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Iron Chefs show their mettle in culinary combat

October 12 | our TV junkies

Hmm, how to describe Iron Chef?

It’s a gladiatorial-style contest where woks, tongs, spatulas, pots and pans are wielded like deadly weapons by two combatants against the kitsch backdrop of a stadium-style kitchen and a running commentary dubbed from Japanese into English.

It’s eccentric, camp, bizarre, quirky and weird in a wonderful kind of way.

It’s part game show, part drama and part action, with a massive dollop of comedy (for Western audiences, at least).

What it’s not is a show where you will learn how to cook … unless you have a penchant for dishes like aubergine sorbet and crab egg-nog.

Iron Chef (SBS, Saturday, 8.30pm) is hosted by the flamboyant Takeshi Kaga (pictured). Known as Chairman Kaga, he's a Japanese actor who wears an over-the-top uniform that wouldn’t be out of place on a circus ringleader and leads proceedings with the seriousness of an orchestra conductor.

It features a panel of sombre, intimidating Iron Chefs (each one specialises in the cuisine of a different country), one of whom faces off against a new challenger in each episode.

A surprise ingredient is revealed, and the two chefs begin a frenetic culinary battle, using the nominated food item to create four or more dishes which range from the exotic to the quixotic.

A panel featuring a mixture of Japanese foodies, singers, actresses and assorted other guests then begins the very serious process of tasting the results to decide who is victorious and who is vanquished.

This is a show you either love or hate.

When I first watched it, I hated it. But faced with a lack of options on the other channels in this Saturday timeslot (you can only watch Back to the Future and The Bill so many times), I recently gave it a second chance.

And I got hooked.

I even found myself laughing out loud – especially at the blow-by-blow commentary, which is dubbed from Japanese into English.

Apparently there’s also an American Iron Chef but I can’t imagine it would be half as much fun as the original. After all, part of the charm of the show is the fact that it is so quintessentially Japanese.

So if you’re sick of the Saturday night re-runs, get your laughing gear around Iron Chef. Heck, you might even find yourself developing a hankering for fish-roe ice-cream.

— SUZANNE KEEN

Love it or hate it? What's your view of Iron Chef?