"Ryôri no tetsujin" (1993) TV series 1993-1999

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | unknown

Plot:

Chefs from all over the world come to Kitchen Stadium to do culinary battle with one of Chairman Kaga's...

Plot Keywords:

Kitchen | Cooking | Food | Competition | Non Fiction

Cast

Chen Kenichi		(91 episodes, 1993-2002)
Hiroyuki Sakai		(86 episodes, 1994-2001)
Rokusaburo Michiba		(41 episodes, 1993-2000)

Also Known As:

Iron Chef (USA)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Fuji Television Network

Trivia:

Only one American challenger stepped up to defeat an Iron Chef. Ron Siegel, then of Charles Nob Hill in San Francisco, defeated Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai in Battle Lobster.

Quotes:

Announcer: Bang a gong, we are on!

Movie Connections:

Spin off "Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters" (2004)

Come for the creativity, stay for the sea urchin

A friend of mine tried for six months to convince me to watch some of his Iron Chef tapes, when it first hit the U.S. The way he described it, I just couldn't see how I would enjoy it. I finally relented and watched his tapes, and I don't think I've missed an episode in the three years since then.

That a chef could make up recipes or cook from memory isn't so amazing, but a chef who can do BOTH, under the spotlight in a timed competition and STILL produce dazzling food is amazing. If you would ask me how to cook bell peppers, I might be able to tell you three things to do with them. I've seen close to twenty, from the chefs and challengers on this show.

Of course, the campy dubbing adds to the charm, as well as the celebrity guests. Some of them seem to actually know their cooking, but the majority kind of fade from the commentary, offering an occasional, 'Oh,' or 'That looks good'.

I don't know how much this show has taught me about Japanese culture, but I have learned something about gourmet culture: if it's edible, but nobody should eat it, that's gourmet food. How else do you explain anglerfish, potato starch, sea cucumber and sea urchin used as theme ingredients? The very DESIGN of the sea urchin screams out 'DO NOT EAT!'

All jokes aside, I have learned quite a few things from this show. Not really useful things...I know what miso and tianmanjon are, how to recognize a daikon radish, and I can tell the difference between crab brains and lobster liver by the color.

Great fun; a show to watch with friends. The only warning I'd give is to watch out for live theme ingredients, if you're squeamish. You might not appreciate the cleaning/butchering techniques.