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.

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.

I am surprised that more people haven't written about this show. It has caused a cultural revolution, and has made such an impact that SNL even bothered to mimic the show. It is supposed to be melodramatic, and I love the dubbed voices. Almost every one I know who knows of this show loves it, and is addicted. Even though I would not want to eat some of the dishes at times, watching them put those dishes being put together is always interesting. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night I tape The Iron Chef. Its one of the best shows on television.

I've seen this show since December 2002, and I have my opinions on this show. First off, it's interesting to see how the chefs can take an abnormal food item and use it in 3-8 exciting dishes. Something that isn't used in one cuisine can and will be used in that one and another. Second, I'm interested in learning about certain ingredients and how to cook them if I would like to use them in the future. Learning how to prepare ingredients in this show is key for the viewers, and I agree with most of the tips. Some of them were new to me, but I understand them now since I've watched this show many of times.

I have begun to watch this show on the Food Network and it is quite enjoyable. It not only is quite interesting to watch some of Japan's best chefs compete against each other in creating various dishes almost spontaneously, but listening to the English dubbed commentary can be quite humorous as well as they try to convey how the panelists enjoy or dislike each dish that they eat from each competition. Also, even though I'm not much of a gourmet, I do find most of the dishes appetizing, even though I probably won't eat them due to the fact that many of them are quite expensive.

Also, I just found out that the Food Network is going to do an American version of the show featuring many of the chefs that are featured on the various programs on the network. They will have to really come up with something spectacular if they hope to match the special charm of this show.