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==Format== {{see also|List of Iron Chef America episodes}} After the active Iron Chefs are introduced by Alton Brown, the challenger chef is introduced. The Iron Chef introduction sequence is sometimes skipped in the holiday shows and other specials. In the first two seasons, the chairman announced the challenger's Iron Chef opponent. Starting with Season 3, the show returned to the format of its predecessor, where the challenger chef selects the Iron Chef they will battle. In reality, the match-ups are determined well in advance in all three incarnations of the show, which is not to say that the challengers have no influence on the selection of their opponent. An ingredient or group of ingredients (referred to as the "secret ingredient(s)") is revealed, and the cooking begins. On occasion, the ingredients are actually a 'theme meal;' for example, eggs, bacon, potatoes, etc. are revealed and thus the "secret ingredient" is breakfast. Just as with the original ''Iron Chef'', the "secret" ingredient is not truly secret. Both the competitor and the Iron Chef are given a list of three to five ingredients before the battle, of which one will be the secret ingredient.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fashingbauer Cooper |first1=Gael |first2=Andy |last2=Dehnart |title='Iron Chef' ingredients aren't so secret |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/iron-chef-ingredients-aren-t-so-secret-wbna8717337 |publisher=Today.com |date=2005-08-30 |access-date=2007-11-19}}</ref> Unlike ''Iron Chef'', where chefs had roughly 5 minutes to discuss their strategy before the battle begins, the revelation of the theme ingredient occurs 45 minutes before the start of the battle. However, this segment is not shown on television, and it is a common assumption that the battle starts immediately after the secret ingredient is revealed. This practice was described on an episode of ''[[Unwrapped]]''. The chairman announces the start of each battle with: : "So now America, with an open heart and empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of [[Takeshi Kaga|my uncle]]: 'Allez cuisine!'"<ref>{{cite web |last=Podell |first=Corey |url=http://www.laist.com/2007/09/13/laist_interview_35.php |title=LAist Interview: Iron Chef America's Chairman, Mark Dacascos |publisher=Laist.com |date=2007-09-13 |access-date=2010-09-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807085232/http://laist.com/2007/09/13/laist_interview_35.php |archive-date=2011-08-07 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.mediavillage.com/jmentr/2006/11/27/Jacki-IronChef-11-27-06/ "Jacki Garfinkel, Iron Chef America: Secrets of Kitchen Stadium" mediavillage.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415080422/http://www.mediavillage.com/jmentr/2006/11/27/Jacki-IronChef-11-27-06/ |date=April 15, 2008 }}</ref> {{quote box|width=23em|"There's the Chairman's familiar ''"Allez Cuisine!"'' the French phrase that calls the Iron Chefs to culinary battle."|βAlton Brown (Flay v. Tsai)}} ''"Allez cuisine!"'' (loosely translated as "Go cook!" or "Start cooking!") is the phrase that started battles in the original Japanese series (hence the reference to his uncle, Chairman Kaga). On ''Iron Chef America'', both the challenger and the Iron Chef have 60 minutes to prepare a minimum of five dishes based on a theme ingredient. Starting with Season 11 (2012β13), the first course is due to the judges 20 minutes after the start. After that point, a "culinary curveball" is announced by the chairman. It can be an ingredient, piece of equipment, or plating device. Each chef is required to integrate the item into at least one of their remaining dishes, and receives scoring from the judges based on their use. After the first commercial break, Brown typically asks Kevin Brauch to introduce the judges. Generally, Kevin pays homage to the program's origins by adding, ''Konban Wa'' (Japanese for "Good evening") to his introduction. Unlike the original series, none of the judges participate in the running commentary, although Brown or Brauch visit with them roughly mid-battle for their comments on the ongoing action and the secret ingredient. Over the course of the cooking hour, Brown may also provide further information on the theme ingredient, using visual aids as required. The dishes are tasted by the chairman and a panel of three judges, two of whom are professional food critics (a contrast to the original ''Iron Chef'', which typically had one professional food critic as a judge). Like the original ''Iron Chef'', each chef can be awarded up to 20 points by each judge; consisting of ten points for taste, five for plating (the appearance or presentation of the dishes), and five for originality. The rules are explained by Kevin Brauch before judging. The chef with the higher score is declared the winner. If there is a tie, it remains as the final result, unlike ''Iron Chef'', where an overtime battle was immediately called with a new theme ingredient; however, if the overtime battle also resulted in a tie, that would be the final result. (Also in contrast with the original, the final scores are subdivided by category, rather than by individual judge.) Starting with Season 11 (2012β2013), an additional ten points per judge is also available: up to five points for the first dish presentation, and up to five points for the use of the "culinary curveball". The scoring for the first dish is revealed shortly after the dishes are presented to and tasted by the judges, and the total score (including the "culinary curveball" points) is reserved for the judgment and revelation of the winner. ''Iron Chef America'' is not affiliated with any culinary institution, unlike ''Iron Chef'', which was associated with [[Hattori Nutrition College]]. Chefs also bring in their own [[sous-chef]]s. Like ''Iron Chef'', each chef is allowed two sous-chefs. In tag-team or two-on-one battles, both chefs on one side each bring one sous-chef. On the original ''Iron Chef'', early episodes had two chefs without sous-chefs, while later episodes had two chefs and one sous-chef per side. The sous-chefs employed by the Iron Chefs are as follows: * Batali β [[Anne Burrell]] and [[Mark Ladner]] * Cora β Lorilynn Bauer, David Schimmel, Ed Cotton, [[Richard Blais]] (other sous-chefs have been employed on occasion) * Flay β Flay employs a rotating staff of sous-chefs from his restaurants * Morimoto β Ariki Omae, Makoto Okuwa, and Jamison Blankenship (other sous-chefs have been employed on occasion) * Symon β Cory Barrett and Derek Clayton * Garces β Dave Conn, MacGregor Mann, Jessica Mogardo * Forgione β rotating staff of sous-chefs from Forgione's restaurants * Zakarian β Paul Corsentino, Eric Haugen, [[Alex Guarnaschelli]] (before her promotion to Iron Chef) * Guarnaschelli β Ashley Merriman and Wirt Cook All of the sous-chefs for both the Iron Chef and challenger are informally introduced at some point in the contest, unlike the original ''Iron Chef.'' Sous-chefs have occasionally entered into battle against Iron Chefs, including the Iron Chef under whom they worked. The rules in ''Iron Chef America'' are thought to favor the Iron Chef less {{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} than the original program, however, some challengers have noted favoritism in the selection of theme ingredients.<ref name="kelly2007">{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Kelly |author-link=Peter X. Kelly |first2=Tedd |last2=Mann |title=Diary of an Iron Chef: How Peter Kelly beat celebrity chef Bobby Flay at his own game, the grill |url=http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070528/CUSTOM04/70523008 |publisher=MSNBC |date=2007-05-28 |access-date=2007-11-19}}</ref> On ''Iron Chef'', the Iron Chef's food was always tasted second, while on ''Iron Chef America'', the chef whose food is tasted first is determined by toss of coin before the show (Flay allowed his competitor to pick).<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Iron Chef Behind the Battle, episode 3: Bobby Flay Battle}}</ref> Since the tasting and judgment take upwards of 45 minutes to complete (although it is edited down in post-production), the chef serving second is allowed to reheat his or her dishes, as was allowed on ''Iron Chef''. Several of the secrets to how the show is taped were revealed in an episode of ''Unwrapped'' entitled "Food Network Unwrapped 2." It was stated that the chefs find out what the secret ingredient is about 15 minutes before the battle begins because the opening sequence is recorded many times. It is only the final taping of this sequence where the words ''"Allez cuisine!"'' are said and the battle begins. Moreover, at the end of the one-hour battle, the chefs must still prepare four plates of each of their five dishes for the judges and the chairman. This is done during a 45-minute period after the battle ends and before tasting begins. They consider this to be part of the competition, and it is timed, but it is not recorded or shown to the viewers. The plates which the audience sees prepared during the one-hour battle are the plates used to obtain close-up footage of the dish for use in the final episode. Usually, on taping days, two different battles will be taped, one beginning at about 10 a.m. and the second at about 4 p.m. A Food Network crew has about 90 minutes between each show to clean the set and prepare for the second show. Chefs provide the producers with shopping lists for each of the possible secret ingredients. Consequently, they can surmise what the secret ingredient will be just before it is officially revealed, based on which of their items were purchased.<ref name="kelly2007"/> ===Special battles=== ICA will occasionally stage special themed battles, generally during the holiday period. The first of these was held on November 12, 2006. A special 90-minute episode of ''Iron Chef America'' pitted two guest Food Network personalities, [[Giada De Laurentiis]] and [[Rachael Ray]], the latter of whom does not consider herself a chef due to lack of formal training, against each other after they each received tips and training from Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Mario Batali, respectively. While the early part of the episode made it appear as though it would be a head-to-head battle, the chairman announced just prior to the secret ingredient reveal that it would in fact be a tag-team battle, with each of the women joined by the Iron Chef who trained her. The secret ingredient for the special was [[Cranberry|cranberries]]. The expanded timeframe allowed for longer cuts of the competition hour and the tasting segments to be presented, and the show as a whole had a more laid-back feel than regular ICA episodes. Plenty of joking and good-natured ribbing took place on both sides of the kitchen, such as Batali's effort to "bribe" the judges with cranberry [[Bellini (cocktail)|bellini]] cocktails. The battle was won by Iron Chef Batali and guest chef Ray. A second special holiday episode premiered on Sunday, November 25, 2007. This special, titled ''Iron Chef America: All Star Holiday Dessert Battle'', paired Iron Chef Cat Cora and popular Food Network personality [[Paula Deen]] against fellow Food Network chefs [[Tyler Florence]] and [[Robert Irvine]], with [[sugar]] as the secret ingredient. While this special was the usual 60-minutes in length, the tone was similar to the previous ICA special, with much "smack talking" and teasing among the four chefs. Iron Chef Cora and guest chef Deen's team emerged victorious. On October 26, 2008, a Halloween battle took place between Iron Chef Michael Symon and former Next Iron Chef competitor Chris Cosentino. The theme ingredient was [[offal]] (organ meats, pig trotters, coxcombs, etc.), an ingredient with which each of the chefs is known to cook routinely. Igor and the Monster from the Broadway production of ''Young Frankenstein'' also made a special appearance, assisting with the presentation of the secret ingredient. The victory went to Iron Chef Symon. A 90-minute "Thanksgiving Showdown" premiered on November 16, 2008. The secret ingredients were foods that might have been used at the first Thanksgiving feast: duck, lobster, heritage turkey, venison, leeks and walnuts. This battle marked the first time in ICA history that the American Iron Chefs competed against each other, with the team of Bobby Flay and Michael Symon battling against Cat Cora and Masaharu Morimoto. There were two floor reporters for this special: regular floor reporter Kevin Brauch covered Flay and Symon while ICA judge [[Ted Allen]] covered Cora and Morimoto. In addition, Mark Ecko appeared early in the episode to present the new Iron Chef jackets and describe the design process. Iron Chefs Flay and Symon defeated Iron Chefs Cora and Morimoto by one point. First Lady Michelle Obama's White House Kitchen Garden was featured in a new special episode on January 3, 2010. The episode, called "The Super Chef Battle", featured Iron Chef Mario Batali and Super Chef Emeril Lagasse against Iron Chef Bobby Flay and White House Executive Chef [[Cristeta Comerford]] in a battle that required the chefs to create an American meal, with the produce from the White House garden as the secret ingredient. [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Michelle Obama]] made a special appearance, welcoming the chefs to the White House, and announcing the secret ingredient.<ref>{{cite web|first=Rene |last=Lynch |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2009/11/michelle-obamas-white-house-garden-is-having-quite-a-week--the-garden-played-astarring-role-in-tuesday-nights-episode-of-the.html |title=Michelle Obama welcomes 'Iron Chef America' | Daily Dish |publisher=Latimesblogs.latimes.com |date=2009-11-04 |access-date=2010-09-23}}</ref> This battle was also notable as the first for which the chairman was not present in Kitchen Stadium. Although the chairman appeared on video, and presented a supplemental range of sustainable foods to be used in the battle, it fell to announcer Alton Brown to start the battle with the traditional ''"Allez cuisine!"'' This battle was also the first that carried a prize: $25,000 was donated to City Meals, a New York charity similar to [[Meals on Wheels]] in the names of the winning team. Iron Chef Flay and Chef Comerford defeated Iron Chefs Batali and Lagasse. On January 2, 2011, "Battle Deep Freeze" aired. The show featured Iron Chef [[Michael Symon]] and Chef [[Anne Burrell]] facing off against Iron Chef [[Cat Cora]] and Chef [[Robert Irvine]]. There was no formal secret ingredient, just the theme "deep freeze." The chefs had to prepare 5 dishes, each with a frozen component, on the following five themes: Fruits and Vegetables, Meat, Aromatics, Seafood, and Alcohol. The dishes were either served in or accented by ice carvings. ===Greatest moments=== On November 16, 2008, the Food Network preceded its "Thanksgiving Showdown" ICA special with a half-hour retrospective of the 10 best ICA moments. In the program, the chairman presents each moment, followed by a female voice-over narration describing the challenge the Iron Chefs face, including live fish, big ingredients, time, the ice cream machine and unorthodox cooking methods. The introduction is followed by a clip of each moment interspersed with comments by the Iron Chefs and ICA judges. {| class="wikitable" style="float:left; margin:auto;" |- ! scope="col" | Number ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Battle ! scope="col" | Competitors ! scope="col" | Moment |- ! scope="rowl" | 1 |It's Alive! |[[Cobia]] |Mario Batali v. [[Jamie Oliver]] |Sous chef [[Gennaro Contaldo]]'s distraction antics |- ! scope="rowl" | 2 |Sugar Smack |Sugar |Cat Cora/[[Paula Deen]] v. [[Tyler Florence]]/[[Robert Irvine]] |Paula Deen's verbal warfare |- ! scope="rowl" | 3 |The Bird is the Word |Garlic |Mario Batali v. [[Chris Cosentino]] |Chef Cosentino presents squab brains and talons. |- ! scope="rowl" | 4 |Better Dining Through Science |Beets |Masaharu Morimoto v. [[Homaro Cantu]] |In an upset, the molecular gastronomists take the battle. |- ! scope="rowl" | 5 |Trout in the Machine |Trout |Bobby Flay v. [[Hiroyuki Sakai]] |The infamous trout ice cream |- ! scope="rowl" | 6 |Edible Art |Asparagus |Masaharu Morimoto v. Michael Symon |Morimoto's "stained glass" sushi |- ! scope="rowl" | 7 |I Fought the Clock and the Clock Won |Scallops |Masaharu Morimoto v. [[Roberto Donna]] |Donna fails to complete his five dishes. |- ! scope="rowl" | 8 |The Wheel's on Fire |[[Parmigiano Reggiano]] |Mario Batali v. [[Andrew Carmellini]] |Batali's Parmesan bowl filled with flaming [[grappa]] |- ! scope="rowl" | 9 |Smokin' Hot |[[Chili pepper|Chiles]] |Masaharu Morimoto v. [[Tim Love]] |Morimoto struggles with an unfamiliar ingredient: a [[jalapeΓ±o]] chile. |- ! scope="rowl" | 10 |Size Matters |[[Elk]] |Bobby Flay v. [[Kent Rathbun|Kent]] and [[Kevin Rathbun]] |The chefs battle each other and the largest secret ingredient ever. |} {{Clear}}
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