Iron Chef History: Michiba was the original Japanese Iron Chef in the blue outfit. He retired in January of 1996. He agreed to find a replacement Japanese chef and Nakamura Koumei, two months later, became the new Japanese Iron Chef. Michiba also cited the growing pressures to be creative and cook with new and wild ingredients as his reason to retire. During Nakamura's retirement show, Michiba even noted that he felt relieved when he retired
Restaurants: You can dine on Michiba's food at Rokusan-tei in Ginza and Brasserie Rokusaburo. He also has a restaurant in Akasaka named Poisson Roksuboro. The Ginza restaurant is Michiba's main restaurant.
Background: Michiba was known for writing out his menu (in beautiful Japanese calligraphy) when he battled in the Kitchen Stadium. The last straw, or so it seemed, for Michiba, was when he had to do a cook-off. It was the first time a tie had been seen and Michiba looked very upset that he had to cook an extra half hour. It was after that show that he retired. Michiba's first battle featured foie gras, which was also used as the theme for Nakamura's first battle. Michiba is credited with popularizing the use of mayonnaise in Japanese food.
Hobbies: Golf.