Ryôri no tetsujin

There is no other show like this anywhere on television. Shown in the USA on cable TV's Food Network (complete with awkward English dubbing). this show is part Frugal Gourmet, part Worldwide Wrestling Federation, and part Japanese monster movie. There are so many small touches that make the show a surrealistic trip - the fact that everyone's voice is (badly dubbed) except the master of ceremonies, who speaks Japanese while English subtitles are flashed on the screen; this same man's mysterious smile as he bites into a yellow pepper during the show's opening sequence; the breathless commentary from the reporter on the floor, who shouts "Fukui-san!" every fifty seconds or so; the seemingly bottomless knowledge on the finer points of gourmet cooking displayed by various actors, pop singers, news anchors, and other celebrities who sit on the panel of judges every week; the mixture of bravado and faux humility shown by both Iron Chefs and challengers, seen in the United States only in professional athletes; etc.

There is simply no way to encapsulate the atmosphere of this show in a few lines of commentary. It has to be seen to be experienced. and once you buy into the premise of the show, you will find it very entertaining.

I love Iron Chef. What an idea for a show!! I love the premise of bringing renowned chefs from all over Japan and the world to challenge Chairman Kaga's Iron Chefs, and to have them create dishes on the spot using the theme ingredient announced at the beginning. It's also fun to listen to the play-by-play announcing; you'd think this was a sports events.

The fact that these chefs can prepare 4-6 dishes on the spot in one hour attests to their amazing skills and imagination, especially when an Iron Chef of one cooking style is confronted with a theme ingredient they normally don't use. I wish I was there to taste some of their amazing creations.

What astounds me about the show is how seriously some challengers take this, like the Italian expatriate chefs and their battles against Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe, and the Ohta Factions' (a society of Japanese chefs who are staunchly traditional in their cooking techniques) war against Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto.

I can't wait for IC3 next month. My local cable company just recently added the Food Network, so I didn't see the original Bobby Flay/Morimoto contest. After watching what Morimoto has done in previous episodes, I really can't see Flay winning. I've also thought about whether Emeril would someday appear on Iron Chef, but I think he's a bit too laidback for something as tense and fast-paced as this.

If you like cooking shows, then you have to watch Iron Chef...forget the dubbing..it's not annoying, it's funny,like GODZILLA..it's camp, but it's good...and though corny, the cooking is amazing..you can learn so much...but have a fun time doing it...culinary contests fascinate me, and Iron Chef is why. One hour isn't very long, and when you don't know what your theme is..it makes for improv, although it is rooted in fundamentals, and it's true..dishes never before seen.

I love this show. The melodrama's the best part. I love the way it's set up like a sports show. I love the way the host is dressed like Liberace. I love the dramatic entrance of the theme ingredient. "And the theme ingredient is..." (tension mounts...what is it? what will it be???) "BROCCOLI!!!" Enter an enormous load of broccoli. I love the way some (not all) of the Japanese celebrities are so haughty, which makes them look like a fool since we Americans haven't heard of them. I like the way other celebrities are so honest, simple, and likable (like that fortune-teller). She's cool.

I like cooking, but being a staunch vegetarian I don't often watch cooking shows that regularly feature slaughtered animals as ingredients. However, this show I can't tear myself away from. That's how much fun it is. I once watched an Iron Chef make an ice-cream-like dessert out of sardines. What's not to love?

(I will concede, however, that some of the English voice-dubbing is annoying after awhile. But it's worth it.)

These chefs really are awesome, by the way. They are creative and boy do they know their craft. All kidding aside, I bow to the Iron Chefs, and those brave enough to challenge them.

This show is my favorite. Finally a cooking show that's not a boring "how to" session, it is not at all the intention of this show to teach you how to cook. You just sit back and watch these guys use the theme ingredient to prepare a gourmet meal in an hour, and you ooh and ahh.

It's no surprise to me that the challengers take the contest so seriously. Cooking is their art, and the challengers are very respected among the culinary world, owning only the classiest restaurants. This is a true test of their mettle, and they have something to prove. The other great thing is that this isn't a petty game show where some obscene amount of money is at stake. According to the show's intro, all the challenger gets if he/she (yes, I have seen a female competitor on the show) wins is "The peoples' ovation and fame forever". Okay, that sounds a bit silly, but seriously, all they win is the honor of beating an Iron Chef. The only material prize is an indirect one, since the winner's restaurant can now boast an Iron Chef victory and will definitely gain a lot of new customers.

I think that the Food Network did a great job converting the show for an English speaking audience. First off, congrats for not dubbing Kaga. His "If my memory serves me right..." monologue is my favorite part of the show, and I like to listen to how he speaks the Japanese language, even though I don't speak a word of it myself. Second, congrats on dubbing everyone else. Reading subtitles for the whole show would get very tiresome. Some of the dubbed voices sound downright silly (especially Chen Kenichi and Hiroyuki Sakai), but that's ok. I think that it adds an element of humor (intentional or not) without making the whole show seem like a big joke. And finally, they did a good job budgeting time. You don't see the whole hour of cooking, but you see enough of it to know what's going on, and there's still time for the intros and the judging. My only complaint it that there is a TON of commercials.

And one more thing - I like Ota! Everyone seems annoyed by him, but how can you have an episode without him? His "Fukui-san!" comments are the only thing that explains what the chefs are doing, and since they are doing so much so fast, Ota has a lot to tell Fukui-san and the audience. It is amazing to me how he memorizes every ingredient that goes into the pans.