We open the episode with actress Kumiko Mori visiting the restaurant of today’s nominee. Ore no French (My French) is part of a restaurant chain operated by the man who brought the nominee to Kitchen Stadium. (You can read more about Takahashi Sakamoto and the restaurants in THIS ARTICLE and THIS ARTICLE.) There is a line outside before his restaurant even opens for the day with some people having been waiting for over 2 hours. Once she gets inside, there is something different about the restaurant. There are no seats and everyone stands at their table. She is served three dishes: Amaebi no tartar caviar wo nosete (Deep-Water Shrimp Tartare topped with Caviar), Uni to Tomato Mousse Jelly(?) (Sea Urchin and Tomato Mousse Jelly), and Roast Lobster with (some-kind-of) Wine Sauce. She assumes all are expensive, but they are actually not ($7.55, $16.66, $14.22).
Who is the French chef who produces such elegant dishes? He is French chef Nose Kazuhide. Now running a location of Ore no French, he was once the chef at the famous Chez Matsuo in Tokyo.
Iron Chef Yomigaeru – Episode 8 – Iron Chef Kurogi vs. Kazuhide Nose – 1/18/2013
This episode is presented in Japanese with NO English subtitles.
I thought we were going to see the 4th Iron Chef revealed during this episode. Now, the Fuji TV website says it will be revealed on January 25th, the next episode. See the comment from our friend Miwa in Japan about this.
I am going to post things I notice as I’m watching the episode for the first time (which I am still doing. So there will be a lot of updates.). Anything below this point will contain spoilers.
Please feel free to correct any mistakes I make below.
–The Iron Chef doing battle against this French chef is the struggling (1-2) Iron Chef Japanese Kurogi. The theme ingredient of cheese puts him at a distinct disadvantage. (“Really? I might run out of time. What should I do?”) The voice over announcer asks, “Are you OK?”
–There are four kinds of cheese on the podium: Cream Cheese, Blue Cheese, Mozzarella, Camembert.
–Kurogi has an Amadai (Tile Fish)
–Michiba is in the announcing booth. Perhaps Iron Chef Kurogi would be well served to ask for suggestions given Michiba’s success with the theme in episode 212. (While I don’t have that episode, you can see highlights in the Legend of Michiba.
–Kurogi is thinly slicing some Maguro (tuna)
–Nose is slicing up some duck.
–In Kurogi’s food processor: Cookies, Butter, Cream Cheese
–Going into Nose’s shock freezer: White Wine Vinegar, Capers, Cointreau, Persimmon
–Kurogi is taking the legs off a Matsuba Crab.
–Kurogi’s bowl: Shoyu , Sake, Wasabi, Blue Cheese, Maguro (Tuna)
–(18:09) In Nose’s food processor: Hotate (scallop), Surume Ika (Surume Squid), Yurine (edible lily bulbs), Eggwhite (? I couldn’t understand the name, but it looks like the kanji for “Egg” and “White” so I’ll go with that.)
–(19:29) Nose is adding Camembert to the mixture above
–(19:46) Kurogi has Fugu Shirako (Blowfish Soft Roe) in the pot. (He will mix it with Japanese Sake and Cream Cheese @ 24:00)
–(20:10) I can’t tell what Kurogi is pumping the cheese into. I can’t understand what they say and the kanji are too small to try to look up. Sorry. (Turns out it was a Persimmon.)
–(20:45) Nose has stuffed the Jumbo Mushrooms with a mixture of: Minced Duck (Kamo Minchi), Shallot, Egg (Tamago), Bread Crumbs (Panko), Salt (Shio), Pepper (Koshio), Port. (He also uses all four cheeses at 21:40)
–(20:59) Kurogi maintains the tradition started by Iron Chef Chen and has a little bit of Flamola action going on. (OK, so it’s really Flambe, but Flamola sounds better.)
–(21:54) In the royal box for the challenger is his wife. I think she gives him some sort of massage every morning.
–(24:20) In Nose’s bowl: Red Onion, Fruit Tomatoes, Lemon, Chives, Caviar. He will be putting into balls of Mozzarella he hollowed out earlier.
–(24:52) Earlier the challenger said that everything on his menu would cost 700 yen. Once the announcers start talking about being able to get a dish with caviar for only 700 yen, he says that dish would have to be raised to 1500 yen instead.
–(25:16) Kurogi is mixing Camembert, gelatin, and eggs.
–(25:37) Sakamoto, the owner of the restaurant has OK’d the 700 yen price for the mozzarella/caviar dish. Nice move Shachou.
–(26:58) Kurogi has Crab Soup, Cream Cheese, Crab Legs, Miso
–(28:13) She doesn’t have the patience to wait. She wants to eat it now.
–Nominee Nose’s Dishes: Kaki no Guranite (Persimmon Granite with Blue Cheese Sauce), Camembert with minced Squid and Scallop, “Surprise” Mozzarella, Jumbo Mushroom 4 Cheese Pie
–Iron Chef Kurugi’s Dishes: Don’t know name of first dish (Contains Tile Fish and Tuna wrapped cheese, Fugu Soft Roe), Camembert stuffed Persimmon, Matsuba Crab Cheese Zousui (a rice gruel seasoned with miso), “Strawberries in the Snow”
–After the announcement of the winner, Iron Chef Suga will show you how to make a “Katsu Sando” (Pork Cutlet Sandwich) for your bento (lunch box).