ALLEZ CUISINE!

This week, coming to you from Japan, we’re talking about ­­­Fuji Television’s most ferocious cooking competition; Iron Chef Japan.

The format goes like this: top chefs from Japan, and the world, come to challenge one of four personal chefs, or Iron Chefs, of an eccentric Japanese millionaire. Each of the Iron Chefs is a master in a national cuisine; Japanese, French, Italian, and Chinese. Each episode is the 60-minute duel between a new contestant and the Iron Chef challenger they name. At the beginning of the show a secret ingredient is revealed. The competitors then use the 60-minutes to attempt to flawlessly cook an elaborate multi-course meal showcasing the secret ingredient. A panel of judges scores each of the meals and the chef with the highest score wins.

Premiering in 1993, the show was an instant hit. It has been adopted and adapted in North America, Australia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe. The show’s popularity introduced made-in-Japan productions as a fierce competitor in the media arena, dominated for decades by American television. Iron Chef Japan is responsible for igniting the cooking competition frenzy that we know today. “Top Chef”, “Master Chef”, “Chopped”, “All Star Academy”, “The Great British Bake Off”… Chefs battling it out in the kitchen captivate television audiences around the world. The media diets of foodies everywhere would be much different if not for the influence of Iron Chef Japan. Not only did Japan set the stage for food television they created global appreciation for Japanese culture.

The initial popularity of the show had some celebrating the end of western dominance in exporting and producing global culture. Western journalist went so far as to firmly announce Japan as the next cultural superpower. And the show did more than establish a platform for international television; Iron Chef Japan shook up the cooking culture in its own country. Traditional Japanese cuisine was revered and rarely altered or modified. Iron Chef Japan broke all the rules and set a new standard for chef behavior.

So thank you Fuji Television and Iron Chef Japan for your high-speed cook-off and all the other shows that followed the path you paved.