Allez cuisine!

Oh, yes - it's the return of Iron Chef! After an abortive attempt to transplant this Japanese television phenomenon to the UPN network last year (starring William Shatner as the Chairman - the show's emcee - the only bold move the producers took), the Food Network decided that they'd take the daunting task upon themselves this time, and boy o boy, did they ever deliver! Iron Chef America, which made its network debut last night, is as authentic a counterpart to the original show as could be attempted here in the States. Instead of shooting for parody, as the UPN version did, the Food Network incarnation understood the real reason why people kept tuning into this show - both here and in Japan - after the initial "hee hee" factor of laughing at the premise and the sometimes-cheesy production values wore off: a passion about food that is down obsessive. To that end they hired Alton Brown, a.k.a. The Biggest Food Geek In The World, to call the play-by-play, and I'll be damned if he doesn't give an informative and enthusiastic color commentary just as well as the original show's Dr. Hattori did. The only thing about Iron Chef America that falls a little short is the choice the Food Network made for the part of the Chairman - although in a nod to continuity they actually selected the original actor's nephew to play the part, he comes off as somewhat of a dead fish on camera. Too bad they couldn't land Shatner!

For the inaugural series of what I hope will become a regular feature on the Food Network, the American Iron Chefs are taking on two of the original Iron Chefs in a round-robin tournament of sorts. Last night's duel - between Iron Chef French Sakai and Food Network favorite Bobby Flay, with trout as the secret ingredient - went to the American, although from what I could see of the cooking, the presentation, and reactions of the tasters it really should have been Sakai's victory (raw trout gelato! Come on! How do you beat that?). I guess the old "home kitchen" advantage that awarded virtually every battle that was too close to call to the Iron Chef might be at work here in America as well! At any rate, we'll see how tonight's match goes. Iron Chef Japanese Morimoto versus Mario Batale? This one might not be so close.