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Iron Chef America
File:Ironchefamerica.jpg
StarringAlton Brown
Mark Dacascos
Kevin Brauch
Mario Batali
Cat Cora
Bobby Flay
Masaharu Morimoto
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes43
Production
Running timeapprox. 0:46
(per episode)
Original release
NetworkFood Network
Release2005 –
present

Iron Chef America: The Series 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 previously carried 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 ignoring story elements from the 2002 Iron Chef Japan Cup Special), Chairman Kaga (the character) has ordered his nephew to continue the tradition of Kitchen Stadium, this time in New York's Chelsea Market. For the inaugural battle, the elder Chairman dispatched two Iron Chefs: Hiroyuki Sakai and Masaharu Morimoto.

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. However in Australia, it was pulled after airing for less than two months due to negative viewer feedback and replaced by the original Iron Chef.

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

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:

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's jackets with solid-color patches and trimwork rather than elaborate chef garb, to create the impression that the chefs are battling in a modernized Kitchen Stadium. However, like Iron Chef, the Iron Chefs remain color-coded: Flay's jacket trim is blue (black when Wolfgang Puck was present), Batali's orange, 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 English with a heavy 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.

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. Starting with season 3, the show followed its predecessors and had the challenger chefs choose the Iron Chef. In reality, the match-ups are determined well in advance in all three incarnations of the show. 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 occurs 15 minutes before the start of the battle. However, this segment is not shown on television, and it is common assumption that the battle starts immediately after the secret ingredient is revealed. This fact was revealed on an episode of Unwrapped. The start of the battle is 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!( again, meaningless French which should be "A La Cuisine" ( On to the kitchen)).

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 not a true 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 would normally have Kevin Brauch introduce the judges, and many times Kevin will pay homage to the original by adding, Konban Wa (Japanese for "Good evening") in his introductions. 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

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), even though this was not done 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 his or her dishes, which was allowed on Iron Chef but not on Iron Chef USA.

Several of the secrets to how the show is taped were revealed in an episode of Unwrapped entitled "Food Network Unwrapped 2." It was stated that the chefs find out what the secret ingredient is about 15 minutes before the battle begins because the opening sequence is recorded many times. It is only the final taping of this sequence where the words "Allez cuisine" are said and the battle begins. Moreover, at the end of the 1 hour battle, the chefs must still prepare 4 plates of each of their 5 dishes for the judges and the chairman. This is done during a 45 minute period after the battle ends and before tasting begins. They consider this to be part of the competition, and it is timed, but it is not recorded or shown to the viewers. The plates which the audience sees prepared during the 1 hour battle are the plates used to obtain close-up footage of the dish for use in the final episode. Usually, on taping days, two different battles will be taped, one beginning at about 10 a.m. and the second at about 4 p.m. A Food Network crew has about 90 minutes between each show to clean the set and prepare for the second show.

Chefs provide the producers with shopping lists for each of the possible secret ingredients. Consequently, they can surmise what the secret ingredient will be just before it is officially revealed, based on which list was purchased.[2]

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." This controversy stems from the belief in Japan that all cooking instruments are sacred. The battle also saw Morimoto's dishes tasted first, contrary to Iron Chef traditions, due to the spicy nature of Flay's dishes. It was revealed in the Bobby Flay episode of Chefography that Flay was injured in several ways during the taping of this episode. He severely cut (nearly severed) his left thumb on the blade of a food processor and received an electric shock while touching a metal ladle and standing in a pool of water on the floor (these injuries were not shown or revealed in the original episode). Also revealed was that the producers of Iron Chef invited Flay back for a rematch in Japan. Flay's assistants were going to refuse the offer but Flay insisted on taking up the offer. When the rematch was recorded in Japan, a large contingent of American military personnel were brought in from a nearby base. Flay won the rematch. 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. Flay and Morimoto stated in the same Chefography that they are now friends and both respect each other.

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, 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.

Starting November 2006, Australia's SBS, the domestic rights holder to the original Iron Chef program, started airing Iron Chef America: The Battle Of The Masters on 8:30pm Saturday, replacing the original Japanese incarnation of the program. On December 9th, Season 1 of Iron Chef America began airing. The show was scheduled to run until 17th February 2007, but due to viewer feedback, SBS ended broadcast of Iron Chef America three weeks early and resumed showing the original Iron Chef on 3rd February 2007.

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, an infrared grill, 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. During one battle, Kevin Brauch went into the audience to introduce commentator Alton Brown's mother.

According to the "Ask Bobby" section of Bobby Flay's website, the tickets for Iron Chef are, in fact, not available to the public but are reserved for "friends, relatives and press."[3]

Food Network All-Stars special

On November 12, 2006, Food Network aired a special 90-minute episode of ICA which pitted two guest Food Network personalities - Giada De Laurentiis and Rachael Ray - against each other. While the early part of the episode made it appear as though it would be a head-to-head battle, the Chairman announced just prior to the secret ingredient reveal that it would in fact be a tag-team battle - De Laurentiis & Flay versus Ray & Batali.

The increase in time over a typical 60-minute episode allowed for extended cuts of the cooking hour and the judging to be shown, as well as a brief segment early in the episode during which each Iron Chef gave his assigned guest personality some training and tricks of the trade in handling the nuances of Kitchen Stadium.

The secret ingredient was cranberries, which (unlike typical ICA episodes) was spoiled in advance in advertising promos shown on Food Network prior to the episode's airing.

Notable judges

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

See also

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