Of Course Morimoto Is Judging the Miss Universe Pageant

That's it, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto has reached the zenith of his career and it has nothing to do with restaurant expansions, throwing out pitches at baseball games, appearing on Hawaii Five-0, or finding his likeness tattooed on a man's hairy thigh. The Miss Universe Organization has announced that the restaurateur will join its panel of celebrity judges at this year's pageant on December 19. This honor is one Morimoto has apparently wanted for some time, tweeting a link to his bio on the Miss Universe site and writing, "I'm excited for #missuniverse2012. Finally I'm judging!"

Morimoto joins an esteemed team of judges that includes two fellow restaurateurs, kind of. In addition to Real Housewife Lisa Vanderpump who is filming a show about her LA restaurant Sur, there's famous Kardashian boyfriend Scott Disick. Though maybe he's not so much a restaurateur anymore after having bailed early on his failed New York City restaurant Ryu? So don't forget to set your DVR on Wednesday to watch Morimoto as he watches and rates some scantily clad women.

· Judge Profile: Masaharu Morimoto [Miss Universe via @chef_morimoto]
· 2012 Miss Universe Competition Judges Panel [Miss Universe]
· All Masaharu Morimoto Coverage on Eater [-E-]