WWF meets haute cuisine on 'Iron Chef'

David and Goliath are back, but this time they're wielding a slotted spoon and a whisk. Leave it to Japanese television to resurrect the struggle of mighty champion versus unknown underdog, and set the entire thing in a kitchen with more than 9,100 square feet of space.

One episode of the program "Iron Chef" introduces challenger Xie Huaxian, a respectable but little-known chef from Yokohama. His imposing opponent is the world-renowned chef Chen Kenichi. He's known as Iron Chef Chinese, and his cooking skills have blocked the path to victory for countless challengers.

In the next hour, the two will use the episode's theme ingredient, lobster, to cook a dazzling array of dishes, matching their culinary wits in a battle judged by a panel of food experts and Japanese celebrities.

Welcome to Kitchen Stadium, home to the Food Network's breakout hit in the United States. Dubbed from Japanese to English, "Iron Chef" brings a World Wrestling Federation smack-down sensibility to the normally staid world of haute cuisine.

Emeril Lagasse notwithstanding, it's the most eccentric food program on the air, pitting brash challengers against a stable of hand-picked gastronomic gladiators, the four Iron Chefs.

Representing Japanese, Chinese, French, and Italian schools of cooking, the cooks go mano a mano against some of the world's finest chefs, accompanied by florid costumes, lavish sets, and campy hyperbole that would make Jesse Ventura proud.

But viewers searching for the secret of "Iron Chef's" success need look no further than the show's vital connection to the whole of Japanese pop culture. The show, which began airing a series of newly translated "prequel" episodes this September, is no tame Julia Child retread. Its charismatic host, Chairman Kaga, presides over Kitchen Stadium clad in outfits worthy of Elton John.

Kaga, a stage actor who once played the lead role in a Japanese version of "Jesus Christ Superstar," is the show's motivating force, an eccentric millionaire gourmet whose dream it was to build Kitchen Stadium.

To a resident of Japan, "Iron Chef" is plugged-in and relevant, with guests including pop stars, famous photographers, members of parliament, and the exotically garbed Maiko girls from Kyoto's Gion Festival. But to a resident of the US, the show is a cornucopia of Japanese curios, showcasing a broad swath of cultural and artistic personalities that might never otherwise see the light of day on American TV.

As popular as "Iron Chef" may have been during its six-year run in Japan, it seems to have found its true following in America, where it has become one of the Food Network's most popular offerings. The New York Battle, which pitted US chef Bobby Flay against Iron Chef Japan Masaharu Morimoto, drew unprecedented ratings for the network.

It aired on June 25, 2000, with more than 960,000 households tuning in to watch the cocky American cook accidentally cut himself, zap himself on an electric pot, and then jump up on a cutting board at the match's conclusion, to the disgust of his more reserved Japanese counterpart, who handily won the battle. The sizzling contest was popular enough to spark two special rematch programs, which aired this past June.

A new type of fire will be added to the show's wok with the Nov. 16 airing of "Iron Chef USA: Showdown in Las Vegas." These two one-hour specials on UPN will feature the stylings of honorary Iron Chef Chairman of the US: actor William Shatner. While there's no word yet on whether Mr. Shatner will adopt the outlandish mannerisms of his Japanese counterpart, the specials are sure to attract a whole new breed of fan to the series.

Beyond the show's zany trappings, fans of fine cooking have a lot of good things to say about the show, which has inspired countless fan sites on the Web and a bubbling underground world of devotees. Drama aside, the program features some of the world's most accomplished culinary artists battling it out with unlimited access to a breathtaking range of expensive ingredients.

Page: 1 | 2