This one’s more funny and lighthearted, but it is definitely cool. A Japanese variety show, Unnan no Rough na Kanji de, had a May 2010 episode that was part of what was called the “We Didn’t Expect that You Would Say OK to Do It!!” Tour. Here’s where Iron Chef comes into the picture: Iron Chef Sakai was challenged to make fried rice while Iron Chef Chen was challenged to make pasta…and both agreed!
The hosts watched Sakai and Chen prepare the dishes and then voted on which dish they liked better without asking each other, and this is where a particularly comic twist comes in: only those who voted for the winning dish got a whole plate! A lot of Iron Chef references including via music (including Show Me Your Firetruck and Burn It All), so I wanted to make sure you folks got this.
As far as I can tell (with my limited Japanese, some of which I got from watching Iron Chef subbed or raw), here’s what I found each dish included. If I missed something, do let me know pronto via comments so I can get it straight.
Sakai’s fried rice – Foie gras, mushrooms, lettuce, veal broth/fond de veau and olive oil, plus the egg as a topping after he appeared to flash fry it (I’d call it poached, but the white had a fried finish although the yolk was runny)
Chen’s pasta – Shark fin, Shanghai crab, olive oil, coconut cream and cheese
Remember how Gordon Elliott was the English-speaking host for the New York Special battle and how the footage leading up to the battle showed Iron Chefs Japanese Michiba and Morimoto preparing a surprise dinner for a family in Rye (just outside New York City) using just leftovers and other items in the family’s refrigerator? Someone has posted a nearly 10-minute cut as it appeared on Door Knock Dinners with a lot of Iron Chef references, including “dubs” and Elliott channeling Takeshi Kaga.
For added perspective, the list of chefs who have cooked on Door Knock Dinners includes Tyler Florence and Paula Deen.
This is definitely one I wanted to make sure you folks are aware of for a whole bunch of reasons. Back in August 2017, there was an Iron Chef charity dinner at the legendary Sydney Opera House that raised $26,500 AUD for Opportunity International Australia (via Dining For Charity) to help alleviate poverty in Asia.
It featured Iron Chefs Sakai, Chen, Michiba and Kobe in what was, in all likelihood, Kobe’s final Iron Chef event before his tragic death in 2019, and while that would be amazing enough, they weren’t alone. Joining them was Chen’s son Chen Kentaro, seen cheering on his father in King of Iron Chefs and as a challenger in Iron Chef Yomigaeru, who had received two Michelin stars by that point. Others who assisted included Singaporean patissier Janice Wong, considered the best in Asia and who fittingly helped with the desserts, and executive chef Hal Yamashita.
There is a Japanese TV documentary on the event that has no subtitles that both shows the event itself and the behind-the-scenes preparations for the event, while the official event website in English is still up – including the menu. Hope everyone enjoys!
I saw a picture on the blog of actress and former idol Yajima Maimi today. She has been co-hosting a radio show with Doc Hattori for the last few weeks. The staff celebrated her birthday, and she posted a picture of her and the Doc. (Link to blog post below.)
Translation of the relevant section thanks to the fine folks at 910 percent on Facebook:
BTW, I had the radio recording of Nack5 Hattori Yukio Well Taste , every Sunday at 12:00 on the air, before the Shima Shima theater yesterday.
*Dr. Hattori is popular for the commentator of Iron Chef.
I didn’t expect it at all!
Surprisingly!!
Dr. Hattori and the staff celebrated my birthday ー
(T ^ T)♡♡
I have done the assistant ,on behalf of Yasuda Kei-san taking maternity leave, only for a short days.
All of them knew my birthday (><)♡♡
I was surprised!(T ^ T)
The stuff give me a beautiful cake and the master Hattori gave me a Saucepan of Geo-Project (T ^ T)♡♡
I was so happy (><)♡♡
I’ll do my best for cooking with the saucepan!(*’▽’*)‼︎
Thank you so much‼︎♡♡
Edit: Here is a Dailymotion link to listen to the 2/4/2018 episode for anyone curious.
(Special thanks to Miwa for letting me know about this show.)
Today’s addition to Beyond Kitchen Stadium is a television show that aired on Japanese TV earlier this month (1/4/2013). The Japanese talk show Another Sky featured the original (and only true, in my opinion) chairman Takeshi Kaga. Kaga will be enjoying meals that remind him of his 30th, 40th, 50, and 60th years.
–We first see Kaga travel to Paris to enjoy a dish at the famed La Tour d’Argent.
–He then has a dish prepared by the host of the show to represent his 30th year. He seems pleased and the co-host is pleasantly surprised at his partner’s cooking ability.
–For his 40th year dish, he visits two time Ryouri no Tetsujin challenger Pierre Gagnaire. You might remember him from the France Special where he challenged Iron Chef Sakai. He also took part in the 1995 Iron Chef World Cup. (That one is not on the site yet, but it’s coming soon. If you don’t want to see a spoiler about that episode, skip 10:30-11:10 of this show.)
–He leaves Paris and travels to Kanazawa in the northern part of Japan for his 50th year dish. Of course, Kaga was born in Kanazawa. (And I’m pretty sure he said something about college, so perhaps he went to college there, too.) The restaurant he visits is run by another former Ryouri no Tetsujin challenger, Kawada Yasuo from episode 243 (Angler, vs Michiba). Kaga requests Chawanmushi and he finds if “Delicious.”
–Returning to France for his 60th year dish, he heads to Bergerac for some of the finest wines in the Bordeaux region. There he shares a duck dinner and a bottle of wine the same vintage as himself (1950) with the owner of the hotel. Kaga couldn’t leave without visiting a statue of Cyrano de Bergerac since he played the lead role in the musical Cyrano in 2009. And apparently, he is playing the role again 1/6/2013-2/10/2013. (I thought I remembered seeing something about this on my trip. I just looked in my folder of stuff I picked up in Japan on my trip, and I found a flyer for the show that I got in the lobby of the Fuji Television building. I need to scan it and put the picture up when I finally get around to writing about my day in Odaiba. Found it: FRONT, BACK.)
I hope you enjoy this show. It is in Japanese with no subtitles, but I think you will still enjoy seeing our chairman enjoy special dishes to commemorate the milestone years of his life.