knsevy A friend of mine tried for six months to convince me to watch some of his Iron Chef tapes, when it first hit the U.S. The way he described it, I just couldn't see how I would enjoy it. I finally relented and watched his tapes, and I don't think I've missed an episode in the three years since then.That a chef could make up recipes or cook from memory isn't so amazing, but a chef who can do BOTH, under the spotlight in a timed competition and STILL produce dazzling food is amazing. If you would ask me how to cook bell peppers, I might be able to tell you three things to do with them. I've seen close to twenty, from the chefs and challengers on this show.Of course, the campy dubbing adds to the charm, as well as the celebrity guests. Some of them seem to actually know their cooking, but the majority kind of fade from the commentary, offering an occasional, 'Oh,' or 'That looks good'.I don't know how much this show has taught me about Japanese culture, but I have learned something about gourmet culture: if it's edible, but nobody should eat it, that's gourmet food. How else do you explain anglerfish, potato starch, sea cucumber and sea urchin used as theme ingredients? The very DESIGN of the sea urchin screams out 'DO NOT EAT!'All jokes aside, I have learned quite a few things from this show. Not really useful things...I know what miso and tianmanjon are, how to recognize a daikon radish, and I can tell the difference between crab brains and lobster liver by the color.Great fun; a show to watch with friends. The only warning I'd give is to watch out for live theme ingredients, if you're squeamish. You might not appreciate the cleaning/butchering techniques.

pete4winds I have to agree with pretty much everything in Mark Messina's review, but here's my take on it anyway:I first got hooked on it when my fiancee turned me onto it long before we moved in together. I spent weekends at her house, and watching "Iron Chef" on Friday nights was a weekly ritual. As a long-time NASCAR fan, my FIRST impresion was that this is what the result would be if Emeril Legasse worked for NASCAR. Why is that, you ask? Anyone who is familiar with both Iron Chef and NASCAR knows exactly what I mean.The action is fast paced, and the "color commentators" Kenji Fukui and Hattori Yukio in the booth give a flawless play-by-play. However, the real star of the show, in my opinion, is kitchen reporter Shinichirô Ôta. NASCAR fans will recognize him as "Iron Chef's" answer to pit road reporters such as Dr. Jerry Punch and John Kernan. His "right in the middle of the action" perspective adds an up-close and personal element to the show. Without Ôta, much of the action would be lost to viewers, simply by virtue of the program's pacing. Besides, how could you not love the incredibly inappropriate timing of his frequent "Fukui-san!" interjections? Nowhere else in the world would a rude interruption be so welcome!!! Besides, half the fun of the show is watching the competitors try to wave Ôta like a really irritating mosquito.I mentioned early on that Iron Chef has a NASCAR feel to it. The comparison is clear when talking about the color commentary, but when it comes to the competitors, this is nothing short of a knock-down drag-out brawl. All of the Iron Chefs are great, but Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi is by far the most entertaining...not for his vast talent, but for the fact that he tends to stress WAY too much. Whenever he's on, the near-panicked look on his face as the end of the hour nears...priceless.Finally, Takeshi Kaga, the chairman of Kitchen Stadium, not a chef at all, but a long-time musician and theater actor. What can I say about Kaga? Well-known for being the first Japanese to portray Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as the first japanese to play Jean ValJean in Le Mis, these days he's just another in a long list of reasons to tune in. Above all else, I can't escape the thought that he is Japan's answer to Liberace.

Marcus_Membrane This show is my favorite. Finally a cooking show that's not a boring "how to" session, it is not at all the intention of this show to teach you how to cook. You just sit back and watch these guys use the theme ingredient to prepare a gourmet meal in an hour, and you ooh and ahh.It's no surprise to me that the challengers take the contest so seriously. Cooking is their art, and the challengers are very respected among the culinary world, owning only the classiest restaurants. This is a true test of their mettle, and they have something to prove. The other great thing is that this isn't a petty game show where some obscene amount of money is at stake. According to the show's intro, all the challenger gets if he/she (yes, I have seen a female competitor on the show) wins is "The peoples' ovation and fame forever". Okay, that sounds a bit silly, but seriously, all they win is the honor of beating an Iron Chef. The only material prize is an indirect one, since the winner's restaurant can now boast an Iron Chef victory and will definitely gain a lot of new customers.I think that the Food Network did a great job converting the show for an English speaking audience. First off, congrats for not dubbing Kaga. His "If my memory serves me right..." monologue is my favorite part of the show, and I like to listen to how he speaks the Japanese language, even though I don't speak a word of it myself. Second, congrats on dubbing everyone else. Reading subtitles for the whole show would get very tiresome. Some of the dubbed voices sound downright silly (especially Chen Kenichi and Hiroyuki Sakai), but that's ok. I think that it adds an element of humor (intentional or not) without making the whole show seem like a big joke. And finally, they did a good job budgeting time. You don't see the whole hour of cooking, but you see enough of it to know what's going on, and there's still time for the intros and the judging. My only complaint it that there is a TON of commercials.And one more thing - I like Ota! Everyone seems annoyed by him, but how can you have an episode without him? His "Fukui-san!" comments are the only thing that explains what the chefs are doing, and since they are doing so much so fast, Ota has a lot to tell Fukui-san and the audience. It is amazing to me how he memorizes every ingredient that goes into the pans.

Irish14 A fantastic cooking show, designed to push chefs to their creative limits. Especially if you take it light-heartedly, you can really enjoy the format of the show as well as enjoy watching the Iron Chefs and the challengers prepare their dishes, all of which must utilize the theme ingredient. While it is dubbed from Japanese into English, the dubbed voices are rather funny and make for a laugh. And even if you think the show is somewhat of a joke, all the chefs are truly amazing in their cooking abilities and in making unique dishes in less than an hour. I highly recommend Iron Chef as an alternative to cable television prime time programming. An American version is in the works!