Japan's 'Iron Chef' Comes To New York
Zagnats Invite Culinary Battle To Their Town
The Japanese import, which pits two master chefs against each other in a timed cooking competition, has a strong following worldwide and is one of the top-rated cable shows in the U.S.
For the special New York Battle, restaurant guide publishers Tim and Nina Zagnat invited Takeshi Kaga's team of Iron Chefs to the U.S. to compete against challenger Flay, head chef of Manhattan's Mesa Grill and Bollo restaurants. Flay is also the host of the Food Network's "Hot Off the Grill with Bobby Flay."
In the one-hour episode, airing Sunday, Flay goes up against Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, known for his Japanese cuisine. Morimoto is executive chef of Nobu in New York.
"Iron Chef," which began airing in the U.S. last summer, pits two chefs against each other. Judges decide who did a better job of preparing a multi-course meal using the same chosen ingredient in each of the dishes. The ingredient is not revealed to the chefs until the start of the competition.
Tim Zagnat, who traveled to Japan in 1999 with his wife to serve as judges in Kitchen Stadium, also judge the New York competition. The host of "Door Knock Dinners," Gordon Elliot, hosts the event, with the help of a Japanese translator.
The Food Network is also producing a crossover episode of "Door Knock," when Elliot and the Iron Chefs prepare a meal for an unsuspecting Connecticut family using ingredients found mostly in their own kitchen.
This is the second time "Iron Chef" has filmed in New York, but the first time the show has staged a Kitchen Stadium competition.
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