Today, we bring to you the second half of the 1997 Iron Chef World Cup. (Part 1 is here.)
Alain Passard vs. Koumei Nakamura in the final of the 1997 Iron Chef World Cup.
It starts with Michiba going on a visit with Nakamura. Michiba says, “Iron Chef Nakamura has lost his way.” It even sounded like he said something about his dishes not tasting good. Was he really knocking Nakamura that much? They visit a farmer who has been farming eggplants for 30 years. They cut a round eggplant off the stalk and take a bite from it while still out in the field.
Nakamura looks on as Michiba gives him a demonstration, concluding with a lesson about finding good flavors from different ingredient combinations. (Although it almost looked like Nakamura was just adding things for the sake of adding them.) Perhaps Michiba agrees because he tells him there is too much flavor. (or too many flavors?)
The last thing we see before the battle is the presentation of a hand-made knife to Nakamura. His name is carved into it by the knife maker himself. We know that Michiba personally chose Nakamura to be his replacement, but we really see the way he mentors him in this episode.
Under the light of the moon, the final battle of the 1997 Iron Chef World Cup is ready to begin. Both chefs march into Kitchen Stadium with their assistants right behind. (If anybody recognizes the music from that entrance, let me know. I love it.) I’ve heard Iron Chef described as “like a sporting event, but with cooking.” Well, we get the national anthems played, just like before a baseball game. 🙂
It would appear that Nakamura is kind of getting a raw deal with the theme as it is Foie Gras. Not exactly what a Japanese chef would want for the theme. Then again, it was the theme of his debut battle.
Nakamura makes Michiba’s trademark “Broth of Vigor.” And in a move you will never see in Kitchen Stadium, Nakamura and one of his assistants pull some fish right out of the river that the outdoor stadium is built upon. His side is also making ice cream, but there is not any foie gras in it, so don’t worry.
Commercial time. Hey, it’s Tiger Woods in a commercial for canned Japanese coffee. And the Chairman finds an interesting way to remind us of one of the important sponsors, Nissan. Back to the battle.
It appears that one of the ovens is not working because of the earlier rain. Passard uses one on Nakamura’s side later in the battle. On Passard’s side, some truffles and foie gras wrapped in some kind of pasta sheet. The French side begins a chant for their chef. Passard is very gentle when flipping his foie gras. And he is working very deliberately with it. Something that Fukui notices and comments on. Passard puts mustard on his foie gras. I could not tell whether or not it was Grey Poupon. (It was to make the panko stick.)
Finally, Nakamura breaks out the knife that Michiba presented to him earlier. Michiba looks so proud. The Nakamura fans start a chant of their own. Nakamura is making foie gras in a milky caramel sauce. In another move that would only work in this outdoor stadium, Nakamura decorates one of his dishes with the red leaves off the trees that are in the arena. Nakamura is barefoot as we approach the last few minutes!
And so we don’t forget the main sponsor of Iron Chef, the winner is going to get a Nissan El Grand minivan.
Passard’s dishes include: Grilled Foie Gras with Sauteed Onions, Truffle and Foie Gras Ravioli Soup, Grilled Foie Gras with Caramelized Lemon
Nakamura’s dishes include: Sweetfish and Foie Gras Mille Fuelle, Sauteed Foie Gras with Fried Fig, Caramel Foie Gras
Tasting (Same judges as other battles)
The judges are split 3-3, so we go to the scores to determine the winner. The scores are tied 105-105!! At first, Passard looks confused, and Nakamura looks a little angry. Then they both get, “All this and we just tied?” looks on their faces. They finally smile and shake hands. Both men raise the trophy. I wonder who got to keep the van from Nissan.
I also want to take this opportunity to point out two things you may not have noticed:
- There is a new “IC Links” tab at the top with links to IC related websites.
- There is a link in the blogroll for a new discussion forum: Foodtvfans.com
New in the database this week: 538bOA