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We have finally reached the end of the original episodes that were rebroadcast in Japan the last few months.
Iron Chef 209 – It’s an all Chinese cuisine battle between two second generation Chinese chefs: Iron Chef Chen Kenichi vs. Shinji Kondo. At first glance, the theme might seem a little difficult, but as Chairman Kaga mentioned, FLOUR can be used in things like Gyoza and Ramen. How will these two chefs use the “Magic White Powder” (Mahou Shiroi Kona)? (Left = Strong Flour (Kyorikiko), Right = Weak Flour (Hakurikiko). (Click HERE to read about the types of Flour typically available in Japan.)
Iron Chef 210 – The challenger is a chef at a popular restaurant among the celebrities in Tokyo, Basta Pasta. (Sorry I don’t have more information about it. Almost every search for this restaurant lead to results for the New York City location.) It has been a while since they had an Italian cuisine challenger and The Chairman expects a “high-tension” battle.
And did The Chairman make a “Tomato, Tomahto” joke in the theme announcement? I thought he said “Ue kara yonde. Shita kara yonde. Onaji.” I think that means “Read from the top. Read from the Bottom. Same.” (And now that I think about it, Japanese would be read top-to-bottom as opposed to left-to-right, so that would make sense. I’m sure Miwa will set me straight. 🙂 )
Iron Chef 211 – We all know the history of Iron Chef Chen Kenichi and female challengers. This is the episode that started it all. She was the first female challenger to do battle in Kitchen Stadium. You may remember the challenger from her second appearance on the show, episode 637. She is now running Bistro Aoi Shokudou (Bistroあおい食堂). (Click HERE, HERE, HERE for more info. All pages in Japanese, but you can still look at the pictures.) She is “The Princess of Cooking,” Kyoko Kagata. (A rose for the challenger. Kaga is quite the charmer.)
Iron Chef 212 – Chairman Kaga speaks of two distinct “themes” used in Italian cooking depending on geography: Tomato in the South, Cheese/Butter in the North. The challenger follows the style of the North. (HERE is a tabelog page about La Colomba. I can’t find anywhere that says where the challenger is currently working.) Michiba will have to deal with another theme ingredient that is not used very often in Japanese cuisine, but he is comfortable working with anything.
One of the really unfortunate consequences of the cancellation of the new Iron Chef is that the rebroadcasts of the original episodes was also cancelled. I think we are fortunate to have the 22 original episodes from that first and second season now available to us. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed bringing them to you.