Monday, April 30, 2018

Men of Iron

Iron Chef is the greatest cooking show ever created.

There I said it. And I mean it. It is the greatest cooking show ever created. And one of the most influential.

These days, the Food Network's schedule is made up of competition shows like Next Food Network Star and Chopped etc. That all began when Food Network imported Iron Chef to America in 1998. It grew a cult following and showed a new way on how to present food related topics to the masses.


And thinking about it, only the Japanese, in their over the top, medieval, dramatic ways could pull off this show. The American version is watered down and sleek. The Japanese version is meaty and theatrical. That is where the show really separates itself. There are storylines interwoven into these competitions. The chefs like to show off what they can do. And the music sets the tone perfectly (the soundtrack of Backdraft, which I have on my playlist, is masterful)

When this show was on the Food Network in the late 90s-early 2000s, I was obsessed with it. It was on Friday nights at 10:00 PM so I got to watch it. My family will attest to the fact that I made little drawings of the Iron Chefs and cut them out to male paper figurines. I was that into it. And frankly still am.

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