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From Iron Chef Morimoto:
I am deeply honored and beyond thrilled for the premiere of my new show “Morimoto’s Sushi Master” streaming free on @therokuchannel this Friday, June 16th. Tune in to join me in all the excitement this season offers as we set out to find the first #SushiMaster. Ask your server @morimotorestaurants and @momosanramen about our “Roku”(no relation) Gin cocktail we’ve prepared in honor of the big debut!
#chefmorimoto #sushimaster#rokutv #sushi #sushilovers #japanesefood #cookingshow #premiere
This past month was no doubt one of the saddest times for Iron Chef fans. If you’re on this site and reading this, then I’m guessing you already know, but on March 11th, Kenichi Azama, who we all know and love as Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi, passed away from interstitial pneumonia at the age of 67.
Iron Chef fans will readily tell others that he was the only Iron Chef to serve throughout the entire series, the leader in career battles fought and battles won and also the runner-up to Sakai in the King of Iron Chefs series finale. Watching him strive to live up to the legacy of his father, Chen Kenmin – the one who popularized Szechuan food in Japan and known as the country’s deity of Szechuan cuisine – and succeed while also proving himself to be a true Iron Chef was and is amazing to watch. I have a lot of great memories of him, especially one of the most amazing battles in the show’s history and the battle Chen himself remembers the most: the legendary Battle Prawn against his old coach and Kenmin’s top apprentice Takashi Saito. Adding yet more to it, both chefs recreated Kenmin’s classic prawns in chili sauce, and Kenichi’s canapé style reproduction of the modern version including ketchup was both Takeshi Kaga’s favorite of the first 2,000 dishes and helped Chen win the only battle he fought in front of his mother Yoko.
According to a Shisen Hanten press release, Chen’s funeral is or was for close relatives only according to his will, and his family also declined receiving flowers, condolences and such, but a farewell party in his memory was also planned. Even writing this now, I still felt myself getting misty-eyed, but I want to make sure I pay my respects and I’d like to open this up so others here can share their memories and tributes. I also like to think I speak for Iron Chef fans the world over when I say that we thank him for all the memories and good food and will miss him dearly.
PS – It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Chen and Kobe, who was gone too soon, have already battled again in heaven with judges including Asako Kishi, Tamio Kageyama and maybe even Kenmin himself.
The Chairman comes onscreen, the teaser runs, Alton and Kristen introduce themselves and set the tone for the battle, the music comes up, and the lights come down. (It is painfully apparent how excellently the “Backdraft” score has upheld Iron Chef Japan.)
The challenger enters and is introduced, bringing their background and skills into focus. The challenger faces the Chairman… and it is at this point that the battle, for me, skews hard into left field…
Iron Chef: Battle for an Iron Legend was hyped to be a continuation of the original Iron Chef Japan series, a tall order for a series which has spawned 20 spinoff shows and series, all in homage to, and trying to capture, the fire and fury of the original. Do they succeed? I asked my significant other after 5 episodes of this new series
“For me looking at the original Iron Chef [Japan] – I’m looking at technique, the academic side of what they’re trying to portray. The current show is more engaging and less intimidating.”
Mrs. Iron Chef Fans
One of my Little Iron Chefs agrees:
“I think the real defining difference between the two shows is that Iron Chef Japan is a lot more serious about how they have their audience perceive how the competition is run. Iron Chef Japan is a lot more pedantic in how each dish is prepared and executed.”
Little Iron Chef the Eldest
Iron Chef Japan’s legacy is tremendous, from the previously-mentioned 20 spinoff series to the restaurants of the Iron Chefs and challengers themselves, the amazing impact that ICJ exerted on transforming modern cooking and food network television into a competitive landscape for chefs, and the meteoric increase in the visibility of celebrity chefs! Oh, and don’t forget the line of Iron Chef sauces available at your local store. (Don’t worry, they’re licensed by Fuji Television Network.)
My largest concerns with Iron Chef: Battle for an Iron Legend are the very small number of episodes and the inability of challengers to put their own feet to the fire by choosing the Iron Chef they will face. Those two things together are what gave us Kandagawa-san and his fierce (and returning) visage in one of the greatest ‘rivalries’ of the original show. Until Netflix commits to really spending the money to put that in play, this series will remain an echo of its former spinoffs…
I’d love to hear your thoughts as well – let me know if you’ve seen the new show and share with me what you do and do not like!
Yeah, that’s right: we have a date. June 15th, 2022, and then… the shishito hits the kitchen fan.
I expect there will be much to say once the first few episodes air, but I’m going to announce right now that there are at least three names now associated with the new Iron Chef on Netflix:
Mark Dacascos
Alton Brown
and
Kristen Kish.
I’m going to go on record RIGHT NOW, yes, right this very second, and say (within my official capacity as webmaster for what may very well be the greatest Iron Chef fan site on the whole of the Internet) that if it is beyond all hope to get Fukui-san as your Iron Chef Fount of Knowledge, Floor Announcer, and Hype Man, my next choice will always be Alton Brown as the man for the Iron Chef job and I, for one, am glad to see him on-hand. Smooth, urbane, both virtuoso and pedagogue, and he knows his way around social media.
Post your thoughts on our newly revealed Iron Chef Netflix series… Does knowing more spoil your dessert? Or does it make you hungry for more?
According to the Netflix synopsis for the new 8-episode show airing this year:
The legendary Iron Chef series is reborn with a supersized approach to the ground-breaking culinary competition that started it all. It’s been called the toughest culinary challenge a chef will ever experience. This is where world-class cuisine meets high-octane sports. Five new trailblazing Iron Chefs will welcome brave Challenger Chefs to the reimagined Kitchen Stadium, where they’ll face off and be pushed to the limits of endurance and creativity, as they cook up extraordinary culinary creations. The competition’s most successful Challenger will return to battle in a grand finale for the chance to be named the first ever “Iron Legend.”
-Netflix, https://about.netflix.com/en/news/iron-chef-quest-for-an-iron-legend-coming-to-netflix-in-2022
Most importantly, the page states something that should put a smile on the face of every Iron Chef Japan fan out there:
The series is based on Fuji Television Network’s format.
New Iron Chefs, New Challengers, and a Reimagined Kitchen Stadium with the support of Fuji’s format for the original show. While we wait to see how the judges will score this new dish, I want to know your thoughts – which head-to-head cuisines or ingredient battles are you most interested in?
Netflix will be airing a new Iron Chef show in 2022. According to many sites, it will be called Iron Chef : Quest for an Iron Legend. The show is planned for 8 episodes. The producer is Daniel Calin, who produced Master Chef USA, Top Chef and Nailed It.
This is yet another reboot in a long line of the original show. Others have included the poorly rated Iron Chef USA , Iron Chef America and the 2012 version of Iron Chef. Many more have been made titled Iron Chef with a certain country added at the end.
To say that people are a little weary of another reboot is an understatement. Most of the reboots have received poor ratings and Iron Chef America is a love it or hate it show for most. Nothing will compare to the original show that we all love. We will have to wait and see if the new show will fill a void.
Be sure to check back on this site often, as we will update you when the new show is set to air and for all of your Iron Chef news!