Thanks to the recent rebroadcasts of the original series, we have been able to enjoy some milestone episodes. Today, we have another one. This is the debut episode of Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai. He is taking on French Chef Guy Shokr in an all-French battle. Enjoy.
Ryouri no Tetsujin – Episode 18 – Oyster Battle – Sakai (Debut Battle) vs. Shokr
I’m headed out to the Spring Festival at the Japanese Garden (春祭り)at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens today. I’ll try to get some good pictures to post. And I promise it won’t take too long for episodes 19-22 to get posted.
Sorry for the delay getting these posted for you. Today, we see three more episodes from the early part of the second season of original series.
Iron Chef 205 – We see an all-too familiar face for the first time in the intro to this battle. And as usual, Chairman Kaga is not happy with what he hears. Toshiro Kandagawa wants to take down the Iron Chefs, and he thinks he has the men to do it. The first challenger, Kouichi Taniguchi, began working for Kandagawa at the age of 18. You will enjoy his impressive knife work. He’s ready to be the lead-off man in the batting order and get the Kanto vs. Kansai challenge started.(I’m sure long-lime baseball announcer Kenji Fukui enjoyed being able to work in a Hanshin Tigers reference.)
Iron Chef 206 – Second up is Kandagawa’s other hand-picked challenger, Kazuyoshi Masaki. Michiba says he won’t lose to such a young challenger. The second round of this Kanto vs. Kansai challenge is ready to begin with a theme that is handled differently by the regions. (When you hear the chairman say “Nishi” and “Higashi“, he is referring to West and East.) Also listen during the theme introduction for Chairman Kaga to say “Nishi wa hara kara. Higashi wa se kara.” meaning (I think) “West from the stomach. East from the back.” referring to the common preparation methods. (Click HERE for a brief introduction to the differences between Kansai and Kanto cuisines.)
Iron Chef 207 – Finally, it’s time for the heavy hitter in the lineup to step up to the plate. This battle features the first competitive appearance from Toshiro Kandagawa. (And again, Fukui had to enjoy having Japanese Hall of Fame player and (at the time) the manager of the Yakult Swallows, Katsuya Nomura, in the broadcast booth.) Despite the baseball theme, Kandagawa brings in 11 chefs with him, which The Chairman points out is enough to field a team in the J-League. The theme is Hirame.
Next time, I will present another special milestone episode in the history of Iron Chef with the debut battle of Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai.