It’s hard to believe it was five years ago today, on February 1, 2008, that this website went live.
For those who don’t know the history of the site: There used to be a website called Stage6, which could be described as kind of like a divx driven Youtube. (And that’s why a lot of the older episodes here are in divx format.) People could create channels and upload videos. I stumbled upon an Iron Chef channel and noticed I had some episodes that they didn’t have available. At some point in late 2007, a lot of the videos were removed from the channel by the website. (I still don’t know why.) It was then decided that it would be a good idea to put up our own site to host the episodes. I’m the only one still around for updating this site (as sporadic as that gets sometimes), but it wouldn’t be here without those from the Stage6 days like DoomTurtle (Bill), Hevilift (Paul), Silent Inferno (James), Lostbabee (Angie), and I’m sure many others I’ve forgotten. (So sorry if I did. Let me know and I’ll gladly add you to the list.)
There have been many highlights during these last five years.
–We now have access to the entire run of dubbed episodes that were aired on Food Network.
–I have added 60+ episodes that Food Network never aired including many subtitled episodes from the pre-FN days and original Japanese language broadcasts. (And I still have more. I just need to get them up for you.)
–Over 75 videos in Beyond Kitchen Stadium where you get to see Iron Chef in a new light.
–Added several specials including World Cup 1997, Beijing Special, Japan Cup 2002
–Received a request from family of a challenger to see their episode. And I’m now Facebook “friends” with two challengers.
–While it isn’t the only place on the internet to get a copy of the new Japanese episodes, I try to make it one of the most convenient for you.
And you can still read every post that’s ever been made here, from that first one, to some of my goofy Episodes of the Week posts, up through today. (I was hoping we would hit 400,000 downloads before this anniversary day hit, but I’m still about 700 short of that number as of this morning.)
I will have a new “classic” special ready to go up tonight. Look forward to that.
Thank you all for your support, comments, and suggestions for these last five years. I look forward to many more.
Keith (aka Tuthead)
The Iron Chef Collection