Iron Chef (America)
"Iron Chef America" is a Food Network show based on the original series "Iron Chef," which aired on Fuji Television. The original show aired from October 10, 1993 until September 24, 1999. It featured four chefs who each specialized in a different type of cuisine. Each week, a challenging chef would go up against the Iron Chef of his choosing in a cooking arena dubbed "Kitchen Stadium." They would cook up dishes that would then be judged to determine the winner. Chairman Kaga would choose the main ingredient to be used and then oversaw the cooking and judging.
"Iron Chef America" kept much of the original formatting of the show. The Iron Chefs are challenged each week by a visiting chef. The kitchen stadium is ruled by Chairman Kaga's nephew, played by martial arts expert Mark Dacascos, who is really no kin to the original chairman. Commenting on the show is Alton Brown with Kevin Brauch serving as the floor reporter. To connect the two shows, Chairman Kaga set the first battle in New York between Iron Chefs Hiroyuki Sakai and Masaharu Morimoto.
The only Iron Chef to carry over from the original series is Masaharu Morimoto, who specializes in Japanese cuisine. The other Iron Chefs are Mario Batali, who specializes in Italian cuisine, Cat Cora, who specializes in Greek and Aegean cuisine, Bobby Flay, who specializes in Southwestern cuisine, and the newest Iron Chef, Michael Symon. Michael recently won the Food Network series "The Next Iron Chef" to attain this position. His specialty is Mediterranean cuisine. Each chef wears a denim jacket, however each chef does has his or her own color: Flay's trim is blue, Batali's trim is orange, Morimoto's trim is white, Cora's trim is pink, and Symon's trim is black. Each chef also has a flag patch on their shoulder that represents their native country. In the next season, the chefs will be wearing new jackets based on the winning design entry of a Food Network contest.
Each battles starts with Chairman Dacascos saying "So America, with an open heart and an empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of my uncle: Allez Cuisine!" Each chef is allowed two assistant chefs (sous chefs) to help them prepare their dishes during the hour long show. Each chef must present a minimum of five dishes, each containing the main ingredient to the three judges.
The judges differ from show to show, but some of those having appeared as a judge is Ted Allen (food expert from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"), Jeffrey Steingarten (food critic for Vogue magazine), Akiko Katayama (a food writer), and Anderson Cooper (anchor of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360").
The judges will score the dishes based on three categories: taste (scoring up to 10 points), plating (scoring up to 5 points), and originality (scoring up to 5 points). The chef with the highest score is declared the winner. If there is a tie, it remains so and goes on the Iron Chefs record as a tie.
Occasionally, there are special episodes such as the one that pitted Food Network personalities Giada De Laurentiis and Rachael Ray against Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Mario Batali.
Latest Eliminated from Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America: Battle Coffee!
Posted: 8 Apr 2008
This week’s episode found Chef Ken Oringer calling out Iron Chef Cat Cora to battle. The secret ingredient was coffee, which made my husband drool just hearing the word. The judges were Ted Allen (who threw me off by changing his glasses), executive chef Alexandra Guarnasch, and Oprah’s personal chef, Art Smith.
Chef Oringer presented give [...]
Iron Chef America: Battle Ginger!
Posted: 25 Mar 2008
This week, sushi specialist Chef Tyson Cole decided to challenge Iron Chef Morimoto. The secret ingredient was ginger. Judging the competition was culinary journalist Akiko Katayama, Jeffrey Steingarten, and food blogger Pim.
Chef Cole served up five dishes: black snapper sashimi and ginger ale (which Jeffrey said was “delightful”), wild sea bass with galangal puree and [...]
Iron Chef America: Battle Spinach
Posted: 17 Mar 2008
This week, Iron Chef Bobby Flay was challenged by Chef Akira Back, who had trained under Morimoto. The secret ingredient was spinach. Judges were restaurateur Donatella Apara, actress Cady Huffman and Jeffrey Steingarten.
Chef Back presented six dishes: tomato and spinach gelee (Cady felt the tomato was overpowering), chawan mushi (Jeffrey got bent out of shape [...]
Iron Chef America: Battle Chocolate…Again!
Posted: 11 Feb 2008
This week, Chef Alex Stupak, who specializes in pastry, took on Iron Chef Cat Cora. The secret ingredient – chocolate! The judges were Ted Allen, chef/author Domenica Catelli, and Jeffrey Steingarden.
Chef Stupak presented five dishes: marinated bay scallops with cocoa lime vinaigrette (which Domenica called “fantastic”), chocolate stuffed quail, milk chocolate pudding (which Jeffrey thought [...]
