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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 18, 2018 0:18:45 GMT -5
Something just occurred to me. I had my copy of the official Iron Chef book out and I took a look at the title page for the Gourmet Academy, and here's the passage:
"If memory serves me right, the great chef Bechamel served in the court of France's Louis XIV. He created the famous Bechamel sauce at Louis's banquet and was said to have greatly impressed the king. At around the same time, there was a chef in China by the name of Enbai. Enbai created the basis of Chinese cuisine within the grounds of Zuien, where it is said that over 300 ingredients, with the exception of tofu and pork, could be found. And in Japan, we had the great Rosanjin Kitaoji. I dream of meeting these legendary chefs one day. In order to realize this dream, even if just a little bit, I came up with the following rules of battle for my Gourmet Academy."
Certainly, I pick up on bits and parts of the above text contained within Kaga's monologue at the beginning. And then, in the bit after the famous pepper chomp but before the preliminary battle, there are lines that may match up with this bit of text:
"The basic belief of the Gourmet Academy is that 'Love is not what makes a great dish; it is the technique and artistry involved.' Every week, a chef will challenge one of the three Iron Chefs to a culinary battle. Should a chef beat the Iron Chef in the preliminary battle, he or she shall be permitted a second battle, and should he or she win this battle as well, he or she will be awarded the honorary title of Iron Chef."
Of course, we now know that the Iron Chefs never took part in the preliminary battles, so some of the last sentence doesn't hold up, but I think the bit about the honorary title of Iron Chef certainly does, given what it says.
Did the official book hold the lines to the first episode this whole time?
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 13, 2018 9:11:55 GMT -5
Were there any battles that you remember watching and thinking, "The wrong chef won this battle?" Like, the judges were making positive comments about one chef's dishes, but not the other's, and the other chef still won?
For me, the only glaring example is Battle Chicken (Borie vs. Ishinabe), because it seemed as though they were basing their reasoning behind backing Borie on the truffle soup...which didn't actually have any chicken in it.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 11, 2018 17:47:02 GMT -5
By the way...I took a stab at the first line and this is what resulted, with some artistic liberties taken:
"If memory serves me right, there was a genius chef in France, Bechamel, who worked under Louis XIV. At a banquet, Bechamel developed a mushroom sauce, complemented by stir-fried butter and milk. They called it "Bechamel sauce," and they say it became widespread during the time of Louis XIV."
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 9, 2018 20:39:02 GMT -5
I wish I knew enough Japanese to help out! I know some, but not enough to do it on my own.
Maybe between your text translating app and my editing, we could put something together?
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 4, 2018 15:11:04 GMT -5
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 28, 2018 1:28:32 GMT -5
Check this out! Earlier this month, there was apparently a cast reunion to commemorate the show's 25th anniversary. In addition to the Iron Chefs (except Morimoto, who's probably busy here in the US, and Ishinabe, who probably had his reasons), also in attendance were Fukui, Hattori, Ohta, and about 100 past challengers--Kandagawa chief among them. Chairman Kaga apparently delivered a pre-taped video message, as well, according to this other article.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 22, 2018 12:22:16 GMT -5
Wow! Thank you for solving this long-awaited mystery!
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Post by okonomiyagi on Jul 26, 2017 7:58:34 GMT -5
Kinda sobering when they say that this is the "first and last event in which 86 year old Michiba cooks outside of Japan."
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Post by okonomiyagi on May 23, 2017 15:13:38 GMT -5
The final seems to go against the entire spirit of the whole series. Three battles against each of the Iron Chefs, yes, but c'mon, the final decision was based on aggregate score? I thought the whole point of the "Gauntlet" was that you had to win every time.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Apr 17, 2017 23:20:23 GMT -5
Now that the first episode has come and gone, what did everyone think of the new format?
Pros:
[/font][li] Alton as Chairman was a smart move, and he's a different flavor of Chairman than any other we've had so far. And I like him. Liked that they came up with a silly reason for Chairman Mark to step down, even if it didn't really amount to much.[/li][li] The format of the first episode is slightly reminiscent of the earliest Japanese episodes, with the preliminary battles.[/li][li] It's clear they've picked some extremely talented challengers.[/li]
[/ul] Cons:
- The whole show feels like a giant clone of Top Chef--a shame to see our beloved pioneer culinary competition stoop so low, to feel like just another one of them. Iron Chef stood above everyone else because it had spectacle, it had drama, and it knew when not to take itself too seriously. This...doesn't.
- The titular "Gauntlet" was totally lost on me. What part of this show is a gauntlet and not some other generic competition show, I don't quite yet know...because it wasn't really communicated very well, if at all.
- The show feels too much "all business" like most culinary competitions these days.
- That whole "Legend of Iron Chef" thing they had in the hour preceding the Gauntlet totally disrespected the history of the show. (Plus if you're going to talk about the greatest wins in the history of the show, and you give the #1 slot all of about 20 seconds...c'mon.)
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Post by okonomiyagi on Mar 3, 2017 9:00:40 GMT -5
From The Futon Critic (emphasis mine):
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 14, 2017 23:28:37 GMT -5
Jeez, this is hard. Off the top of my head, let's just see what I'd pick if special battles weren't considered, in no particular order:
Battle Potato: Kobayashi vs. Chen Battle Yogurt: Itoh vs. Chen (if for Chen's facial expressions alone) Battle Sushi: Nakazawa vs. Morimoto Battle Black Pork: Makio vs. Sakai (the backstory!) Battle Foie Gras and Battle Asparagus (OT): Corby vs. Chen Battle Pork: Shu Tomitoku vs. Michiba Battle Octopus: Ohta vs. Sakai
And then, of the special battles:
King of Iron Chefs Final: Sakai vs. Chen (Battle Lobster) New Year's Special: Michiba vs. Nakamura Both 21st Century Battles
I really need to go back and watch some of these.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Oct 1, 2015 7:23:47 GMT -5
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 14, 2015 1:42:02 GMT -5
Michael Nyman - Prospero's Books - Prospero's Magic
Plays during preliminary battles, in the brief time the show still had them.
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Post by okonomiyagi on Feb 12, 2015 13:47:08 GMT -5
Super Atragon Metal Pulse - Theme of UN Forces
This track served two purposes: a run-up cue during the previews of several special matches and Sakai's entrance cue for the King of Iron Chefs Tournament (in the dub).
Michael Nyman - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover - Memorial
A long one, but a good one that got a lot of mileage on Ryori no Tetsujin. You can especially hear this one in a lot of the early episodes (particularly those featuring Shu Tomitoku and Toshiro Kandagawa).
Michael Nyman - A Zed and Two Noughts - Car Crash
Another one from challenger introductions--I think I remember hearing this one in Hounges vs. Nakamura (Battle Caviar).
Michael Nyman - A Zed and Two Noughts - Prawn Watching
Another one from challenger introductions, though I can't remember where I heard this one.
Michael Nyman - A Zed and Two Noughts - Delft Waltz
This one I can place: Battle Cheese, Otakura vs. Michiba. It's the first piece of music you hear in that episode.
Michael Nyman - A Zed and Two Noughts - Up For Crabs
Challenger intro from some of the earlier episodes.
I'm trying to find the cue that played during the preliminary matches, as I'm almost positive that it's a Nyman tune as well.
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