Japan air date: 4/22/99
Synopsis: In China, top chefs can be granted the status of "nationally certified chef". It is a great honor for any chef to be recognized by the Chinese government in such a way. The challenger, Gyokubun Sai, 56, is one of these certified chefs and one of the few that cooks outside of China. She is head chef at Tan Mei Ho in Akasaka, Japan. Apparently, Sai speaks only Chinese and had to have an interpreter. She brought in her assistant chefs from her restaurant to serve as her assistants in Kitchen Stadium.
The challenger's dishes were Royal Chinese cabbage crepes; shrimp rolled in cabbage with shrimp organ sauce; fins in Nai Tan stew; mustard cabbage and diced pork; cabbage soup; and pear and cabbage hearts dessert.
The Iron Chef's dishes were cabbage hors d'oeuvre; cabbage spring roll; chinese cabbage stew with crab meat; cabbage hot clay pot with snapper and pork; and sauteed cabbage and soup.
Comments: Although this episode is not especially dramatic, it is my favorite Iron Chef episode to date. Even though it was evident from the beginning that poor Chen didn't have a chance to win this battle, he gave it his usual best effort. After all, challenger Sai is one of only fifty certified "Culinary Engineers" by the government of China. The caliber of cooking in this battle is incredible, and I learn something new about cooking every time I watch it.
The Judges: Japanese lower house member Shinchiro Kurimoto, actress Kaiyoko Kishimoto, actor Shinichi Tamimura, and food critic Asako Kishi.
Japan air date: 8/14/98
Synopsis: There is a superb Japanese chef who cooks French cuisine in Yokohama. He has trained under Roger Verge of the restaurant Moulin de Mougins in Paris. The challenger for Battle Peach is Massanobu Watabe, 47, owner of Rameau Dor in Yokahama, Japan. Watanabe runs the entire 22-seat restaurant by himself. He hosts alone, waits tables alone, cooks alone, and cleans up alone. Apparently he once had a full staff, but they left after finding it too difficult to work with him. Shortly before the taping of the show, Watabe's wife and child left him, claiming neglect. This was mentioned prominently throughout the show. The Iron Chef for the battle was Sakai.
The challenger's dishes were hamo fish with consomme and peach sauce; crayfish ragout with peach and brandy sauce; peach and beef cheek meat stew; and peach compote with caviar and mint sauces.
The Iron Chef's dishes were peach champagne cocktail; peach and lobster mille feuille with caviar; peach, duck, and eggplant combination sandwich; and peach sorbet.
Comments: Iron Chef Sakai is what makes this episode a favorite. The challenger, used to working alone, declined having assistants for the battle. About five minutes into the cooking, Iron Chef Sakai got tired of being made fun of for having the unfair advantage of two assistants while the challenger had none, so he dismissed his assistants and also cooked alone. He did, however, constantly ask where things were. Aside from not being able to find anything, this battle really showed Sakai's true skill as a chef. I was a bit embarrassed for the challenger, though, when a letter from his wife (basically saying "you better win or I'm not coming back") was read on the air.
The Judges: Japanese lower house member Shinichiro Kurimoto, actress Niwa Furitani, sportscaster Kazushige Nagashima, and fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki.
Japan air date: 12/11/98
Synopsis: There is a popular singer in Japan, Hiromi Go. He ended his singing career after he became very wealthy and decided to open an Italian restaurant. This battle's challenger was the head chef at Go's restaurant, Hiromichi Yoneda. The Iron Chef was Kobe. The theme of the battle was octopus, which were presented live. The chefs then had to capture and kill the octopi before cooking could begin.
The challenger's dishes were four octoups hors d'oeuvre (octopus with tomato ice cream and topped with caviar, octopus fritter, smoked octopus, and octopus genovese); tomato cup with octopus risotto; octopus rigatoni; and octopus "in a bag".
The Iron Chef's dishes were champagne marinated octopus; tako-yaki (octopus dumpling); octopus cannelloni; and octopus soup.
Comments: I have listed this battle with my favorites for two reasons. One: it is one that most people think is fantastic, and two: once you get past the killing of the theme ingredient, it IS fantastic. One of my favorite moments of this battle is when the two chefs are gathering octopi and one falls on the floor. It looks around and then starts moving towards the door. Although I can't watch the first few minutes of the battle, both chefs show their abilities on this ingredient which is not generally used in their areas of expertise.
The Judges: Photographer Tenmei Kano, actress Naomi Hosukawa, actor Hideki Takahashi, and food critic Asako Kishi.
Japan air date: 5/15/98
Synopsis: The challenger, Yasuhiko Habuchi, 33, is the head chef of Restaurant Pachion. The restuarant is named for Habuchi's mentor, Andre Pachion, a well-know French chef. The theme ingredient is asparagus. 200 white and 150 green asparagus are presented. The Iron Chef for this battle is Morimoto.
The challenger's dishes are white asparagus with hollandaise sauce; asparagus and bacon triangle; asparagus pasta; asparagus lobster broil; asparagus cocktail (white wine and champagne); asparagus dessert (flan with white asparagus ice cream).
The Iron Chef's dishes are smoked asparagus stick salad with caviar, egg, and cream cheese; asparagus fish and foie gras roll; asparagus and sweetfish marinade; asparagus soup soup with vegetable consumme; salt and tea asparagus bake; and asparagus shaved ice.
Comments: This battle is one of my favorites because there were some very funny moments during the cooking. For instance; when the chefs go to choose their asparagus, Morimoto takes all the white (supposedly they are superior to the green). A little later, the challenger sneaks over to the Iron Chef side and steals some. I don't generally like asparagus, but the dishes the challenger and the Iron Chef created made me wish I did.
The Judges: Japanese lower house member Shinichiro Kurimoto, actress Niwa Furitani, actor Hideki Takahashi, and fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki.
