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''Iron Chef'' is a Japanese television program produced by FujiTV . The original Japanese title is . It began airing on October 10 , 1993 as a half-hour show, and after 23 episodes was expanded to a one-hour format. The show ended September 24 , 1999 , but had television specials until 2002 . The series had over 300 episodes. The program has an eccentric flavor, even for a Game Show . Its host is the flamboyant , known on the show as . Its extravagant production values are highlighted with well informed commentary made by two regular commentators and two guest commentators (who serve also as judges). The commentary is enlightening and allows the viewer to see what is happening in the kitchen, and also serves as entertainment as friendly banter is shared among the four speakers. The English name ''Iron Chef'' comes from the show itself: Kaga would use this transliteration of the Japanese title when summoning his chefs at the beginning of the battle. While always a success in Japan, ''Iron Chef'' became a surprise cult favorite in the United States when it was picked up by the Food Network and dubbed in English. Much of the U.S. appeal was due to the dubbing, which gave the show a campy charm that evoked Asian kung fu movies of the 1970s. Audiences also found amusing some of the over-the-top culinary concoctions regularly featured on the show. In one episode devoted to Asparagus , Iron Chef Morimoto boasted that he used over $1000 worth of Lobster (which he then discarded) simply to flavor his asparagus. In another episode, Iron Chef Sakai made Sturgeon Roe Ice Cream (which was pronounced inedible by the panel). FORMAT The story behind ''Iron Chef'' was that an eccentric gourmet authority (Chairman Kaga) had specially constructed a cooking arena called " Kitchen Stadium " in his castle where visiting chefs would compete against his Gourmet Academy, led by his three (later four) Iron Chefs. Chairman Kaga himself is a showpiece in flamboyant, heavily decorated coats and jackets. On each show, a challenger, typically a famous chef from Japan or elsewhere, is pitted against one of the Iron Chefs (with each Iron Chef specializing in a different kind of cuisine – Japanese , Chinese , French , and later Italian ). Although challengers appear to have the freedom to choose which Iron Chef they face, the matchups are determined well beforehand. Originally, challengers vied with each other in preliminary "battles" to earn the right to face an Iron Chef in a 90-minute competition, and should a challenger win twice against Iron Chefs, the challenger would be given the title of "Honorary Iron Chef." However, this format proved unpopular, and the preliminary round was scrapped and the main contest was reduced to the more familiar 60 minutes. The awarding of honorary Iron Chef titles was also discontinued, although this was a moot point as few challengers ever defeated two Iron Chefs in separate contests. Therefore, anyone who beat an Iron Chef had to settle for, according to the English version's introduction, "...the people's ovation and fame forever." In each episode, chefs have one hour to cook a multicourse meal around a theme ingredient that must be present in each dish. The chefs are given a short list of possible themes beforehand, allowing the producers of the show to get any necessary ingredients that may be needed. The chefs compete to "best express the unique qualities of the theme ingredient." In rare cases has the format changed – Angler Fish battles were typically 75 minutes in length, and Noodle battles had the Iron Chef stop after 50 minutes of cooking, only to resume after the challenger's dishes were tasted so that the noodles could be served right after cooking. Featured ingredients tend toward the exotic and expensive. Many theme ingredients reflect the Japanese origin of the show – river Eel , Tofu , Udon – though ingredients more familiar in the West, such as Bell Pepper s, summer Corn , Peach es, are spotlighted as well. There are no specific requirements to the number of dishes that may be made – some challengers have finished only a single dish, and some challengers have finished as many as eight (although four is the typical number). Each chef is also given two assistants, who are supposedly students of the Gourmet Academy (in reality, they are students of the Hattori Nutrition College ). If the challenger does not speak Japanese, students who can speak in the challenger's native language are provided. Throughout the cook-off, running commentary is made by two "sports-casters" in a booth and one floor reporter. The commentators may discuss the style of cooking, culinary traditions and unusual food preparation. Since time is of the essence, descriptions of the ingredients and cooking methods are conveyed to the audience by the floor reporter. At the end of one hour, a panel of three (later expanded to four and later still, five) judges, of which typically one is a professional critic, tastes the dishes and judges them based on taste, presentation, and originality. Each chef may be awarded up to 20 points by each judge, with ten given for taste and five each for presentation and originality. The chef with the plurality of judges in support (not necessarily the chef with the greatest score) wins the competition. In the case of a deadlock (as was possible during the era of the four-judge panel), first place is awarded to the chef with the greater number of points. On the rare occasions that the scores were also tied, an immediate "overtime battle" was held to determine the winner. The chefs are given 30 minutes to prepare dishes with a different key ingredient, making do with what remains of their pantry or items that were previously prepared for the main battle but later discarded. The overtime battles are aired as a separate episode. On one occasion, the overtime battle itself resulted in a tie, prompting Chairman Kaga to declare both the Iron Chef and challenger winners This occurred during a challenge between Iron Chef Chen Kenichi and French challenger Dominique Corby of the Tour D'Argent . In Episode #IC1C16 the two chefs reached a tie in a Foie Gras battle, and tied again in the overtime battle, Episode #IC1C17, for best Asparagus dish.. LIST OF IRON CHEFS These are the Iron Chefs who have appeared on the show (some have retired and have been replaced by successor Iron Chefs) along with their records (win-loss-tie) {Link without Title} :
NOTABLE CHALLENGERS Certain challengers have made repeat appearances, or have been particularly memorable. (Please note that Japanese names are not in the traditional Japanese style family name first but have been written in standard European style family name last .)
NOTABLE JUDGES Diehard fans note that a given show will be greatly influenced by the lineup of judges, which changes from show to show. A list of some of the more memorable judges includes: (Please note that these names are not in the traditional Japanese style family name first but have been written in standard European style family name last .)
SHOW STAFF
BROADCAST HISTORY The stage setting for the show, ", 54 Sea Breams , 827 Ise Shrimp , 964 matsutake Mushrooms , 4,593 Eggs , 1,489 Truffles , 4,651 grams of Caviar , and 84 pieces of Shark fin were used during the show, bringing the total grocery bill to ¥ 843,354,407 (or about $ 7,115,520). One of the most expensive battles was Battle Swallow's Nest , which ran over $40,000 solely for that ingredient, not counting large quantities of shark's fin; for the battle, the producers were permitted to return any unused portions to Hattori Nutrition College. For the show's grand finale, the Iron Chefs faced off against each other with the winner to face French chef Alain Passard , owner of Michelin three-star restaurant L’Arpege, with the winner dubbed the "King of Iron Chefs". In the first round Iron Chef French Sakai defeated Iron Chef Japanese Morimoto in Battle Bell Pepper. The other first round match saw Iron Chef Chinese Chen defeat Iron Chef Italian Kobe in Battle Pork. In the semi-final match, Sakai defeated Chen in Battle Homard Lobster. In the final match in Kitchen Stadium, with all of the current and previous Iron Chefs looking on, Iron Chef French Sakai defeated Alain Passard in Battle Ronkonkai Chicken. Thus, Hiroyuki Sakai was dubbed "King of Iron Chefs." There were two reunion specials produced in . A final reunion episode was produced and broadcast in 2002 , entitled "The Japan Cup". The show is presented in the United States on the Food Network , and on SBS TV in Australia , Dubbed and/or Subtitled into English . It was also broadcast on Challenge in the UK in 2003 and 2004 , as part of its "Japanese Christmas Cracker" and "Japanorama" strands. In the case of SBS this is unusual as the network has a policy favouring in house subtitling. It may be felt that the tone the American dub gives the show is essential to its charms, heightened perhaps by the fact that in most episodes, the flamboyant Chairman is subtitled instead of dubbed. 10 BEST DISHES (These dishes were picked by Chairman Kaga as the 10 Best Dishes out of about 2,500 during the course of the show)
IRON CHEF IN POP CULTURE Because of its success, Iron Chef has been referenced or parodied in various media. Some of them are:
RELATED SHOWS The U.S. UPN network presented two one-hour episodes of '' Iron Chef USA '' hosted by William Shatner around Christmas 2001. These shows were not a success. This may be because the show focused little on cooking—a major part of the Japanese program. The show had a small audience section in bleachers. The audience yelled relentlessly during the show (sounding much like a sports audience), Shatner walked around the kitchen sampling the more expensive items, the chefs refused to say what they were doing, and the cameras rarely showed the food preparation. In , Mario Batali , and Wolfgang Puck , all Food Network personalities and renowned American Celebrity Chef s. (Morimoto and Flay battled in two previous Iron Chef specials that were made after the original series aired.) The specials featured fellow Food Network personality Alton Brown as the announcer and actor Mark Dacascos playing the role of The Chairman. Brown stars in the popular Food Network show, Good Eats . The show received high ratings and rave reviews, and in October 2004, Food Network began taping weekly episodes that premiered starting in January 2005. Some changes were made to the show, most notably replacing Puck with Morimoto as an Iron Chef (and a fourth, Cat Cora , was added later), and the location was moved from Los Angeles to New York City . FOOTNOTES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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