Iron Chef America

I am a big fan Iron Chef America on the Food Network. 

If you've seen it, you know why. It's fast-paced and fun to watch the chefs create what looks like great food. It's also a challenge, so you find yourself hoping one chef takes the prize over the other. If you haven't seen it, I'll briefly explain what it's all about.  It's a 60 minute food challenge where 2 chefs go head-to-head to make 5 dishes in 60 minutes, all which showcase one specific ingredient.  At the beginning of the show, they announce the 'secret' ingredient and the chefs quickly get to work. However, I've heard that they do tell the chefs 3 possible ingredients before the show so they can somewhat prepare.  Once the ingredient is announced (such as: squash, ricotta, potato, beef, fish, asparagus....), it's a fast 60 minutes of great cooking.  It's always one Iron Chef (there are 6 of them, as pictured above) vs. the Challenger (top chefs from around the country). Each chef has 2 sioux chefs helping them out.

I really enjoy watching them at work, chopping, frying, blending...all with the announcer announcing (cause that's what an announcer does) what is taking place to us, the audience.  I like all parts of the show --- watching them cook and watching the judges taste the food, and hearing who wins the battle, as they call it.  I don't love Iron Chef Mario Batali.  Cat Cora and Bobby Flay are my favorites to watch.

After the 60 minutes, the chefs have 5 dishes plated and ready to be tasted.  The 3 judges taste each of the 5 dishes and give immediate feedback to the chef....then they fill out a scorecard and a winner is crowned -- based on points given for taste, plating and originality.  Most of the dishes are usually beautifully plated and look delicious.  Yes, the show makes me hungry. 

You can read more about the show here: Wikipedia: Iron Chef.   Check it out if you've never seen it before!