Potatoes!! I’m going to go right into it and not mess around with you guys.
- Episode 341 – Lin Kunbi vs Iron Chef Michiba -> I’m not giving any spoiler on this episode so watch it.
- Episode 533 – Yoshinori Kojima vs Iron Chef Japanese Nakamura -> this episode did not air on Food Network
- Episode 724 – Michael Noble vs Iron Chef Japanase Morimoto -> Another exclusive brought to you by your friendly admin Tuthead (Don’t forget to thank him) since it’s nowhere to be found on the internet. This episode was actually requested by someone close to Michael Noble.
Episodes 341 and 724 can be found by searching our video database.
New this week to the database: 724 .
Part 2 coming next week…
We also have a little announcement this week. The fine folks over at the Kitchen Stadium message boards have graciously agreed to give us a place for people to post questions and episode reviews. If you have a problem that isn’t addressed in the FAQ, let us know. If you have an episode request, let us know. If you want to review an episode, write it up and post it over there. Maybe we’ll even put it on the main page. (And don’t worry. We will continue to respond to the comments and admin e-mail addresses.)
While Mel Brooks wasn’t exactly talking about Iron Chef when he said that famous line in “History of the World: Part 1,” it is fitting for this week’s Episodes of the Week. As the time to close Kitchen Stadium came near, Chairman Kaga decided he wanted a final tournament to crown the King of the Iron Chefs.
- Semi-Final 1 – Iron Chef Chen vs. Iron Chef Kobe – Tokyo X Pork
- Semi-Final 2 – Iron Chef Morimoto vs. Iron Chef Sakai – Bell Pepper
- Final – Iron Chef Chen vs. Iron Chef Sakai – Lobster (Homard) — Two of the longest tenured Iron Chefs (and really good friends) meet in the King of Iron Chefs Final.
- Final Kitchen Stadium Battle – The Champion Iron Chef (no spoilers here) vs. Alain Passard – Longgang Chicken — This was the last episode of the original production run of the show. Alain Passard competed in the 1997 World Cup vs. Nakamura. They tied in a Foie Gras battle. (That episode did not air on Food Network.)
You may find all of these episodes for download or viewing in our files database in the Iron Chef Specials category.
- We also have an additional bonus BKS video for this week. We have a clip from the Japanese language broadcast of the announcement of the theme ingredient from Semi-Final #1 (Tokyo X) and Kobe’s mad dash to the podium. Enjoy.
Easter is this weekend, so I thought I’d make it this week’s Episodes of the Week theme. The obvious choice for an Easter theme would be eggs. While egg was the theme ingredient 5 times during the run of the show (203, 310, 417, 519, 709), three of the episodes did not air on Food Network, and the other two are already in our database. Of course, the whole point of these EotW posts is to add new episodes to the database, so let’s change directions slightly. This week’s Episodes of the Week theme is EGGplant.
- Episode 225 – Iron Chef Chen vs. Koichi Tabata (The challenger is the oldest to compete in Kitchen Stadium)
- Episode 330 – Iron Chef Sakai vs. Shinichi Nagamatsu (The challenger runs an exclusive restaurant in the mountains of Nara. He grows his own vegetables and catches his own fish every morning.)
- Episode 531 – Iron Chef Chen vs. Sousei Kawaguchi (Not aired on Food Network)
- Episode 622 – Iron Chef Kobe vs. Yasuhiro Sasajima
New this week in the video database: Eggplant (225), Eggplant (330)
- And as an Easter bonus, we add a new video to BKS. This addition to Beyond Kitchen Stadium shows Iron Chef Michiba announcing the theme ingredient for a battle between Nakamura and Morimoto. (This episode did not air on Food Network.) The theme ingredient is tamago (egg). For some reason, Chairman Kaga thinks this announcement is funny. This short clip is in Japanese with no subtitles.
These episodes (225, 330, 622, BKS-tamago) may be found by searching our video database.
I know I may be feeding a stereotype of the Japanese diet with this week’s theme, but what else would you expect to see on a Japanese cooking show but Rice? Rice was the theme ingredient four times on Iron Chef. (Of course, it also had a huge role in the Sushi Battle, but that doesn’t count for this.)
- Episode 213 – Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba vs. Koichiro Goto (Not aired on Food Network)
- Episode 340 – Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai vs. Sadaharu Nakajima
- Episode 506 – Iron Chef Chen Kenichi vs. Kou Houko (Not aired on Food Network)
- Episode 610 – Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto vs. Masuyoshi Kimura
New this week in the video database: Rice (340), Rice (610).
Of course, all of these episodes may be found by searching our video database.
With apologies to Anita Ward for using her song title, we present this week’s theme: Bell Pepper. Bell Pepper was the theme ingredient on four different occasions in Kitchen Stadium.
- The first time was back in the second season. Episode 235 – Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michba vs. Artur Rutter
- It was next used two years later for Nakamura’s second battle as an Iron Chef. Episode 413 – Iron Chef Komei Nakamura vs. Lin Kumbi
- We would not see Bell Pepper as the theme ingredient again until the final season of Iron Chef, and then we saw it twice. The first time was in early 1999. Episode 703 – Iron Chef Masahiko Kobe vs.Constantino Gemmoli
- The fourth and final time we saw Bell Pepper as the theme was in the second battle of the King of Iron Chefs Tournament. Episode 735 – Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai vs. Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto.
New this week in the video database: Bell Pepper (703), Bell Pepper (735)
Of course, all of these episodes may be found by searching our video database.
We all know that there were a lot of battles in Kitchen Stadium involving out of this world/expensive theme ingredients . But we tend to forget that some theme ingredients were everyday foods like fruits. For this week Fruit Theme, we have added an episode that few people have seen, the banana battle.
- Chocolate and Apple (305) – Iron Chef Sakai versus Fuyuko Kondo
- Chocolate and Pear (407) – Iron Chef Sakai versus Seiji Yanagi
- Mango (615) – Iron Chef Kobe versus Yousei Watanabe (He’s the only chef specialized in mexican cuisine to have appeared on the show.)
- Banana (706) – Iron Chef Kobe versus Hironobu Tsujiguchi**
New in the video database this week: Mango (615), Banana (706)
The following episodes may be found by searching our video database: 305, 407, 615, 706
**Special thanks to DoomTurtle for sending us his tape and to Tuthead for ripping it
WPHendrix
28 February, 2008