Theme Ingredient: Udon noodles
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Tooru Komori, a traditional Edo period chef
Remarks: This episode aired on Food Network sometime in the late fall of 2000, no later than December 9. Tooru Komori, a traditional Edo period chef, was the challenger. He chose IC French Hiroyuki Sakai, which was kind of a surprise to me; I expected him to pull an Ohta Faction-like challenge and go after Morimoto. Guest commentators were actor Toiyu Watanabe and actress Miyako Furitari; the other judges were photographer Tenmei Kanoh and the ubiquitous Asako Kishi.
The theme ingredient was udon noodles. Like I've seen with some other noodle challenges, they stopped Sakai after 50 minutes and let Komori finish his dishes. It's done this way because cooking straight through, then serving the challenger's dishes before the Iron Chef's would mean that the IC's dishes would sit for 10-15 minutes getting soggy. When Sakai returned from the break, it looked like it took a while for him to get his rhythm back. Or maybe it was the fact that Komori and all his sous chefs stood at the edge of Sakai's side of the kitchen staring at him.
Unfortunately, I missed the tasting. Komori won 3-1: Kanoh 19-18 Komori, Furitari 20-19 Komori, Watanabe 19-18 Sakai, Kishi 18-16 Komori.
Theme Ingredient: Pike Eel (Hamo), twenty live eels from waters near Akashi
Iron Chef: Morimoto
Challenger: Yoshimi Tanigawa, owner/chef of Kichi-sen, Shimogamo, Kyoto
Remarks: I'm posting this today in recognition of the Gion festival that starts each July 2 in Kyoto, since the festival is a major theme in this battle. This post is based on the 3 February 2001 airing of this battle on Food Network.
Kyoto-style Japanese cuisine has a 1000-year tradition that in recent years has gone a little overboard in the decoration department. To coincide with the annual Gion festival in Kyoto, Kaga invited Yoshimi Tanigawa, a Kyoto-style traditionalist, to battle in Kitchen Stadium. Tanigawa is trying to revive traditional Kyoto cuisine: style without over-decoration. He started cooking at age 15 and opened Kichi-sen in the Shimogamo district of Kyoto at 31. He entered Kitchen Stadium in traditional kimono and sandals--you know, the wooden platform jobs. He brought with him a group of Miko girls, who in my ignorance I could not distinguish from geisha, to cheer him on from the Royal Box. He challenged Morimoto. Guest commentators were actress Yukio Toake and actor Tsutaro Kataoka; the other judges were photographer Tenmei Kanoh and chanson singer Yoshiko Ishii.
The theme ingredient was a traditional Kyoto summer dish--Pike Eel (Hamo), twenty live eels from waters near Akashi. Tanigawa beheaded his eels right on the ingredient stand to keep them from thrashing and affecting the taste; he also cut the tails halfway through to drain the blood quicker. Morimoto killed his eels by spiking the head and running a metal rod down the spine to kill them quickly. Tanigawa's method may have been better, as one of Morimoto's eels briefly escaped.
Tanigawa chose the Star Festival (a particular part of the Gion Festival) as his theme and presented these six dishes:
Morimoto's theme was "The Silk Road," designed to represent a 'cuisine path' ranging from Italy through India and China, and comprised these six dishes:
In this battle, tradition won out over Italian-pan-Indian-Korean neofusion, as Tanigawa took it in a sweep: Kanoh 19-17, Toake 17-16, Kataoka 20-19, and Ishii 18-17.
Theme Ingredient: Tomatoes, some red, some green
Iron Chef: Kobe
Challenger: Franco Canzoniere, owner/head chef, Il Fornello, Nakano, Tokyo
Remarks: The second attempt of 'Serie A' to take down an Iron Chef. This synopsis is based on the battle that aired on Food Network November 25, 2000.
The top Italian chefs in Tokyo have formed a group called 'Serie A' (after the name of Italy's highest-tier pro soccer league) which looks suspiciously like the Ohta Faction that has dedicated its professional life to taking down IC Japanese Masaharu Morimoto. Anyway, like the Ohta Faction, their first attempt on Kobe ended in failure: Constantine, who got broke open like a cheap shotgun in Battle Bell Pepper, 4-0 and 76-62(!).
A quick word about the judging. When looking at margin of victory, figure that each point difference represents a touchdown. If you beat a guy by one point, you beat him. If you beat him by two points, you beat him badly. If you beat him by three points, you beat him so bad his mama felt it (the exception to this is when Asako Kishi judges; she almost always uses a two-point spread). Constantine lost Battle Bell Pepper by an average of 3.5 points per judge!
Franco Canzoniere is Serie A's 'second man.' He is the owner and head chef at Il Fornello in the Nakano district of Tokyo. He is a Roman-style chef, which may explain the guy in his entourage carrying a "SPQR" banner. The theme ingredient was tomatoes, some red and some green (and still on the vine). In true IC fashion, we learn that they run USD2.50 each. Guest commentators were actress Chizuru Azuma and essayist Panzetta Girolamo. The other judges were Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto and fortune teller Kazuko Hosoki.
The smack and maneuvering started right away. Canzionere called Kobe's dishes 'feminine' and vowed to show the judges what real Roman food tasted like. He also took all the herbs. When Kobe crossed the DMZ to get some, he was soundly booed by the challenger's compatriots in the Royal Box. Kobe responded by tossing a couple of tomatoes at them. We were also introduced to orecchiette ('earlobe' in Italian), a small pasta from southern Italy named for its shape, and we learned that salsa di Pomodoro means 'tomato sauce' and is generally made with garlic and basil in Roman-style cooking. Big surprise there.
The verdict was 2-2, with Kobe winning 75-72 on total points. Kurimoto 18-17 Canzoniere, Azuma 20-18 Kobe, Girolamo 20-19 Canzoniere, and Hosoki 19-16(!) Kobe.
This battle was also synopsized at Ironfans.net.
Theme Ingredient: $8000 worth of European milk-fed veal.
Iron Chef: Chen
Challenger: Kyoko Kagata, chef at Ann Moreve, a French restaurant in Gotemba.
Remarks: Aired on Food Network on November 5, 2000. Judge Korn also appeared in Battle Oxtail. In a 1993 appearance, Kagata was the first female challenger on the show.
The challenger was Kyoko Kagata, a chef at Ann Moreve, a French restaurant in Gotemba. Kagata was the first female challenger, and she defeated Chen in Battle Scallops in 1993 at age 26 (which also made her the youngest challenger to win). After that victory, she got married, quit her hotel job, got divorced, and started cooking at a restaurant owned by her aunt and uncle. In true Iron Chef personal-difficulty-is-fair-game style (f'rinstance), the divorce was brought up several times during the show. Also in a bit of an eye-opener, she challenged Chen again (I was expecting her to go after one of the others). The theme ingredient was $8000 worth of European milk-fed veal, two sirloins and two legs. I think they referred to it as koishi in Japanese, but I could be wrong. Guest commentators were Kayoko Kishimoto, who judged Chen in a battle in 1997, and singer Korn, who was judging for his fourth time, but his first with Chen.
I missed a good portion of the cooking, which was a shame because they looked to be doing some really neat stuff (Chen in particular seemed to be pushing the envelope). I did catch Fukui referring to the challenger as 'he' a couple of times, and Hattori actually admitted that he didn't know something! The other judges were photographer Tenmei Kanoh and the stern but fair Asako Kishi.
Kagata's dishes:
Chen, facing humiliation over the possibility of losing to the same chef twice, presented:
Chen was rewarded for his aggressiveness by winning in a sweep: Kanoh, Kishimoto, and Korn all scored it 20-19, and Kishi scored it 19-17. Kanoh, perhaps summing up the panel's feeling, afterwards commented
[Chen] tried to go beyond his boundaries today. I respect that.
Theme Ingredient: six lambs from Pauillac, France
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Michel Husser, Owner/Chef, Le Cerf, Alsace, France
Remarks: I don't know when this episode aired on FoodTV, but I'm guessing sometime in the second half of 2000.
Sopexa is a bi-annual French cooking competition for Japanese chefs; eminent French chef Joel Robuchon was the head of the jury. The 1998 (I think) winner was Akira Itoh, chef at the Royal Park Hotel, whose winning lamb dish bowled over the jury. Kaga, however, wasn't impressed, and he wanted to reach beyond even that for Battle Lamb. Enter Michel Husser, Owner/Chef, Le Cerf, Alsace, France (himself on the Sopexa jury). Husser trained under his father from age 10, then apprenticed at 18, studying under Alain Senderens, the leader of the "nouvelle cuisine" movement in France. At 22, he returned to Le Cerf and took over as 4th generation head chef, earning a Michelin two star rating five years later. Head on, he challenged Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai. I like that kind of 'to be the man you have to beat the man' thinking; I always feel slightly ripped off when, for instance, a Chinese-style chef (any variety) takes on Kobe instead of Chen. Kobe in particular often gets picked on in this fashion; I think it's because he's younger than the others.
In a bit of a break from form, both chefs knew in advance that lamb would be the theme ingredient; specifically, six lambs from Pauillac, France. Husser was shaking his head when the lamb was presented; I'm not sure why. Maybe he thought it wasn't the right kind or something. You know how those French can be. Guest commentators were actress Akiko Nishina and sportscaster (and ex-baseball player) Kazushige "Junior" Nagashima, who's a pretty big guy, and whom I remember from a previous battle saying "I ate two box lunches before the competition so I wouldn't be hungry". Enigmatic photographer Tenmei Kanoh and the ferocious Asako Kishi were the other judges; Sopexa winner Itoh also tasted but did not judge.
Itoh said all of Husser's dishes were beyond anything he had done at Sopexa.
Sakai's stew had several condiments on the side, and tasters were invited to use them as desired to adjust the taste. I don't remember any Iron Chef saying that before, but it seems to have paid off here; Nishina didn't like the stew at first, but was able to adjust the taste to her liking.
Kanoh said at the end of the tasting that he'd vote it a tie just so they could come back and cook again.
Kaga said the dishes were the best lamb dishes he'd ever had, and was sad that he had to announce a winner. But he did; he voted 20-19 Husser. Nishina went 19-18 Sakai, Nagashima 20-19 Husser, and Kishi 19-17 Husser.
Theme Ingredient: Pacific Saury
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Kazumi Nagayama, head chef, Shochiku, Hongo, Tokyo
Remarks: This is a different Battle Saury than the one that airs on Food Network on July 4 and 5. These comments refer to the battle that aired on Food Network on November 26, 2000.
Shochiku is a restaurant in the Hongo neighborhood of Tokyo. It is a traditional elite supper club where admittance had until recently been restricted only to members. It is hideously expensive and caters to the elite of Tokyo society; it's sometimes called "The Kitchen Of Tokyo University" due to its proximity to that institution. Lately, Shochiku has been feeling the pinch of a downturn in the Japanese economy; in response, it has opened its doors to the public and retooled its menu a bit, aiming for the female market.
Kazumi Nagayama is head chef there, and he challenged IC French Hiroyuki Sakai (fresh off his defeat at the hands of Ron Siegel in Battle Lobster). The theme ingredient was Pacific saury (also called sanma), a blue fish similar to the sardine. This was a mixed blessing for Sakai: saury generally isn't used in French cuisine, but he was able to make sardine-style dishes using it. However, this wasn't much of an advantage for the challenger, either; saury isn't often served in high class restaurants. The saury was harvested from the waters off Sanriku, and they're a popular autumn dish since they're fattening up for the winter then.
The guest commentators were singer Johji Yamamoto (previous appearance 1 1/2 years before in Battle Bell Pepper), whose single "I'm Your Man" was on the charts at the time, and actress Kuniko Asagi (previous appearance: Battle Unisex Salmon). The other judges were Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto and spiritual consultant Kazuko Hosoki.
Nagayama presented five dishes:
Sakai countered with four:
Yamamoto pronounced afterwards that "I'll never be able to eat my wife's saury dishes again." The verdict was Sakai 4-0 and 78-69: Kurimoto 19-17, Asagi and Yamamoto both 20-18, and Hosoki 19-16.
Theme Ingredient: Oxtail
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Koji Hosogai, Head Chef, Poisson D'Or, Niigata.
Remarks: Photographer Tenmei Kanoh tasted but didn't judge. Warning: horsemeat (horsefat, actually) in use. Comments based on the Food Network's October 28, 2000 airing of this episode.
The challenger was Koji Hosogai, Head Chef, Poisson D'Or, Niigata. He is an expert French chef whose speciality is using local ingredients. Photographer Tenmei Kanoh, a frequent judge, says he's his favorite chef, and actually followed him around shooting a series of 'day in the life' photographs. Hosogai challenged Hiroyuki Sakai.
The theme ingredient was Oxtail (at about USD100 per), 3 each of whole raw, whole boiled in bouillion, chopped (into sections) raw, and chopped boiled. The boiled parts were available because cooking a raw oxtail can take up to three hours; obviously, this is not practical in an Iron Chef match. Guest commentators were actress Keiko Saito (mmm.... Keiko Saito) and the performer Korn. The other judges were Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto and fortune teller Kozuko Hosoki. Kanoh was present as a taster, but did not judge, although he kept trying to tip the scales in Hosogai's favor.
Hosogai's dishes:
Iron Chef Sakai's dishes:
In a clean sweep for Sakai, Kurimoto and Hosoki both scored it 19-17, Saito 19-18, and Korn 20(!)-19.
Theme Ingredient: Tuna
Iron Chef: Kobe
Challenger: Shinya Tasaki, 1995 world champion sommeiler
Remarks: Comments based on Food Network's October 22, 2000 airing of this battle
The challenger was Shinya Tasaki, who is not a chef but was the 1995 world champion sommelier (wine steward). He chose Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe, specifically because he is the youngest IC and he thought he'd have the best chance against him. The theme ingredient was fatty tuna (chu-todo) harvested from the Mediterranean. The contestants would also have access to Chairman Kaga's wine collection.
Guest commentators were actress Naomi Kawashima and actor Masumi Okata, this time with his mustache. Kawashima 'keeps a well-known wine diary,' and I think that means she is knowledgeable about wines, since she made several insightful wine-related comments. However, in true BDJ style, she asked "Are we going to have wine with the meals?" The other judges were Lower House member Shinchiro Kurimoto and the unstoppable Asako Kishi.
Tasaki opened with a bang, literally, as he used a sword to open a bottle of champagne. This practice is known as sabre service or sabreage. Normally, challengers bring sous chefs from where they work; Tasaki had chefs helping him but where they came from was not mentioned. It sure looked like he was coasting at the end--he spent the last two minutes writing a menu with wine list--but in the post-cooking interview he said that he didn't have enough time to taste-test any of his dishes.
Challenger Tasaki presented five dishes:
Kobe presented four dishes:
The verdict: Kurimoto 19-17 Tasaki, Kawashima 19-18 Tasaki, Okata 18-16 Tasaki, Kishi 19-17 Kobe.
Theme Ingredient: None, really. Clams, kinda. All is explained later.
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Motohito Kondo, Master Chef, Hifumi, Kamakura
Remarks: Funniest. Battle. Ever. Comments based on Food Network October 15, 2000 airing of this battle.
Girls' Festival is a Japanese festival honoring, well, girls. That's about all I know about it except that it occurred on March 3 in 1998 (and I don't even know if it's a fixed date like Christmas or a floating one like American Thanksgiving).
The challenger was Motohito Kondo, Master Chef of Hifumi in Kamakura, a city described as 'an ancient seaside capital.' Kondo is a Tea Ceremony master and a sake sommelier (I didn't know there were sake sommeliers, but it makes sense), and was an especially good choice for this particular battle, since his daughter turned 11 on that day. He challenged IC French Hiroyuki Sakai, whom the show inexplicably continues to refer to as 'the Delacroix of French cuisine.' I see their point, but the expression doesn't parse. It'd make a lot more sense to me to refer to him as 'the Kurosawa of French cuisine.' But I digress.
Chairman Kaga revealed no theme ingredient per se, challenging the chefs to create dishes honoring Girls' Festival from whatever happened to be lying around Kitchen Stadium, stipulating only that clams were a 'must have' since clamshells symbolize chastity in Japanese culture (stop. stop right there.). Granted, that still gave the chefs plenty to work with, but Sakai did mention that working without a theme ingredient was harder for him than he expected.
Instead of the normal two guest commentators and two regular judges, there were actually three guest commentators: 17-year-old actress Yumi Adachi, actress Naomi Hosokawa (who also appeared in Battle Strawberry), and Yoko Akino (a semi-regular). The ever-cuddly Asako Kishi would join them for the judging. Fukui's take on this: "A collection of judges covering the whole spectrum from high school through middle age and beyond." Well, if they can spend an entire episode cracking on a challenger's marital problems, then I guess this is pretty mild by comparison.
The girls hazarded a guess that a blender full of milk, cream, sugar, and eggs would be made into ice cream. Gee, you can't put a thing past them. Adachi: "The ice cream is turning around and around!" Fukui, revealing a heretofore unknown pederastic side, asked Adachi if she knew what 'chastity' meant. She said she did but offered no details.
This reminds me of an R-rated joke, so scroll ahead a bit if that prospect bothers you.
A kid's walking home from school one day when he finds a pair of welders goggles on the sidewalk. He picks them up and continues walking, and before long a stranger pulls up next to him and offers him a ride home. Not being the sharpest tool in the shed, the kid accepts.
"That's a neat pair of welding goggles you got there, kid."
"Thanks."
"Say, kid, do you know what 'pederasty' means?"
"No."
"Do you know what 'sodomy' means?"
"No."
"Do you know what 'oral copulation' means?"
"Mister, I just found the goggles - I'm not a welder!"
Back to live action. Fukui sounded disappointed that Adachi didn't want to discuss chastity. He also noted that Ohta wasn't breaking in as much as usual. Ohta's explanation: "With today's guests, it's hard to get a word in edgewise."
'Ama-me' was described as "A recently introduced (whatever that means) vegetable from Okinawa." 'Hishi-mochi' is a stacked dish wrapped in foil and baked in a long, narrow pan, then cut into diamond shapes that look much like baklava.
Fukui's voiceover before the last commercial break: "Which man measures up?" OK, I was wrong. That was the closing statement. The verdict? 3-1 to the Iron Chef: Adachi 18-17, Akino 20-19, and Kishi 18-17. Hosokawa voted 19-18 for Kondo.
Iron Chef is always funny, but this one is by far the funniest of the thirty or so eps I've seen. I don't know if the double entendres were purposeful, and I don't care. If you ever get a chance to see this episode, DO IT!
Theme Ingredient: Chinese Cabbage
Iron Chef: Chen
Challenger: Cui Yufen, Head Chef, Han-mei-fang, Tokyo
Remarks: ironchef.com was also used as a reference for this battle, mainly because I lost the second page of my notes. Comments refer to the Food Network 11/11/2000 airing of this battle.
Mao Zhedong once said "Chefs who create great food are treasures of the state." He established the Special Grade Certificate of State-Certified Chefs to certify the best chefs in the country. The top rank are referred to as Culinary Craftsmen. Three of these chefs work at Han-mei-fang, a Chinese restaurant in the Akasaka district of Tokyo. Ji Wenchen, Special Grade Chef, specializes in stir-frying. Hao Huizhi, Special Grade Chef, Culinary Craftsman, specializes in appetizers. The most highly regarded is Cui Yufen, also a Special Grade Chef, Culinary Craftsman. She is the head chef at Han-mei-fang, and had previously served as a chef catering to Mao Zhedong and Zhou Enlai. She challenged Chen, who seems to have been picked on a lot lately. The theme ingredient was Chinese cabbage, a staple of Chinese cuisine. This battle wasn't as simple as Chinese vs. Chinese; Chen is a Szechuan-style chef, and Yufen's speciality is Imperial cuisine, also called Peking-style. The guest commentators were actress Kayoko Kishimoto and singer Shinji Tanimura (making his first appearance in two years). The other judges were Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto (doesn't this guy ever actually spend any time in the Diet? On second thought, the country's probably better off this way) and the dominatrix, err, food critic, Asako Kishi.
Cui Yufen rocked the house with six dishes whose presentation knocked the judges' socks off:
Chen countered with five:
Cui Yufen won the battle 4-0. Kurimoto 20-19, Kishimoto 20-19, Tamimura 19-18, and Kishi 19-17. 78 points total for Cui; I don't think I've ever seen a challenger score that high. Even the great Ron Siegel (Battle Lobster) only totalled 77. Note also Kishi giving the challenger a two-point margin; that's almost unheard of.
Theme Ingredient: Bean Sprouts
Iron Chef: Chen
Challenger: Takeshi Ohkubo, Head Chef of Kinachi China in Ginza
Remarks: $10,000 worth of Daioh sprouts was used. Comments based on the Food Network 12/8/2000 airing of this battle.
Kihachi Kumagai is the CEO of the Kihachi Group, a chain of about twenty Western- and Chinese-style restaurants throughout Japan. He has said that there are three basic styles of cuisine: Japanese, Chinese, and Western (which I consider to be a very racist statement, especially if you consider this hypothetical converse: "There are three basic styles of cuisine: French, Italian, and Asian."). This was his group's third try to topple an Iron Chef; they were 0-2 coming in. His chosen man for this battle was Takeshi Ohkubo, Head Chef of Kinachi China in Ginza. He went after Chen, so we had yet another Cantonese-Szechuan battle. The theme ingredient for this battle was bean sprouts, called "the shark fin of the field". 5kg each of three different kinds of sprouts were provided: Daioh sprouts, which run USD2000 per kilo (eesh!--typical sprout prices are USD5-10 per kilo) and are grown in only one place in Japan, regular bean sprouts, and soybean sprouts. Guest commentators were actress Akiko Hinagata, last seen in the Valentine dessert battle, and singer Takao Horiuchi. The other judges were alleged Lower House member Shinichiro Kurimoto and chanson singer Yoshiko Ishii.
Ohkubo put together six dishes in this battle:
Chen also presented six dishes:
Chen lost this battle, marking the first time he'd ever lost two in a row. Voting for the challenger were Hinagata (19-18), Horiuchi (20-19), and Ishii (18-17); Kurimoto scored it 19-18 for Chen.
Theme Ingredient: Lobster
Iron Chef: Sakai
Challenger: Ron Siegel, Master Chef at Charles of San Francisco
Remarks: My comments are based on the October 29, 2000 airing of this episode, so take that into consideration when reading. Sakai was riding a 6-battle winning streak, but he had lost his previous two lobster battles.
I've really been looking forward to this episode; friends of mine who've been watching longer than I have say it's one of the best ever. The challenger was Ron Siegel, Master Chef at Charles of San Francisco. He was personally recommended by Mayor Willie Brown, who said "Dining on his food is like viewing a fine Picasso." Ron himself certainly isn't lacking for confidence. In the pre-battle interview, he said "And I feel like you picked the right person and I'm going to bring the gold back to the USA." Ron's speciality is California-style French cuisine, which balances salty and sweet flavors. He challenged Sakai, who had won his previous six battles but had lost his previous two involving lobster. Chairman Kaga selected lobster as the theme ingredient because it is a very popular item in California cuisine. Forty lobsters from Canada were used.
Actress Aiko Morishita, in her first appearance as a guest commentator, thought Kitchen Stadium was really intimidating. She has had lobster before, but, in true Bimbo Du Jour style, can't remember how she cooked it. Singer Kazuhiko Katoh, dressed more conservatively than his previous appearance (but sporting a fez-like hat he called a 'pajama hat') was the other guest commentator. He likes lobster sashimi. The other two judges were photographer Tenmei Kanoh and 'fortune teller' Kazuko Hosoki.
In keeping with Iron Chef tradition of soaking the show for all it's worth (Chen in particular is famous for opening a case of caviar whether he plans to use it or not, since the show lets him take the rest back to his restaurant), Sakai planned to use a large quantity of Matsutake mushrooms (20 of them, total price USD1500!). Siegel's sous chefs were Japanese, which was a problem because he knew only two words of Japanese: doke: 'get out of my way,' and isoke: 'move it'. Hattori noted that depending on the inflection, those could be considered 'roughneck' words and that whoever taught Ron them should be held accountable. Ron nicknamed his sous chefs 'Teddy' and 'Katz' and was eventually able to get things straight with them. According to Ohta, Siegel used 3-5 times as many herbs as other chefs on the show use; he said this was because the vegetables he had to work with weren't as aromatic as he was accustomed to, so he had to cheat a bit.
Siegel's dishes:
Sakai's dishes:
The verdict? 4-0 to Siegel: Kanoh and Morishita 20-19, Katoh 18-17, Hosoki 19-18. Sakai noted that he knew the tasters liked heavy flavors and leaned his dishes that way; it may have backfired on him as he lost his third lobster battle in a row. In a break from normal show layout, Ohta interviewed the judges afterwards; Kano said the soup was key and that Siegel's, which used lobster sweetbread (a part around the throat that goes away as the lobster gets older) was 'perfect.' Katoh was impressed with his taste and combination of elements, and Hosoki said he was bold, with sophisticated and elegant presentation.
Theme Ingredient: Banana
Iron Chef: Kobe
Challenger: Hironobu Tsujiguchi, chef at Mont St. Clair in Jiyugaoka. Winner of 1998 World Cup of Desserts.
Remarks: $6000 worth of chocolate also used. Kobe's first dessert battle.
For the episode that aired Valentine's Day 1998 in Japan, Iron Chef staged a dessert battle. Hironobu Tsujiguchi won the 1998 World Cup of Desserts, the youngest patassier (dessert chef) to do so. He's also won seven other world-class competitions. He cooks at Mont St. Clair in Jiyugaoka. He challenged IC Italian Masahiko Kobe, who had not yet been in a dessert battle. Tsujiguchi was even more confident than Ron Siegel was, saying "I'm definitely going to win!" Bananas were the theme ingredient, and $6,000 worth of top-quality French chocolate (half of it melted in a big pot) was also available. Ten bunches of ripe Taiwan bananas, five of unripe Taiwan bananas (conventional supermarket-style), five of monkey bananas (smaller), and five of brown bananas (which need to be cooked because they're too bitter to be eaten raw) were used. Kobe remarked that he's unaccustomed to working with chocolate, which I think is odd for a European-style chef, but they don't celebrate Valentine's Day in Italy so he didn't have much to go on there. Kobe got out-sprinted to the ingredient stand, the first time I can remember that happening. Actress Akiko Hinagata (in her first appearance) and ballet dancer Tetsuya Kumakawa (in his first appearance) were the guest commentators. Lower house member Shinichiro Kurimoto and the stalwart Asako Kishi were the other judges.
Tsujiguchi propped his helpers in the post-cooking interview, one of the only chefs I've heard to do so. His theme was 'Valentine's Day Desserts for the 21st Century':
Kobe's theme was 'Whispers of Love':
Tsujiguchi won 3-1: Kurimoto 17-16, Hinagata 18-16, and Kumakawa 18-14(!). Kishi scored it 19-17 Kobe. This marked the first time a challenger beat an Iron Chef in a dessert battle.