's
255:Frommer's
236:foie gras
232:sous vide
228:flapjacks
182:(2016).
109:mc escher
624:Archived
219:gazpacho
76:. Chef
619:YouTube
117:Gourmet
68:History
43:Chicago
37:in the
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684:Forbes
649:"Moto"
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300:Forbes
264:savory
30:was a
702:ISBN
665:2015
632:2012
594:ISBN
572:2016
548:SXSW
511:2015
485:2014
454:2015
417:2015
374:2015
201:Menu
188:SXSW
137:maki
115:and
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