As those of you that have been faithful to the site are very aware, I’ve been working on getting a space for us to upload videos: as of a month ago, we are the proud owners of space on pCloud. They have a fine system set up that wasn’t going to break the bank but includes file links and even some streaming if we want to upgrade.
That said, days ago, I was contacted by and spoke on the phone to a legal firm that asked myself and the site
ironcheffans.com to ‘refrain from uploading or linking files which we do not own by copyright law’ in the best interests of protecting their client. I want to be clear:
There is no ongoing legal action against us or our site (and I could not afford such nor would I ask you as fans to help defray those costs). But we are required to abide by legal guidelines and precedent whether we are being watched by said law firm or not and I intend to do so for the best interest of our site.
We can no longer link videos of the episodes, and this is by law. While I know many of our sites members and visitors considered this to be the former site’s greatest resource, I’m looking as a webmaster through this experience and can see one resource even greater: our fan community. You.
Plainly put, in the last few months, we’ve invested over half a thousand dollars into what we have from both a business and marketing standpoint: our site is now an official business entity, we have a new PayPal business account for incoming funds, I’ve brought on a person to work out some site redesigns so that we can move from the WordPress format to something more flexible. We’ve got freelancing folks working on new musical and image content, and want to do a few more things with interactivity as the year goes on. As we go, I’m planning to put the information up soon so each of you have a say in what we become as a site and as a community. I’m not giving up on any of that and I’m not risking it either: we’re going to make something of it.
When I accepted this role, I had no plans to move this quickly, and I certainly didn’t see things going this way so soon after I took up the mantle. I know, too, that it’s a lot to take in, and I also panicked a bit as things started to shift around me, seeming out of my control. It’s hot and I had to ask myself whether the kitchen is where I belong…
Another saying goes “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” We’re the Iron Chef Fan Community, and lemons just became the theme ingredient. With your patience, your support, and your help, I believe we can counter with six dishes including something from the salamander, an artistic Delacroix extraordinaire, and maybe, just maybe, something special for refined and discerning palates out of the ice-cream machine.
Thanks for all your support and kindness: we’ll talk soon!
-Scott
Scott Richardson
6 March, 2020
Thank you so much for your patience, site visitors! Our site had been experiencing technical issues for several days due to the servers that route viewers to our website were not functioning as we intended. We’ve worked with our provider to correct the issue and, again, appreciate your patience in sticking with us. Please continue to let us know if you have issues by contacting our account at ironcheffansinfo@gmail.com!
Scott Richardson
4 February, 2020
I may be way out of the loop, but when did Iron Chef Canada become a thing? I haven’t watched them yet, but I have two episodes of Iron Chef Canada in hand. Is there any interest in seeing them?
Also, does anyone have a copy of the recent US airings of Iron Chef Yomigaeru they’d be willing to share so I can post it here?
Keith
Iron Chef Canada – Season 1, Episode 1
Iron Chef Canada – Season 1, Episode 2
Edit: I’ve watched about 3 minutes of Iron Chef Canada, and I don’t think it’s going to be for me. It is very similar in style to Iron Chef America, which I didn’t watch either. I will still post if anybody wants to see it. (I’m completely aware of my original Iron Chef elitism when talk about the new versions. What can I say? I like what I like. And that’s Chairman Kaga on the stage, Fukui/Doc Hattori in the commentary box, and Iron Chefs rising up into Kitchen Stadium.)
As the title says, we’re renewed/paid through the end of November 2017, so don’t worry about the site going down. (I’m surprised it’s been up this long already. I can’t believe the first post was February 1st, 2008!!)
First, I would like to apologize to all of you who have sent emails and messages the last few months and not gotten a response. I was not deliberately ignoring you. I just saw a ton of messages in an e-mail account I kind of forgot about (tuthead@ironcheffans.info). Sorry. I will make sure that address gets forwarded to one I use more often so I don’t miss messages in the future.
There are apparently a lot of our missing episodes on Youtube now. Any ideas on how we can share those links in an efficient way? Maybe have a master YOUTUBE LINK post that gets updated? Perhaps contact those who posted them and ask for permission to rehost them here? (I know they don’t “own” the episodes and would not need their permission, but I’m not going to take something from their channel and rehost without contacting them.) Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I’ll try to do some clean-up/maintenance on the site in the near future like cleaning out the spam comments and making sure the links page is more up to date. I’m sorry I let it get as bad as it has gotten.
And to those asking about donations, I will always gladly take the help, but do not ever feel obligated to donate anything. I’ve said from the beginning that this is and will always be a free site for the Iron Chef fan community.
Welcome to another year.
Keith
tuthead
21 November, 2016
The chairman has received a letter from the challenger asking for a battle in Kitchen Stadium. At 6 feet tall, the challenger is an imposing figure in the kitchen. He is known as Wajima’s Benkei, named after a famed warrior from the 12th century. Among his tools is a 3-ft knife.
The theme ingredient is a special delicacy of the Sea of Japan. The annual yield of this crab is only about 10. They are so large, they are brought in from the back of Kitchen Stadium. A couple of theĀ Takaashi-Gani (also known as the Japanese Spider Crab) in the tank a 3m in length!
Episode 505
This episode is in Japanese with English subtitles.
The challenger is a popular guest on TV known as the “Wandering Chef.” He has been training since the age of 15 and is known for his decorative style.
Episode 442
Because of the nature of the theme ingredient, this battle will feature special rules. The challenger will prepare his dishes as usual, cooking straight through the 60 minutes. The Iron Chef will stop after 50 minutes, then resume for the final 10 minutes of cooking after the challenger’s dishes have been tasted.
This episode is in Japanese with English subtitles.