The Next Iron Chef

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The Next Iron Chef
Who will climb the ranks to culinary greatness?
Format	Reality, Cooking
Starring	Alton Brown Mark Dacascos
Judges	Michael Ruhlman Andrew Knowlton Donatella Arpaia
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Location(s)	New York City Munich, Germany Paris, France
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Food Network
Original run	October 7, 2007 – November 11, 2007
Chronology
Related shows	Iron Chef America
External links
Official website
TV.com summary

The Next Iron Chef, a limited-run series on the Food Network, was a spin-off of Iron Chef America. Eight chefs from around the United States battled to be the next Iron Chef. The show debuted Sunday, October 7, 2007. Challenges one through five of the competition were held at the Culinary Institute of America. Challenges six and seven occurred in Munich, Germany and Paris, France respectively. The eighth and final challenge took place at the Food Network studios in New York City. The hosts were Alton Brown and "The Chairman", actor Mark Dacascos. The competition was held to decide who will replace a departing Iron Chef.^[1] The winner of The Next Iron Chef was chef Michael Symon.

1 Judges
2 Contestants
3 Contestant progress
4 Results
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Judges

The contest was judged by food writer Michael Ruhlman, Bon Appétit restaurant editor Andrew Knowlton, and restaurateur Donatella Arpaia.^[2]

[edit] Contestants

John Besh (New Orleans, LA) who beat Mario Batali in battle Andouille in Season 3.
Chris Cosentino (San Francisco, CA) who lost to Mario Batali in battle garlic, in Season 4.
Jill Davie (Santa Monica, CA) executive chef of Josie in California.
Traci Des Jardins (San Francisco, CA) who beat Mario Batali in battle shrimp in Season 2.
Gavin Kaysen (San Diego, CA) chef de cuisine of El Bizcocho at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in California.
Morou Ouattara (Washington, D.C.) who lost to Bobby Flay in battle Frozen Peas in Season 3.
Aarón Sanchez (New York, NY) who tied Masaharu Morimoto in battle Black Bass in Season 2.
Michael Symon (Cleveland, OH) who lost to Masaharu Morimoto in battle Asparagus on Season 2.

[edit] Contestant progress

Episode	1	2	3	4	5	6	Comments
Challenge	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Michael Symon	IN	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	WIN	The Next Iron Chef!
John Besh	IN	WIN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	OUT	Elimin: Attain Greatness
Chris Cosentino	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	OUT		Elimin: Lead and Inspire
Aarón Sanchez	WIN	IN	IN	IN	IN	OUT			Elimin: Pressure
Gavin Kaysen	IN	IN	IN	IN	OUT				Elimin: Resourcefulness
Morou Ouattara	IN	IN	IN	IN	OUT				Elimin: Resourcefulness
Jill Davie	IN	IN	IN	OUT					Elimin: Simplicity & Innovation
Traci Des Jardins	IN	OUT							Elimin: Speed & Artistry

(WIN) The chef won the series

(WIN) The chef won the challenge.

(OUT) The chef lost that week's Elimination Challenge and was out of the competition.

[edit] Results

[edit] Episode 1

Challenge 1: Speed

A speed challenge in which chefs had to debone a chicken, fillet a salmon, open enough coconuts to produce two cups of coconut milk, shuck six oysters and clams, french a rack of lamb and slice off a 4-inch (100 mm) strip of daikon thin enough to read newsprint through - all in a 15 minute time limit.
WINNER: Aarón Sanchez

Challenge 2: Artistry

A challenge which consisted of making 2 desserts: one with any available ingredient and the second featuring savory ingredients. Each chef selected one of the following savory ingredients: catfish, tripe, beef shoulder, chorizo, duck confit, bacon, salmon roe, or squid based on the order of their finish in Round 1. The twist to this dessert challenge was that the chefs were not allowed to use butter, sugar, or cheese in their desserts, unless they made it themselves.
WINNER: John Besh
ELIMINATED: Traci Des Jardins

First aired: October 7, 2007

[edit] Episode 2

Challenge 3: Simplicity

The chefs had 30 minutes to prepare 6 one-bite (amuse-bouche) dishes that would best exemplify their style of cooking. Due to his win in Challenge 2 of Round 1, Chef Besh was able to select his ingredients first, and also selected the order in which the chefs would present their dishes. This challenge was judged by the chefs themselves. Due to his misunderstanding the rules, Chef Sanchez failed to finish plating more than a single serving of his dish, deciding during the judging to give his dish to Chef Besh for tasting.
WINNER: Michael Symon

Challenge 4: Innovation

After a brief introduction to the special ingredients and appliances (and with some tutelage by chef Wylie Dufresne in a special guest appearance), the chefs had 90 minutes to "play" with these items in order to incorporate them into their cooking style. The chefs then had 90 minutes to prepare a dish using innovative ingredients (e.g. xanthan gum, liquid nitrogen) and innovative appliances (e.g. thermal immersion circulator, Anti-griddle) to prepare a single dish for the judges. With his win in Challenge 1 of this round, Chef Symon was able to select his ingredients first and had a dedicated set of cooking equipment (the other contestents had to share a common set).
WINNER: Chris Cosentino
ELIMINATED: Jill Davie

First aired: October 14, 2007

[edit] Episode 3

Challenge 5: Resourcefulness (Double Elimination)

The chefs were divided into pairs and each chef selected ingredients for his partner and placed them in a sealed cooler. Instead of cooking indoors, the chefs were led outside, and each chef had 60 minutes to prepare two dishes with the items located in their cooler and the limited ingredients at their individual station. In addition to their limited ingredients, the chefs were only able to use a single charcoal grill to cook their dishes. With his win in the previous challenge, Chris Cosentino was given the privilege of deciding who would be paired with whom as well as the first selection.
WINNER: Michael Symon
ELIMINATED: Gavin Kaysen & Morou Ouattara

First aired: October 21, 2007

[edit] Episode 4

Challenge 6: Creativity Under Pressure

The remaining four chefs learn that they will be traveling overseas with international air carrier Lufthansa to Germany for this week's challenge: Create Under Pressure. At Munich airport, the chefs are taken to Lufthansa's catering facilities where their next challenge is to create the ultimate first class meal for passengers. They will have 90 minutes to prepare a minimum of 3 dishes for passengers.
WINNER: Michael Symon
ELIMINATED: Aarón Sanchez

First aired: October 28, 2007

[edit] Episode 5

Challenge 7: Lead and Inspire

The remaining three chefs continue the overseas portion of the competition as they fly to Paris for the next challenge: Lead and Inspire. The chefs must become the ultimate Americans in Paris as they create a meal for a party being thrown by the United States Ambassador to France.
WINNER: Neither remaining chef was declared to have won the challenge. However, during Episode 8, Judge Donatella Arpaia mentioned that Chef Symon already won four matches, even though he only officially won three. This could imply that Judge Arpaia believed that Symon won Challenge 7. Additionally, on his blog, Judge Andrew Knowlton said that if he had to pick a winner of this challenge, it would have been Symon.^[3] However, on his blog, Ruhlman said that he thought that "overall even Symon would agree that if there had to be a choice of a winner, it would have gone to Besh,"^[4] which indicates that the judges did not attempt to reach consensus on the winner of the challenge.
ELIMINATED: Chris Cosentino

First aired: November 4, 2007

[edit] Episode 6

Challenge 8: Attain Greatness

The remaining two chefs competed in the final test, 'Attain Greatness'. The final competition took the form of a head-to-head battle in Kitchen Stadium in standard Iron Chef battle format (the Chairman, Alton Brown commentating and Kevin Brauch floor-reporting).
The episode preview at the end of Episode 5 revealed the secret ingredient was Swordfish, which was confirmed on airing.
As a last-minute switch, judges Ruhlman, Knowlton and Arpaia were replaced in the on-air tasting portion of the judging by current Iron Chefs Bobby Flay, Cat Cora and Masaharu Morimoto. However, the three judges and the three Iron Chefs each had a vote in who would win the contest. This last-minute switch has led some fans of the show to theorize that the change was intended to stack the deck toward Symon - with two out of three judges voting for Besh and all three Iron Chefs voting for Symon.^[5]
Additionally, it was announced that the Iron Chefs would be sporting new chef's coats, designed in part by mother-daughter team Debbie & Tore Johnson. Their design would be the inspiration for designer Mark Ecko to create the new coats for Season Six of the Iron Chef America series. The Johnsons and the former Next Iron Chef competitors attended the taping of the episode.
This was the first time neither side had an Iron Chef competing in Kitchen Stadium.
Knowlton noted on the Bon Appétit editors' blog that the final vote was 4 to 2 in favor of Symon, with Knowlton casting one of the dissenting votes in favor of Besh.^[6] Ruhlman further noted on his blog that his vote was for Symon while Arpaia voted for Besh,^[7] leading one to conclude that the panel of Iron Chefs unanimously chose Symon (Ruhlman specifically states that Flay and Cora voted for Symon). Both Knowlton and Ruhlman state that Besh won Challenge 8, but that the voting reflected the entire series, not just this challenge.
WINNER: Michael Symon
ELIMINATED: John Besh