ICC Exclusives – King of Iron Chefs Tournament – Final Battle

I know what you’re thinking. “Wait a minute. The King of Iron Chefs Tournament is not an ICC Exclusive. I saw it on Food Network.” Yes, that is true; however, Food Network left off some very important pieces of the final episode of our beloved show.

Here are some of the differences between the Food Network version we all saw and the original Japanese broadcast:

• There are actually two floor reporters for this battle. Ohta and a female announcer (Chiyo Abe). On the FN version, all floor reports are given as Ohta, even though the female is covering the challenger’s side.
• A little bit more with the guests at the beginning.
• Entry march of all former Kitchen Stadium challengers. Every challenger marches in and all challenger names scroll across the bottom of the screen. I wonder why Food Network cut this. I thought this was extremely cool. Perhaps they didn’t want to remind us about all of the episodes they skipped.
• Short interview with Shu Tomitoku about the theme ingredient.
• There is a little bit more between the end and the presentation of the dishes. Just some shaking of hands between kitchen staff and some shots of the crowd.
• Food Network puts a short recap between the presentation of dishes and tasting. The original episodes do not.
• There is a short section of Fukui talking, then we see the chefs backstage before a commercial break.
• There is a very short interview with Kandagawa and Shu Tomitoku again before the announcement. They also show the lovely new Nissan that will be presented to the winner.

The FN version ends with Sakai holding up the trophy as the credits roll. The Japanese version has an additional 10 minutes or so after the trophy presentation. The things listed below all took place during this additional time that Food Network chose to omit from their version.

• Sakai gets a “golden key” from Nissan as he is awarded the new car.
• Sakai says a few more words to the crowd.
• All of the Iron Chefs gather at the base of the steps to the podium and Chen Kenichi makes a speech to the crowd.
• The four active Iron Chefs return to the podium for the final time and take their places in front of their portraits.
• Kaga makes one final speech. He begins to get a little emotional. It’s not something we are accustomed to seeing from the Chairman. Instead of “awakening” his Iron Chefs, this time, he orders his Iron Chefs to “sleep.” And the four Tetsujin slowly sink into their platforms and disappear for the final time.
• The chairman declares Kitchen Stadium closed, and bites one final yellow pepper. The Kitchen Stadium is filled with the past challengers, all holding yellow peppers in their hands as the final credits roll.
• The final scene is of the chairman sitting at his desk and writing one final note. He says something about January 2000. His note simply reads  “See you soon.   Sept. 24, 1999   T. Kaga”
• In the very last shot, we see Sakai being tossed in the air by his kitchen staff in celebration of his double victory in the final Iron Chef Tournament.

I can’t believe Food Network left all of that out after the decision. It really was a perfect way to send the show out in style. I think the best parts were the entry of all 300 challengers as their names scrolled across the screen and the way the Iron Chefs were lowered into their platform. (I think that was a nice way to symbolize the end of Kitchen Stadium.) We once had a commenter who said they hoped we got the original broadcast version of the final episode because Food Network left out some important moments. I am so glad we got to see it.

New in the database this week: King of Iron Chefs Tournament Final – Original Version (736cOA)

Episodes of the Week – Legends

There is the Legend of Zelda, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, even the MST3K classic Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues. Of course, there were also two “Legend of. . .” specials that Fuji TV produced for Food Network. We present those two episodes to you this week as we are only one day from completing our collection of Food Network episodes.

• The Legend of Michiba – Features portions of early Michiba battles: Foie Gras (102), Cheese (212), Rice (213), 1995 World Cup Final 
• The Legend of Chen/Sakai – Features portions of two Sakai battles: Cod (312), Apple/Chocolate (305). Features portions of two Chen battles: Prawns (238), Carrot (220)

ICC Exclusives – Episodes of the Month, Vol. 4

This is the fourth edition of our Iron Chef Collection Exclusives Episodes of the Month. Of course, this is where we present to you Iron Chef episodes that did not air on Food Network. Today, we present our Episodes of the Month for October. Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll. The voting was very close this month with the top three episodes all receiving 15 votes.

• Milk (529) – Sakai vs. Toyoshima – The challenger was sent by Club Mistral. The presentation of this theme ingredient seems to be pretty standard until they walk the cows into Kitchen Stadium. That’s right. They actually bring two cows in, and the chefs are given a chance to milk them. (Unfortunately, this episode is missing a large portion of the tasting. All cooking segments and the announcement of the winner is intact. I apologize for not having a better copy to present to you.)
• Spare Rib (539) – Chen vs. Nagasaka – I didn’t really understand any of his intro. I think perhaps he was a French chef but now is a Chinese chef. (Any help would be appreciated.)
• Chestnut (541) – Kobe vs. Seki – It is the Prince of Pasta vs. the Prince of Chinese cuisine.

The following episodes may be found by searching our video database: Milk (529OA), Spare Rib (539OA), Chestnut (541OA)