‘T was the night before Christmas and in old K.S.
All the Iron Chefs were stirring, it’s what they do best.
The ovens were lit and the theme was prepared.
In hopes that the Chairman soon would be there.
A handsome man enters. The women go ga-ga.
I knew in a moment that it must be Kaga.
His jacket, eye catching. His style, quite unique.
His friends, we’ll see later to offer critique.
The stars of the show from their podium came.
The announcer Fukui called each one by name.
On, Kobe, the youngest. On, Morimoto!
Now, Sakai! Now, Chen. Stand in front of your photo.
With skills of great masters the chefs start at their task.
If there’s something we want to know, Ohta will ask.
Sakai with his circle molds. Chen with his wok.
Kobe makes pasta. Morimoto will shock.
The Chairman just smiles as he exits the scene.
Happy Christmas to all and Allez Cuisine.
(Apologies to Clement C. Moore for butchering his Christmas classic.)
It is Christmas in Kitchen Stadium, and we have several Christmas themed battles for this week.
- Chicken Battle (110) – Ishinabe vs. Borie – This is the only Ishinabe battle that ever aired on Food Network. It was the very first Iron Chef Christmas battle from back in season 1.
- Strawberry Battle (249) – Sakai vs. Waki – Dr. Hattori calls this challenger a genius.
- Oyster Battle (348) – Sakai vs. Groult – The challenger was the second MOF winner to do battle in Kitchen Stadium. The first was Jacques Borie from the Chicken Battle above.
- Turkey Battle (647) – Morimoto vs. Ogue – The challenger trained under a famous 3-star French chef. (We also have the original Japanese version of this episode. Be sure to check out the Christmas-style music during the recap of dishes and announcement of judges.)
- Chestnut Battle (541OA) – Kobe vs. Seki – While not officially a Christmas battle, I can’t help but think of The Christmas Song when I saw the theme listed. Did they roast these chestnuts on a open fire? Watch and find out in this ICC Exclusive from 1997.
tuthead
21 December, 2008