Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 27, 2023 21:06:02 GMT -5
Iron Chef Mexico and Iron Chef Brazil are both available on Netflix. Here, I'll review Iron Chef Mexico as I'm watching it.
The show borrows heavily from the style of "Quest for an Iron Legend," and even has much of the same format; only there are three Iron Chefs instead of five:
Chairman Mark even makes a surprise appearance in the beginning, speaking Spanish to pass the torch to his (in-kayfabe) nephew ("El Presidente de Iron Chef"), Salvador Lam Chang. His role is, as was Chairman Mark's before him, largely ceremonial. He doesn't really add very much, his mannerisms are rather cringeworthy at times, and he doesn't seem to have the same gravitas that Chairman Mark does...but then, I suppose Chairman Mark (never mind Chairman Kaga) would always be a tough act to follow. However, he does participate in the tasting, which is a touch that I think actually makes sense. While I don't like his stiffly scripted interjections ("It's time to taste the next dish from the challenger"), it's a bit necessary for what happens during the tasting, as we'll see below.
The show brings back the secret ingredient altar, but is otherwise very similar (if not outright identical) to Quest for an Iron Legend in format and in presentation. The grand prize (for beating all three Iron Chefs at once) is an actual katana.
Poncho Cadena and Paty Cantu are the Alton and Kristin of this rendition, with Xanic Zondowicz as a sort of Ohta figure. I get the feeling the commentary is not done live to tape. We do get to hear a bit more interaction amongst the chefs and their assistants, though, which is interesting, but the consequence of this feeling is that the commentary sounds stilted, scripted, and forced. A lot of the rhythm of an Iron Chef battle lives and dies with the commentary, and in this version...it unfortunately dies, even in the midst of all the soccer references.
There's also a part of me that doesn't like the interviews with the chefs while on the floor; it seems like it's costing the team valuable time...but then, even the original show did that at first.
I like the balance of the judging panel, however; two professionals (one of whom is a chef himself) and a non-culinary figure (which, in true Mexico fashion, is a lucha libre wrestler--which provides a bit of a funny moment in the first episode when they realize he has to take off his mask to taste the dishes, something a luchador is never allowed to do).
In a break from the usual format, each chef alternates presenting dishes. I don't know that I like this approach, although in the case of the first episode, the dishes were so similar that it served as a point of comparison for each dish.
Overall...if it's your first outing with Iron Chef, it's probably not a bad way to spend an hour. But for those of us who knew the original and even Iron Chef America, it's a bit of a letdown.
The show borrows heavily from the style of "Quest for an Iron Legend," and even has much of the same format; only there are three Iron Chefs instead of five:
- Francisco "Paco" Ruano, owner-chef of Alcalde in Guadalajara
- Gabriela Ruiz, owner-chef of Carmela & Sal in Mexico City
- Roberto Solis, founder of Nectar in Merida
Chairman Mark even makes a surprise appearance in the beginning, speaking Spanish to pass the torch to his (in-kayfabe) nephew ("El Presidente de Iron Chef"), Salvador Lam Chang. His role is, as was Chairman Mark's before him, largely ceremonial. He doesn't really add very much, his mannerisms are rather cringeworthy at times, and he doesn't seem to have the same gravitas that Chairman Mark does...but then, I suppose Chairman Mark (never mind Chairman Kaga) would always be a tough act to follow. However, he does participate in the tasting, which is a touch that I think actually makes sense. While I don't like his stiffly scripted interjections ("It's time to taste the next dish from the challenger"), it's a bit necessary for what happens during the tasting, as we'll see below.
The show brings back the secret ingredient altar, but is otherwise very similar (if not outright identical) to Quest for an Iron Legend in format and in presentation. The grand prize (for beating all three Iron Chefs at once) is an actual katana.
Poncho Cadena and Paty Cantu are the Alton and Kristin of this rendition, with Xanic Zondowicz as a sort of Ohta figure. I get the feeling the commentary is not done live to tape. We do get to hear a bit more interaction amongst the chefs and their assistants, though, which is interesting, but the consequence of this feeling is that the commentary sounds stilted, scripted, and forced. A lot of the rhythm of an Iron Chef battle lives and dies with the commentary, and in this version...it unfortunately dies, even in the midst of all the soccer references.
There's also a part of me that doesn't like the interviews with the chefs while on the floor; it seems like it's costing the team valuable time...but then, even the original show did that at first.
I like the balance of the judging panel, however; two professionals (one of whom is a chef himself) and a non-culinary figure (which, in true Mexico fashion, is a lucha libre wrestler--which provides a bit of a funny moment in the first episode when they realize he has to take off his mask to taste the dishes, something a luchador is never allowed to do).
In a break from the usual format, each chef alternates presenting dishes. I don't know that I like this approach, although in the case of the first episode, the dishes were so similar that it served as a point of comparison for each dish.
Overall...if it's your first outing with Iron Chef, it's probably not a bad way to spend an hour. But for those of us who knew the original and even Iron Chef America, it's a bit of a letdown.