I would love to see off-the-wall secret ingedients like that. I’m imagining Bobby Flay making his assistants sort the loops by color.
Next up: Spam.
Then: Goat testicles.
Next month:** Iron Chef: Midwest**!
Watch as our challenger takes on the Iron Chef in this special Midwest America edition! The secret ingredient: Miracle Whip.
Iron Chef: Minnesota!
Secret Ingredients: Lutefisk, Hotdish.
Iron Chef: Flander’s Kitchen: Secret ingredient - butter…because I have nothing in my kitchen except butter and ramen noodles.
[Futurama]
Ironnuuu!! Cooookaaaruuu!!
Oh, god, you just *know *what’shisname is gonna try Lutefisk Ice Cream! :eek:
I don’t remember if I saw one, or read an article on “Behind the Scenes”, but whichever it was it included the information that the chefs are given three possible secret ingredients and then asked what other ingredients they’d like to use with each of the three choices. The contestants can usually tell from the other ingredients avaiable what the secret ingredient will be. But they don’t see that until they come in for the taping.
I thought it was silly when they started the charade of having the challenger pick the Iron Chef. It really doesn’t add anything. If it were me I’d probably emphasize the genuine competition over the faux drama, but I also recognize that the people at FN are better at making TV shows than I am. It’s still damn entertaining.
I saw Alton give a lecture a few years ago, and he said that the chefs get (IIRC) a list of 4-5 possibilities about 24 hours in advance, so there isn’t as much planning and testing time as you’d think. It’s certainly a challenge, if not precisely the one implied by the show.
(The examples he gave for a typical list of possible ingredients on the original (Japanese) IC: 1.) Salmon 2.) bicycle tire 3.) Hello Kitty)
One more thing about the Japanese show. The chefs got to order ingredients in advance. Some of the Iron Chefs would order a very expensive ingredient, like caviar, us a spoon of it, and bring the rest back to their restaurants.
Ah yes, Iron Chef Fruit Loops…what an amazing episode that was. Chen Kenichi really showed his mastery of Chinese morning dish cuisine in that one.
Given that these people have real jobs and real responsibilities, I pretty much figured that was a given. They’re not paying these people to stand around on the off chance they’ll be chosen that day.
Sure, once you learn the little secrets of a show, it can be somewhat disappointing. But really folks, learning that the competitors were pre-chosen and the main ingredient was known in advance…is that such a horrible deal breaker that you can’t watch anymore?
It was Roberto Donna, owner/chef of Galileo in DC. He came back the next year and won.
I remember that episode. The ice cream maker seized up violently, and at judging the “actress” spit broken teeth into a napkin, then covered her mouth and giggled.
Ah ha! Yes, that was the guy.
Does he really expect that there are magical pantries in Kitchen Stadium that will contain any ingredient the chef desires at any given moment in time? :rolleyes:
Part of the judging is based on creativity and I think it’s a bigger stretch to think that the producers are clairvoyant when stocking the shelves, than the chefs giving them a grocery list.
Pepper Mill is a big fan of this show. I’ve always been amazed that they knew when to pack along an ice cream maker and liquid nitrogen JUST when they knew they’d need it. No matter how well stocked the pantries at Kitchen Stadium are, that always seemed as if they were pushin’ the envelope too far.
The ingredients being pre-ordered is a given. The Iron Chefs ripping off the production company for fancy ingredients was the interesting part.
I assume no one actually thought there was a real kitchen stadium? The book describes how the entire set was struck very quickly after the show was over, so the studio could be used for other things.
That article is just hopelessly naive.
I never thought anyone could sit through an episode of Iron Chef and not realize that the hour-long competition takes place in about 35 minutes. Perhaps someone needs to explain the magic of television to the Village Voice.
Any show that comes up with fish ice cream of octopus ink ice cream is worth watching. At least the Japanese version had that. Those days you would not want to be a taster.
I figured out that he really wasn’t the nephew of Chairman Kaga when my friends and I looked him up on IMDB to figure out what movie he was from. (So the movie was Double Dragon but I was only 10 at the time so thats not nearly as pathetic right?)
Anyway, a few of the food network competitions are slightly rigged in a certain sense. One of my friends worked for a chef who was challenged by Bobby Flay on showdown. Bobby Flay sampled all of his food and picked the dish that he felt he could beat the easiest (he lost anyway).
That would have bothered me more if I actually liked Bobby Flay but I don’t so its ok. As for Iron Chef, I still think its a great show that is highly entertaining. I couldn’t really imagine the chefs whipping up those dishes in an hour with no idea of what the ingredient is but thats just me. I mean, look at all the planning that goes into the dishes on Dinner Impossible.