The most famous version of this song was released by the Bobby Fuller Four. (I kind of like the Green Day version myself.) These theme ingredients tried to use their claws to fight the Iron Chefs, but none of them won. Well, if you count being turned into a tasty dish as “winning”, then maybe they did.
- Lobster (227) – Sakai vs. Shimizu – The challenger was once the head chef at the Japan branch of La Tour d’Argent.
- Shanghai Crab (244) – Chen vs. Sugita – The challenger is the first Peking-style Chinese chef to do battle in Kitchen Stadium.
- Hair Crab (343) – Chen vs. Ikegawa – The challenger was once a sumo wrestler.
- Lobster (636) – Sakai vs. Seigel – It has been ten years since Ron Siegel visited Kitchen Stadium. Here is a recent interview with the American chef who took on Sakai in a seafood battle and won.
- King Crab (705) – Miromoto vs. Iio – The challenger is trying to be the third from the Royal Park Hotel, Tokyo to get a win in Kitchen Stadium.
The following episodes may be found by searching our video database:
227,
244,
343,
636,
705New in the database this week: 227, 244, 705
Next week’s Episodes of the Week post will be our monthly ICC Exclusives post. Don’t forget to vote for your choice of episodes in the poll on the left. The poll will close this weekend.
tuthead
23 September, 2008
The theme ingredients this week had an advantage over the chefs in Kitchen Stadium. Unfortunately for them, the fact that they had more arms than their human adversaries meant little once the Gong of Fate sounded. The theme for the Episodes of the Week this week is armed sea creatures.
- Octopus (106) – Chen vs. Kazuhiko – One of the first season battles. (Never aired on Food Network)
- Squid (Surumeika) (632) – Sakai vs. Miura – The challenger is an expert at using garlic.
- Octopus (645) – Kobe vs. Yoneda – Japanese pop star Go Hiromi. (A performance by Go Hiromi has been added to Beyond Kitchen Stadium this week.)
- Cuttlefish (Aoriika) (731) – Morimoto vs. Watanabe – The challenger is the head chef at one of the restaurants operated by one of the largest companies in Japan.
New in the database this week: 632, 645, 731, BKS-Go Hiromi
tuthead
16 September, 2008
To paraphrase the classic line from Daffy Duck in Rabbit Seasoning, “He doesn’t have to cook me now. Wait ’til you get to Kitchen Stadium.” And since we’ve already seen Elmer Fudd in action in the kitchen, let’s leave it to the Iron Chefs this time. I thought Daffy would fit right in this week as our Episodes of the Week theme is bird battles.
- Duck (219) – Sakai vs. Kimura – The challenger is very devoted to creating Chinese cuisine.
- Quail (246) – Sakai vs. Kawasaki – The challenger is one of the best in Japan at Gibier (game meat) cooking.
- Turkey (248) – Michiba vs. Furusho – The manager of the Yakult Swallows recommended this challenger. (And I found another reason to like Mayuko Takata: She’s an Ichiro fan.)
- Duck (644) – Sakai vs. Hazama – The challenger is the third generation of a gourmet family.
The following episodes may be found by searching our video database:
219,
246,
248,
644New in the database this week: 219, 246, 248, 644
We would also like to announce our latest project, the
Iron Chef Collection Wiki. To be honest with you, it still has a long way to go before it is as complete and as useful as we think it will eventually become, but we thought it was time to let everyone know it is there. We added a link to the blogroll a couple of weeks ago, and we had links on a few of the download pages, so some of you may have already made your way over there. It runs on the same platform as Wikipedia, so if you’ve ever edited a Wikipedia page, you can comfortably edit one of ours. We encourage everyone to add and edit pages to make it a true community resource for all the Iron Chef fans out there.
tuthead
10 September, 2008
This is the second edition of our Iron Chef Collection Exclusives Episodes of the Month. Of course, this is where we present to you Iron Chef episodes that did not air on Food Network. Today, we present our Episodes of the Month for August. Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll.
- The only two Iron Chefs whose debuts we saw on Food Network were Morimoto and Nakamura. Now, we get to see the debut battle of Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe. The first thing you’ll notice once the gong of fate sounds is that deliberate pace with which Kobe approaches the theme. This may be the only time I have ever seen him not running to the podium to get his ingredients. He is moving as slowly as I’ve ever seen him move. Every now and then, Kobe gets a look of confusion, but that’s somewhat understandable as it is his first battle. (And does Otah talk fast or what? I try to listen for words I know, but geez is he fast.) They keep mentioning the fact that Kobe is 27 years old. Will the youngest Iron Chef also be the only one who loses his debut battle?
- The second addition to the collection this month is a two part episode. Masaharu Morimoto has been an Iron Chef for one year. In order to give him some guidance, Chairman Kaga sends retired Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba to New York. Go Here to read an excellent description of this episode. The second part is a battle between Iron Chef Japanese II Komei Nakamura and Iron Chef Japanese III Masaharu Morimoto.
Of course, these episodes were recorded directly from the original Japanese Fuji TV broadcast and include all breaks and commercials. We hope you enjoy this opportunity to experience Iron Chef the way it was originally presented in Japan.
The following episodes may be found by search the Iron Chef Collection video database:
522OA (Kobe Debut),
709a (Michiba and Morimoto in New York),
709b (Egg Battle)
Captain Nemo and the crew of the Nautilis saw many new and exciting places in their travels. The Iron Chefs showed us many new and exciting dishes while doing battle in Kitchen Stadium. This week’s theme is seafood battles.
- Scallop (412) – Sakai vs. Osada – The challenger is known for his vacuum cooking. (I think the video problem has been fixed. If not, let us know.)
- Abalone (626) Morimoto vs. Kajimoto
- Pike Conger (726) – Morimoto vs. Tanigawa – The challenger is from Kyoto.
- Ray (732) – Sakai vs. Koga
The following episodes may be found by searching the video database:
412,
626,
726,
732New in the database this week: 412, 626, 726, 732
Next week’s post will be the ICC Exclusives for August. Don’t forget to vote in the poll in the sidebar to your left.
I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry. Frog was never used as a theme ingredient in Kitchen Stadium. Kermit is safe. I just wanted to use his song title. Vegetables were used many times during the 300 episode run of the show. There is no way we could list them all, but we can narrow it down a little bit. This week’s Episodes of the Week theme is vegetables that are green.
- Asparagus (309) – Sakai vs. Komine – The challenger is a “maniac of vegetables.”
- Leek (408) – Sakai vs. Tateyama – The challenger was selected by Kandagawa.
- Asparagus (616) – Morimoto vs. Habuchi
The following episodes may be found in our video database:
309,
408,
616.
New in the database this week: 309, 408, 616.
Later this week, look for a new poll to select the ICC Exclusives for August.