Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 7, 2023 22:39:45 GMT -5
As Iron Chef Brazil is also available on Netflix, I thought I'd post my thoughts about it here.
The format of the show is virtually identical to that of the other Netflix series, with a couple of key differences: there is no Chairman character, instead two co-presenters: Fernanda Souza and Andressa Cabral. They also serve as the commentators for the battles, although calling them true commentators would be generous--more on that later.
The challengers are all present for all the episodes, watching from a "locker room" that was heavily inspired by a soccer team's locker room. Sometimes, they are seen watching the battle and injecting comments throughout.
The two regular judges are Rosa Moraes and Laurent Suaudeau.
I don't have any problems with the selection of the chefs involved, although it's interesting that they decided to employ a different Iron Chef for each episode until the finale. It's a little overkill, and kind of dilutes the title of Iron Chef in my opinion. The biggest problem I have with the whole show? There is no sense of how the dishes came together, what ingredients were used, or any semblance of construction of the dish. One moment there's a bunch of gratuitous shots of people cooking, the commentators talk about how the sous chefs know the main chefs, they perhaps react to things going on in the kitchen, the countdown and urgency to finish everything on time takes precedence over any commentary in the final seconds...and then, as if by magic, the finished products appear. The actual cooking battle commentary consists of actually hearing the chefs, but virtually nothing about their creative process from them or the commentators. And there's no Ohta character to keep the viewer updated about how the dishes are coming together.
Funnily enough, I actually find myself watching this version more than Mexico's version...although to say one is vastly better than the other is not really saying much. Both are a pretty resounding "meh."
The format of the show is virtually identical to that of the other Netflix series, with a couple of key differences: there is no Chairman character, instead two co-presenters: Fernanda Souza and Andressa Cabral. They also serve as the commentators for the battles, although calling them true commentators would be generous--more on that later.
The challengers are all present for all the episodes, watching from a "locker room" that was heavily inspired by a soccer team's locker room. Sometimes, they are seen watching the battle and injecting comments throughout.
The two regular judges are Rosa Moraes and Laurent Suaudeau.
I don't have any problems with the selection of the chefs involved, although it's interesting that they decided to employ a different Iron Chef for each episode until the finale. It's a little overkill, and kind of dilutes the title of Iron Chef in my opinion. The biggest problem I have with the whole show? There is no sense of how the dishes came together, what ingredients were used, or any semblance of construction of the dish. One moment there's a bunch of gratuitous shots of people cooking, the commentators talk about how the sous chefs know the main chefs, they perhaps react to things going on in the kitchen, the countdown and urgency to finish everything on time takes precedence over any commentary in the final seconds...and then, as if by magic, the finished products appear. The actual cooking battle commentary consists of actually hearing the chefs, but virtually nothing about their creative process from them or the commentators. And there's no Ohta character to keep the viewer updated about how the dishes are coming together.
Funnily enough, I actually find myself watching this version more than Mexico's version...although to say one is vastly better than the other is not really saying much. Both are a pretty resounding "meh."