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Post by ironnut77 on Dec 15, 2016 14:13:22 GMT -5
I see it is "all quiet on the Western Front" once more, so here is my attempt to spark some conversation. Hopefully some of the "lurkers" on this forum will come out and post - a forlorn hope? Let's see...
Now that we have access to most of the original Iron Chef's line-up of episodes, which would folks list as their favorite or, more appropriately, their top 5 out of the 300+ episodes broadcast? Specials count, but preferably, I am interested in seeing viewer favorites from the "regular" episodes, as we all know the specials had extra flair.
I am not sure if anyone on here has actually seen all that is available. For myself, I cannot create a fair list as I have again begin the LONG process of watching the episodes in order, from October 1993 - the end of the Japan Cup in 2002.
None the less, I would still like to see if it is possible to stir up the type of fun discussion that was so lively back in the day :-)
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Post by tetsujin070561 on Dec 15, 2016 21:39:28 GMT -5
Sorry, mate, but my short list has 14 entries:
Egg (03.12.1999) Banana/Chocolate (02.12.1999) Tuna (02.13.1998) Longtooth Grouper (12.26.1997) Cucumber (09.26.1997) Natto (02.28.1997) Black Truffle (02.21.1997) Rice (02.14.1997) Frogfish (11.22.1996) Lotus Root (11.17.1995) Sea Cucumber (09.22.1995) Strawberry (12.16.1994) Bread (10.21.1994) Bell Pepper (09.09.1994).
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Post by ironnut77 on Dec 16, 2016 8:50:59 GMT -5
A fair share of Nakamura battles in that list, Tetsujin! I assume Battle Egg is #1? Any particular reason?
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Post by tetsujin070561 on Dec 16, 2016 11:50:23 GMT -5
A fair share of Nakamura battles in that list, Tetsujin! I assume Battle Egg is #1? Any particular reason? Ironnut, I actually listed them in reverse chron order, but I think the Egg battle is as good as any I've seen. Certain ingredients lend themselves more easily to transformative processes, and as such, the humble egg has almost unlimited possibilities. The level of creativity displayed by both chefs in that one was really impressive, IMHO.
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Post by ironnut77 on Dec 16, 2016 12:06:38 GMT -5
Ah, I get it now, thanks!
So would Nakamura rank as your favorite of the iron chefs? A different poll, I know - but given the amount of his battles on your list, I was just wondering.
For myself, I think Nakamura is the most "unfortunate" of the iron chefs. He took losing very hard, and had the greatest challenge in that vegetables were his specialty - yet I think he only received a vegetable theme once in his career.
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Post by herringchoker on Dec 16, 2016 20:44:18 GMT -5
My favorite episode has to be Sakai's octopus battle, just for his reaction of having to grab the live ingredient out of the tank at the start of the battle.
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Post by reaperg on Dec 18, 2016 10:28:01 GMT -5
So hard to choose from, but Battle Stingray, with the challenger's mentor smacking the assistant, comes to mind.
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Post by tetsujin070561 on Dec 21, 2016 2:59:19 GMT -5
Ah, I get it now, thanks! So would Nakamura rank as your favorite of the iron chefs? A different poll, I know - but given the amount of his battles on your list, I was just wondering. For myself, I think Nakamura is the most "unfortunate" of the iron chefs. He took losing very hard, and had the greatest challenge in that vegetables were his specialty - yet I think he only received a vegetable theme once in his career. I think Mr. Sakai and Mr. Nakamura are my favorite tetsujin. Great catch about the latter's lack of veggie themes, I hadn't realized that, with Bell Pepper as the only one. He did have themes such as Peach, Potato, Natto, Chestnut and Wakame, none veggies, but with some shared characteristics with veggies.
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Post by ironnut77 on Dec 21, 2016 8:59:17 GMT -5
Hmmm...interesting, as due to your avatar, I thought Ishinabe would be your pick.
For myself, I think Ishinabe was a good chef, but not entirely credible for the show as a whole. Most of his battles took place when all of the Iron Chefs were "feeling out" the format and getting used to things, and he bailed after he lost his first and only battle (he never admitted that is why he left, but it seems pretty coincidental). That said, his cuisine was beautiful and very different from Sakai's style, and he seemed like a very approachable and nice guy.
I think if I had to pick a favorite, I would have to go with Michiba. His win/loss record was the best on the show, if you take Ishinabe's limited tenure out of the equation. His style was very "avant guarde" for a Japanese chef, and his skill was un-matched (in my opinion) when compared to his two successors. Granted, his last loss (his first and only overtime battle) was also a motivating factor into why he left the show, but generally speaking he took losing in stride. His loss to Artur Rutter (Bell Pepper, listed on Tetsujin's list) is one of the battles I remember better than most. The final capture of both chefs holding each other's hands high (like Nakamura did with Passard in IC World Cup '97) is an image that stays in the mind.
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Post by tetsujin070561 on Dec 22, 2016 1:29:54 GMT -5
Hmmm...interesting, as due to your avatar, I thought Ishinabe would be your pick. For myself, I think Ishinabe was a good chef, but not entirely credible for the show as a whole. Most of his battles took place when all of the Iron Chefs were "feeling out" the format and getting used to things, and he bailed after he lost his first and only battle (he never admitted that is why he left, but it seems pretty coincidental). That said, his cuisine was beautiful and very different from Sakai's style, and he seemed like a very approachable and nice guy. I think if I had to pick a favorite, I would have to go with Michiba. His win/loss record was the best on the show, if you take Ishinabe's limited tenure out of the equation. His style was very "avant guarde" for a Japanese chef, and his skill was un-matched (in my opinion) when compared to his two successors. Granted, his last loss (his first and only overtime battle) was also a motivating factor into why he left the show, but generally speaking he took losing in stride. His loss to Artur Rutter (Bell Pepper, listed on Tetsujin's list) is one of the battles I remember better than most. The final capture of both chefs holding each other's hands high (like Nakamura did with Passard in IC World Cup '97) is an image that stays in the mind. I think Mr. Ishinabe is a wonderful chef, but he only participated in seven individual battles. He has said that he retired from the show not because of a loss, but rather because he did not feel satisfied with the quality of what he could produce in a 60-minute cooking allotment. I suspect he also may have been a bit dismayed with the quality of some of the equipment there. He was said to be quite upset with the dull knives provided for his first battle, as at that time, both chefs had to use the equipment provided. For a noted perfectionist like Mr. Ishinabe, that might have seemed a compromise he wouldn't make. Mr. Michiba's cuisine was terrific, but I wouldn't consider him to be an innovator on the level of either of his two successors as Japanese Iron. Then again, he is famous in Japanese cuisine for using mayonnaise and innovative new dishes such as tuna ice cream. I think his cooking on IC was more oriented toward managing flavor profiles and balancing flavors and textures in a masterful way. Just my two cents, though...
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Post by ironnut77 on Dec 22, 2016 8:47:51 GMT -5
Well, to be fair, I have only (so far) seen Nakamura's cooking in his early battles (the ones on Food Network). I am watching the episodes in chronological order, in my spare time some days, and haven't reached Nakamura yet. I tried to do this before some years ago and fizzled out around the 1995 season. That said, my understanding from what I read was that Nakamura was the most "traditional" of the Japanese IC's, but please elaborate and "prep" me for when I see him later on. :-)
Morimoto's cuisine was what I consider "fusion," and not strictly Japanese...so yes he may be the most innovative of the three. But Michiba's was probably (from what I can tell) the most "flawless," if the term can be applied, in my opinion. He also is famous for having "no limits to ingredients" as his motto - his use of mayonnaise, foie gras, and other non-Japanese ingredients was pretty avant guarde for me.
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Post by tetsujin070561 on Jan 3, 2017 2:17:32 GMT -5
Well, to be fair, I have only (so far) seen Nakamura's cooking in his early battles (the ones on Food Network). I am watching the episodes in chronological order, in my spare time some days, and haven't reached Nakamura yet. I tried to do this before some years ago and fizzled out around the 1995 season. That said, my understanding from what I read was that Nakamura was the most "traditional" of the Japanese IC's, but please elaborate and "prep" me for when I see him later on. :-) Morimoto's cuisine was what I consider "fusion," and not strictly Japanese...so yes he may be the most innovative of the three. But Michiba's was probably (from what I can tell) the most "flawless," if the term can be applied, in my opinion. He also is famous for having "no limits to ingredients" as his motto - his use of mayonnaise, foie gras, and other non-Japanese ingredients was pretty avant guarde for me. Well, you can check these battles: foie gras, egg, udon, summer oyster, beef tongue, natto, wakame and egg again. They featured some fascinating dishes by Mr. Nakamura; don't worry, you'll recognize them when you see them being made. I have a fantastic cookbook of his (in Japanese). I'll try to take some photos of it to post here so you can see what he was making after his exit from the tetsujin dais.
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Post by ironnut77 on Jan 3, 2017 9:15:47 GMT -5
I've seen Battle Foie Gras - 'twas his debut. As I recall, the judges took issue with Nakamura trying to push the line too hard on his debut, trying to be too fancy and using too many high-cost ingredients to impress. That said, his dishes in that battle did look divine (I say this, having never had soft roe).
I look forward to seeing him in action as I am committed to completing the show in order, regardless of the pace. Presently, that pace is rather sluggard. I am up to Battle Sea Bass, the first tag-team battle from 1994.
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Post by tetsujin070561 on Jan 4, 2017 18:32:03 GMT -5
I've seen Battle Foie Gras - 'twas his debut. As I recall, the judges took issue with Nakamura trying to push the line too hard on his debut, trying to be too fancy and using too many high-cost ingredients to impress. That said, his dishes in that battle did look divine (I say this, having never had soft roe). I look forward to seeing him in action as I am committed to completing the show in order, regardless of the pace. Presently, that pace is rather sluggard. I am up to Battle Sea Bass, the first tag-team battle from 1994. I think that was a criticism of Mr. Nakamura's efforts later in his tenure as a tetsujin, but not in his debut. In particular, that refers to his first Battle Egg.
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Post by ironnut77 on Jan 4, 2017 19:09:15 GMT -5
I clearly remember one of the judges commenting on him trying too hard out of the gate, but I'd have to watch it again to be sure. :-)
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