This is definitely one I wanted to make sure you folks are aware of for a whole bunch of reasons. Back in August 2017, there was an Iron Chef charity dinner at the legendary Sydney Opera House that raised $26,500 AUD for Opportunity International Australia (via Dining For Charity) to help alleviate poverty in Asia.
It featured Iron Chefs Sakai, Chen, Michiba and Kobe in what was, in all likelihood, Kobe’s final Iron Chef event before his tragic death in 2019, and while that would be amazing enough, they weren’t alone. Joining them was Chen’s son Chen Kentaro, seen cheering on his father in King of Iron Chefs and as a challenger in Iron Chef Yomigaeru, who had received two Michelin stars by that point. Others who assisted included Singaporean patissier Janice Wong, considered the best in Asia and who fittingly helped with the desserts, and executive chef Hal Yamashita.
There is a Japanese TV documentary on the event that has no subtitles that both shows the event itself and the behind-the-scenes preparations for the event, while the official event website in English is still up – including the menu. Hope everyone enjoys!
My pleasure! It was definitely poignant knowing it was essentially also Kobe’s last hurrah (though no one could have guessed at the time). The part where he comes up is always bittersweet for that reason, but I’m certainly glad it’s there too.