Iron Chef America

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Iron Chef America

Genre	Reality
Running time	approx. 0:46 (per episode)
Starring	Alton Brown Mark Dacascos Kevin Brauch
Country of origin	USA
Original channel	Food Network
Original run	2005–present
No. of episodes	43
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Iron Chef America is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television'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 carries a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the original Japanese program, the program is a sort of culinary game show. In each episode, a new challenger chef "battles" one of the resident "Iron Chefs" in a one-hour cooking competition based on a theme ingredient.

The show is presented as a successor to the original Iron Chef, as opposed to being a remake. 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 the urban legend which suggests that Moriko McVey, Dacascos' real-life mother, is the sister to Kaga, the two are not related). The commentary is provided solely by Alton Brown, and Kevin Brauch is the floor reporter.

Per the introduction fiction from the Battle of the Masters miniseries (and continuing a storyline from the 2002 Iron Chef Japan Cup Special), Chairman Kaga (the character) died prior to the beginning of the new series, from fugu poisoning. His legacy was to order his nephew to continue the tradition of Kitchen Stadium, this time in America.

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 than a cooking show. Its critical acclaim is in stark contrast to Iron Chef USA.

Unlike the original Iron Chef or Iron Chef USA, Alton Brown, rather than the chairman, is credited as the show's host.

1 The Iron Chefs
2 Format
3 History
4 Kitchen Stadium
5 Food Network All-Stars special
6 Notable judges
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] The Iron 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 from the original series

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). However, Iron Chef America does not recognize Iron Chefs from Iron Chef USA: when Iron Chef American Todd English appeared on Iron Chef America as a challenger, his record from Iron Chef USA was not reported, and no references to him being an Iron Chef were made.

Unlike Iron Chef or Iron Chef USA, the Iron Chefs wear contemporary denim chef outfits with solid-color patches and trimwork rather than stylish and elaborate chef garb, to create the impression that the chefs are battling in a modernized Kitchen Stadium. However, like Iron Chef, the Iron Chefs remained color-coded: Flay's are blue (black when Wolfgang Puck was present), Batali's red, Morimoto's white, and Cora's pink. On the right shoulder of each set of clothes is a flag representing their country of origin.

As Morimoto speaks with a very noticeable accent, or may sometimes even speak in Japanese when describing his dishes, his voice is occasionally dubbed over by Joe Cipriano. Cipriano, a veteran TV announcer and Los Angeles radio personality, also provided the voiceover for Hiroyuki Sakai in Battle of the Masters, a series of pilot episodes, and can also be heard on Food Network promos.

[edit] Format

In the first two seasons, after the challenger chef is introduced, the Chairman would announce their Iron Chef opponent, unlike Iron Chef or Iron Chef USA, where chefs supposedly chose their opponents. In reality, in all three incarnations the match-ups are determined well in advance (season 3 returned to the traditional approach). Afterwards, a theme ingredient (referred to as the "secret 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!

On Iron Chef America, both the challenger and the Iron Chef have 60 minutes to prepare a minimum of five dishes based on a theme ingredient. The ingredient is actually not much of a secret, as both competitors are given a list of five ingredients before, one of which will be used.[1]

After the first commercial break, Brown normally introduces the judges. Unlike the original series, none of the judges participate in the running commentary. At some point during the cooking hour, Brown will also provide further information on the theme ingredient, using visual aids as required.

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; consisting of up to 10 points for taste, up to 5 points for plating (the appearance of their presentation), and up to 5 points for the originality of their dishes. The chef with the higher score is declared the winner. When a battle finishes in a tie it remains as the final result, unlike Iron Chef, where an overtime battle was immediately called with a new theme ingredient.

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. In tag-team battles, the two chefs on each side each bring in one assistant. On the original Iron Chef, early episodes had two chefs without assistants and later episodes had two chefs and one assistant, or sous chef, per side. The assistants brought in by the Iron Chefs are as follows:

Batali - Anne Burrell and Mark Ladner
Cora - Lorilynn Bauer and David Schimmel
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 are 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 have a tendency to borrow equipment from the opposite side of Kitchen Stadium when the corresponding equipment on their side breaks down (which occurred surprisingly frequently in the first season), a no-no on Iron Chef.

As the tasting and judgment takes upwards of 45 minutes to complete (although it is edited down to five to ten minutes per chef in post-production), the chef serving second is allowed to reheat their dishes, which was allowed on Iron Chef but not on Iron Chef USA.

[edit] 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 absent 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 for some fans: 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 cutting 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, possibly due to his spicy dishes (which were tasted first) which could have 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 cutting board aside before standing on the kitchen counter.

The first 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). Other battles in Battle of the Masters were 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 successes of the American Iron Chefs had fans questioning whether the matches were fixed. Nevertheless, the specials were successful enough that a regular series was commissioned.

The regular series is taped 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. Later that season, Cat Cora debuted as an Iron Chef during "Battle Potato", becoming the first female chef to hold the rank.

The second season of "Iron Chef America" began airing in July of 2005. This season saw Kerry Simon become the first chef to challenge on two different versions of Iron Chef, (against Todd English on Iron Chef USA and Cora on Iron Chef America); he also appeared as a judge in Battle of the Masters. It also saw the first time an Iron Chef from Iron Chef USA challenged another Iron Chef, with English competing against Batali.

The second Iron Chef America season so far has seen its first and second ties on the American show: the first aired on July 31, 2005, with both challenger and Iron Chef receiving 45 points. In this case, unlike Iron Chef, no overtime is played, although a rematch was suggested by Alton Brown.

[edit] Kitchen Stadium

Located at the Chelsea Market in New York, New York, Iron Chef America's version of Kitchen Stadium looks much more modernized than the one from Iron Chef. In an Iron Chef America "Behind the Scenes" special, Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai voices his distaste for the modern look of the American Kitchen Stadium. When comparing it with the Japanese Kitchen Stadium, the American version looks much more industrialized with its stainless steel make-up. Sakai referred to the kitchen as "cold."

To accompany the modern look of Kitchen Stadium America, much of the equipment in the kitchen is top-of-the line. Alton Brown, the host of the show's "Behind the Scenes" special, takes the viewer on a tour of Kitchen Stadium, noting its many features. Appliances include six burner stove tops, blast coolers, convection ovens, deep fryers, cutting boards, a plethora of small electrical appliances like blenders and food processors, as well as pantry stations. Both kitchens in Kitchen Stadium are set up exactly the same with appliances set in the same positions, and each pantry station has the exact same amount of food items as the other and include very rare and expensive items like saffron. One of the most famous appliances in the kitchen is the ice cream machine (dubbed the Ice Cream Machine of Doom), which is infamous for chefs that use it to create the most abstract flavors of ice cream in an attempt to make a dessert course with the theme ingredient. Host Alton Brown and Kevin Brauch usually have a running gag with the machine and yell out screams of comedic horror when it is turned on during a battle with a savory themed ingredient such as trout or turkey. In one instance, during the asparagus episode, Morimoto was visibly startled by their screams.

Despite Kitchen Stadium America's ultra-modern look, many problems occurred during the first season with appliances. Chef Anita Lo, in a battle against Mario Batali, seemed to have a very hard time in getting her burners hot enough to cook her food. At one point, one of Lo's assistants took a pot over to Mario Batali's side of the kitchen to use his stove. Batali happily agreed. Alton seems to sometimes attribute these malfunctions to the unfamiliar territory that Kitchen Stadium presents challengers, and judges often sympathize with the chefs that have had trouble cooking their courses come judging time.

There is a very small section in the back of the stadium reserved for the studio audience. The audience is almost never mentioned or shown on camera, although you can see the shadows of the audience members far behind the stadium. Once, Kevin Brauch took time out to go up to the studio audience to talk with actor Bill Murray during the battle between Cat Cora and Kerry Simon. Murray was an old friend of Simon and came to support him, claiming that they had both had jobs at a Little Caesars pizza chain years ago. Starting with season 3, the show has taken more time to focus on the audience, namely if someone close to the challenger is in the audience such as Beau MacMillan's partner and Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo's parents. The audience is sometimes shown applauding the chefs after the judging, although they are still mostly hidden by the shadows.

[edit] Food Network All-Stars special

On November 12, 2006, Food Network aired a special 90-minute episode of ICA with Batali and Rachael Ray vs Flay and Giada De Laurentiis.

[edit] Notable judges

During the first two seasons, Iron Chef America has used a three judge panel for each match. Notable judges have included:

Jeffrey Steingarten -- Vogue food columnist, dubbed the "Simon Cowell of Food"
Ted Allen -- Queer Eye for the Straight Guy foodie
Karine Bakhoum -- President of KB Network News, a public relations company active in the foodservice industry
Martin Yan -- Chef and host of PBS's Yan Can Cook as well as Food Networks Canada's Martin Yan's Chinatown and Quick and Easy
Akiko Katayama -- Well-known food writer
Mo Rocca -- former Daily Show correspondent; host of Animal Planet's WHOA Sunday
Jewel -- pop singer
Stone Phillips -- Dateline NBC anchor
Chris Cognac -- food writer, police officer and star of Food Network show The Hungry Detective
Anderson Cooper -- anchor, CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°
Soledad O'Brien -- co-anchor, CNN's American Morning
Harry Smith and Hannah Storm -- co-hosts, CBS' The Early Show
Andrew Firestone -- heir to the Firestone empire and former ABC Bachelor
Marc Ecko -- founder of Ecko (clothing line)
Natalie Morales -- National Correspondent, The Today Show