I was looking through the list of episodes available to be added to the Iron Chef Collection Video Database for this week when I noticed something rather unusual. Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe only fought 23 battles in Kitchen Stadium. However, he faced challengers with the name Sakai 3 times in a span of 11 battles. (To the best of my knowledge, none of the challengers named Sakai were related to Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai.) This week’s Episodes of the Week theme is “How many Sakais does it take to beat a Kobe?” You’ll have to watch to find out if any of these three challengers has what it takes to defeat an Iron Chef.
(Sorry to disappoint all you Hiroyuki Sakai fans who expected to see Iron Chef French featured this week. I’ll do my best to make sure he is well represented next week.)
You may find the following episodes by searching our video database: 627, 639, 730
New in the database this week: 627, 639, 730
As one might expect from a cooking show based in Japan, a country that is a group of islands, fish was an often used theme ingredient on Iron Chef. It was used more than 15 times during the run of the show. Here are some of the highlights.
- Salmon (101) – Iron Chef Ishinabe vs. Go Maruyama – The very first episode of Iron Chef. (This episode did not air on Food Network)
- Sea Bream (204) – Iron Chef Michiba vs. Tanabe (This episode did not air on Food Network)
- Sweetfish (222) – Iron Chef Michiba vs. Hanato
- Sea Bass (228) – Iron Chefs Chen/Michiba vs. Bruant/Furutaka – A tagteam battle in Kitchen Stadium
- Angler (243) – Iron Chef Michiba vs. Kawada – This battle is 15 minutes longer than usual because of the theme ingredient
- Sardine (325) – Iron Chef Chen vs. Noda
- Red Snapper (607) – Iron Chef Morimoto vs. Hirayama – The first battle for Iron Chef Morimoto and the very first dubbed battle that ever aired on Food Network
- Sweetfish (620) – Iron Chef Morimoto vs. Miyanaga
- Carp (630) – Iron Chef Chen vs. Miyazawa
- Saury (640) – Iron Chef Sakai vs. Nagayama
The following Fish themed episodes may be found by searching our Video Database:
222,
228,
236,
243,
245,
317,
325,
328,
405,
411,
607,
620,
630,
640
New in the
Database this week: 222, 607, 620, 630, 640
We also would like to bring your attention to a new addition to
Beyond Kitchen Stadium. It is a clip from the Daily Show that features footage from the Red Snapper (607), the debut episode of “Naughty Morimoto.”
Sorry, Charlie. Chairman Kaga wants a theme ingredient that tastes good, not a theme ingredient with good taste. (You kids can go look that one up. You older folks should remember that ad campaign already.) Anyway, the theme for this week’s Episodes of the Week is Tuna.
- Tuna (226) – Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba vs. Takashi Mera
- Tuna (339) – World Cup 1995 – Pierre Gagnaire vs. Gianfranco Vissani (This episode did not air on Food Network)
- Fatty Tuna (430) – Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai vs. Yoshimasa Uki (This episode did not air on Food Network)
- Tuna (606) – Nakamura’s Retirement Special – Iron Chef Komei Nakamura vs. Yukio Hattori (This episode did not air on Food Network)
- Fatty Tuna – Chutoro (635) – Iron Chef Masahiko Kobe vs. Shinya Tasaki
The following battles may be found by searching our video database: Tuna (226), Fatty Tuna (635)
New in the database this week: Tuna (226), Fatty Tuna – Chutoro (635)
You all know the foods we’re talking about. The foods that mysteriously end up wrapped in their napkin. The foods that make kids willingly leave the table to do homework rather than eat. The foods that make them whine as soon as they see them on the plate. The theme for this week’s Episodes of the Week post is “foods that most kids hate.”
- Turnip (303) – Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai vs. Koji Yamada – The challenger was an apprentice of Iron Chef Ishinabe and is a chef at Ishinabe’s restaurant, Queen Alice. (Be sure to watch the BKS video spotlighting Queen Alice Restaurant.)
- Liver (318) – Iron Chef Chen Kenichi vs. Lee Myong Suk – The challenger is an evangelist for Royal Korean Cuisine. Another female opponent for Chen.
- Broccoli (321) – Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba vs. Etsuo Jo – The challenger is known as the “God of Sauces”
- Spinach (414) – Iron Chef Chen Kenichi vs. Katsuaki Mori – The challenger has been recognized as a Cavalier of Cheese Tasters.
- Broccoli (609) – Iron Chef Masahiko Kobe vs. Mario Frittoli – The challenger is a student of one of Italy’s pasta masters.
You can find the following episodes by searching our video database: 303, 318, 321, 414, 609
New in the database this week: 303, 318, 609
There were many special episodes of Iron Chef over the years. Despite the fact that the later FN show introduction mentioned and showed clips from some of these specials, most of them never aired on Food Network. (If anyone has any tapes of any of these specials, we will buy them from you. Contact us.)
- Hong Kong Special (313) – This special never aired on Food Network
- 1995 Iron Chef World Cup (339) – One of the challengers from this special, Pierre Gagniare, later did battle in the France Battle Special. We have a very short Beyond Kitchen Stadium video of Kaga’s entrance from this special. This special never aired on Food Network.
- France Special (415,416) – This special featured two battles fought in a castle in France.
- Beijing Special (441) – We have a Beyond Kitchen Stadium video of the opening from this show. This special never aired on Food Network.
- 1996 New Year’s Special (452) – This battle apparently had 100 judges. This special never aired on Food Network.
- 1997 Iron Chef World Cup (538) – The challenger from the final Kitchen Stadium battle, Alain Passard, was a part of this special. This special never aired on Food Network.
- 2000th Dish Special (631) – This battle featured the all-French team vs. all-Chinese team.
- Morimoto Retrospective (709) – Two hour special that showed Michiba and Morimoto touring New York City, then a battle between Nakamura and Morimoto. The only clip from this special I have seen is our BKS clip of Michiba announcing the theme ingredient, tamago (egg). This special never aired on Food Network.
- Indonesia Expedition (720) – This special never aired on Food Network.
- The Millenium Special (801) – This special never aired on FoodNetwork.
- New York Battle (802) – The memorable first battle between Morimoto and Bobby Flay.
- 21st Century Special (901) – Memorable for the shaved headed Kandagawa and the Morimoto/Flay rematch.
- Japan Cup 2002 (1001) – This special featured the shocking news that Chairman Kaga had “died” from eating bad fugu. This special never aired on Food Network. (We have added this episode to the database since this was written. Go check it out now.) (1001a, 1001b)
The following episodes may be found by searching our video database: 415/416, 631, 802a, 802b, 901.
New in the database this week: New York Battle (802a/b), 21st Century Special (901)
We have several related videos in our Beyond Kitchen Stadium collection. Be sure to go check them out as well as the new episodes we have this week.
I didn’t forget you guys, I was out of town. This is part two of our Episodes of the Week – Potato Battles. This week, we have the added bonus that these potato battles also showcase the Kobayashi family. Here’s what we have for you.
- Episode 621 – Kentaro vs Iron Chef Chen – Kentaro is Kobayashi’s son but he changed his last name so he wouldn’t have a free pass in the culinary industry.
- Episode 232 – Katsuyo Kobayashi vs Iron Chef Chen – I’m out of words to describe this battle, a weird and funny one.
These episodes can be found in our video database.
New this week to the database : 232 and 621
We also have a related Beyond Kitchen Stadium video this week. We have a Japanese commercial featuring Katsuyo Kobayashi. The commercial is in Japanese with no subtitles. Enjoy.