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Revision as of 07:10, 21 July 2005 by Bedford (talk | contribs) (→History)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Iron Chef America is an American cooking show based on FujiTV's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carries a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef.
The chairman is portrayed by martial arts expert Mark Dacascos, who is introduced as the nephew of the original Japanese chairman Takeshi Kaga (in fact, contrary to urban legend which suggests Moriko McVey, the mother to Dacascos, is the sister to Kaga, the two are not related). The commentary is provided solely by Alton Brown (unlike previous incarnations where there were two commentators), and Kevin Brauch is the floor reporter.
The show is one of the more successful ones on Food Network (both in the US and Canada), attracting many from outside its normal demographic - in particular, the core 18-49 male demographic. This is due in part to its roots - Iron Chef in all its incarnations is often touted as more of a sporting event rather than a cooking show. Its critical acclaim is in stark contrast to Iron Chef USA, as Iron Chef America both modernizes the look and feel of Iron Chef in addition to bringing back Iron Chef to its roots. Criticisms of Iron Chef America are often minor in nature, such as having Alton Brown fill in the roles of both Kenji Fukui and Yukio Hattori on the original Iron Chef. As Brown, who in the making of Iron Chef America, likened himself to Hattori, many believed that Brown should have been paired with a play-by-play commentator.
Chefs
On this version of Iron Chef, the Iron Chefs have either been previous Food Network personalities or, in the case of Masaharu Morimoto, were part of the original Iron Chef. They are:
- Mario Batali, an Italian cuisine specialist
- Cat Cora, a Greek and Aegean cuisine specialist, also the first female Iron Chef
- Bobby Flay, a Southwestern cuisine specialist and former Iron Chef challenger
- Masaharu Morimoto, a neo-Japanese cuisine chef, and the third Iron Chef Japanese on Iron Chef
- Wolfgang Puck, a chef specializing in California cuisine
Iron Chef America also recognizes the Iron Chefs from the original Iron Chef. It is also to be noted that Morimoto is erroneously credited with 66 victories in Kitchen Stadium prior to Iron Chef America as a result of a typo (he was, in reality, 16-9-1, with one victory coming in overtime). When Todd English appeared on Iron Chef America as a challenger, his record from Iron Chef USA was not reported, and no mention of the previous show was made.
Format
At the beginning of the show, after the challenger chef is introduced, the Chairman would announce their Iron Chef opponent, unlike Iron Chef or Iron Chef USA, where chefs supposedly had the freedom to choose their opponent. (In reality, in all three incarnations the matchups are determined well in advance.) Afterwards, a theme ingredient is revealed, and the cooking begins.
Unlike Iron Chef, where chefs had upwards of 5 minutes to discuss their strategy before the battle begins, the revealing of the theme ingredient is immediately followed by the start of the battle, typically announced by Chairman Dacascos in the following manner:
- So America, with an open heart and an empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of my uncle: Allez Cuisine!
Although this is drawn out compared to Iron Chef and Iron Chef USA, the cooking begins earlier in the program compared to the two: both Iron Chef and Iron Chef USA used the first five minutes of the program to give background information on the challenger, and another five for formalities that are not present on Iron Chef America (such as the symbolic rise of the Iron Chefs in front of their portraits). In the case of Iron Chef USA, the theme was not revealed until 20 minutes into the program.
On Iron Chef America, both the challenger and the Iron Chef have 60 minutes to prepare dishes based on a theme ingredient (which, like Iron Chef USA, is referred to as the secret ingredient). The dishes are tasted by a panel of three judges, of which two are professional food critics (a contrast to the original Iron Chef, which typically had one professional food critic as a judge, and Iron Chef USA, where none of the judges were professional food critics). Like the original Iron Chef, each chef can be awarded up to 20 points by each judge, and the chef with the higher amount of points (and not necessarily the plurality of judges, as with Iron Chef) is declared the winner. As of June 2005, no ties have been given on Iron Chef America, so it is unknown what (if any) tiebreaking procedures are used in the event of a tie.
Unlike Iron Chef, Iron Chef America requires both chefs to prepare a minimum of five dishes, as did Iron Chef USA. Iron Chef America is also not affiliated with any culinary institution as Iron Chef was with Hattori Nutrition College, so chefs also bring in their own assistants, often themselves extraordinary chefs in their own right. Like Iron Chef and Iron Chef USA, each chef is allowed two assistants. The assistants brought in by the Iron Chefs are as follows:
- Batali - Anne Burrell and Mark Ladner
- Flay - Wayne Harley Brachman, Anthony Fusco, Dan Millacko, Neil Manacle, Brian Ray, and Patricia Yeo
- Morimoto - Ariki Omae, Takao Iinuma, and Troy Thompson
- Puck - Lee Hefter and Sherry Yard
- Sakai - Kinya Komoda and Kaoru Ushimoda
The rules in Iron Chef America is also thought of as being less slanted towards the Iron Chef: on Iron Chef the Iron Chef's food was always tasted second, while on Iron Chef America, a coin flip before the show determines which chef's food is tasted first. Chefs also had the tendency to borrow equipment from the opposite side of Kitchen Stadium when the corresponding equipment on their side broke down (which occurred surprisingly frequently in the first season), a no-no on Iron Chef. Curiously, unlike Iron Chef or Iron Chef USA, the Iron Chefs do not usually work from the right side of the kitchen—with the exception of Batali, the Iron Chefs typically worked from the left kitchen.
History
Iron Chef America first aired as a special titled Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters. Unlike Iron Chef USA, Iron Chef America quickly earned legitimacy with the appearance of Iron Chefs Hiroyuki Sakai and Masaharu Morimoto (with Chen Kenichi also originally slated to appear, but did not appear due to a scheduling conflict), as well as the appointment of Bobby Flay as one of the American Iron Chefs. The inclusion of Flay was a controversial one in the fact that Flay was hated by many Iron Chef fans - one which dated back to 2000, when Flay was a challenger. Ironically, the idea behind reviving Iron Chef was largely credited to Flay.
Flay had previously appeared on an Iron Chef special in 2000, where he was the challenger against Morimoto in a rock crab battle which took place in New York City. Flay was best remembered for standing on top of his cooking board at the end of the battle, which had caused quite a controversy among fans of Iron Chef, with Morimoto once stating that Flay "was not a chef at all". The battle also saw Morimoto's dishes tasted first, contrary to Iron Chef traditions, due to the spicy nature of Flay's dishes. Morimoto won the battle, but Flay demanded a rematch, partly due to the unsafe makeshift kitchen set up in New York. The following year, Flay demanded (and won) the rematch, partly due to his spicy dishes (which were tasted first) that had effectively blocked out the taste of Morimoto's dishes. There, Flay also attempted to rectify his apparent faux pas in the earlier battle by tossing his cooking board aside before standing on the kitchen counter.
The first battle of Battle of the Masters involved Sakai and Flay, with the theme of trout. There, Sakai had made two dishes of note: one was gift-wrapped to commemorate the opening of Kitchen Stadium America, while the other was trout ice cream, a dish that would be repeatedly recalled and referred to later on when anyone used the ice cream maker (especially when seafood of any kind was being poured in). Although the trout ice cream was a winner among the judges, the King of Iron Chefs lost by a single point. Other battles in Battle of the Masters was Morimoto taking on Batali, Morimoto (allegedly taking place of Chen) taking on Puck, and a tag team battle where Morimoto and Flay teamed up against Sakai and Batali. The battle between Sakai and Flay, in a sense, effectively contained all three incarnations of Iron Chef, with judge Kerry Simon having been a challenger on Iron Chef USA.
Battle of the Masters was largely successful, although the wins by the American Iron Chefs (and Flay and Morimoto in the tag team battle) had fans questioning whether the matches were fixed (except for the 21st Century Battle, Sakai had not lost in a battle where fish was a theme ingredient, nor had he lost in a tag battle). Nevertheless, the specials were successful enough that a regular series was commissioned.
The regular series is filmed in New York, while Battle of the Masters took place in Los Angeles. Because of other interests, Puck declined to appear in the regular series, and Morimoto soon took his place. Not surprisingly, a few of the initial challengers were themselves Food Network personalities, such as Ming Tsai (East Meets West) and Rob Feenie (New Classics with Chef Rob Feenie). The first season also introduced Cat Cora as an Iron Chef, becoming the first female chef to hold the rank.
Currently, one season of Iron Chef America has completed, with a second season that began airing in July of 2005. The second season will see Kerry Simon becoming the first chef to challenge on two different versions of Iron Chef (Todd English on Iron Chef USA and Cora on Iron Chef America), as well as the first time an Iron Chef from Iron Chef USA challenges another Iron Chef, with English loosing to Batali.