If you are anything like me, in addition to being a fan of Iron Chef America, you've wondered what it's
like to actually be inside kitchen stadium during a culinary battle. Not as one of the chefs, of course, but simply as
a spectator. Unfortunately, due to the confidentiality agreement that studio audiences must sign, it seems unlikely
that many first hand accounts of what the live show is like are going to come our way. Fortunately, though, the Amateur Gourmet is a risk taker (who read the confidentially agreement
carefully) and decided to reveal as much as he could about the taping without
facing a $1,000,000 fine.
I had heard a rumor that Kitchen Stadium was on the West Coast, but it turns out that it is filmed in New York in the same studio where Emeril Live! and 30 Minute Meals are taped. Despite the fact that Adam couldn't say who participated in the battle he saw, we can safely assume that it was an episode scheduled for next season. He also seemed to share my suspicion that the secret ingredients are not very secret to the Iron Chefs, since not one of them looked surprised to hear what it was. But even with some of the magic missing, the Amateur Gourmet couldn't praise Alton Brown's performance as commentator highly enough and really enjoyed watching the top class iron chefs cook.
Cheese Course: Brebis Pardou
A transcendent summer tomato salad
Sliced bread turns 80 today
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-28-2006 @ 9:49AM
Brian said...
I am surprised that anyone thinks the "secret" ingredient is a secret. It is well-known that on the original Japanese version, the chefs were told what the secret ingredient would be well in advance so that they could prepare. I assumed from the get-go that the same was true with the American version. There's too much prep needed to pull off most of the dishes you see prepared to do all the work in the space of 60 minutes with absolutely NO advance notice.
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1-28-2006 @ 12:15PM
Adam said...
Back around the time of the Flay vs. Morimoto, Food Network's website had a bunch of "behind the scenes" pages discussing Iron Chef. If memory serves, the chefs (both Iron and challenger) were given a list of potential ingredients (3-5 I think) to begin their work, so there was some element of surprise, but not too much.
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2-27-2006 @ 8:26PM
robert said...
okay, all I want to know is how you go about getting into the studio audience... been searching the net and this seems to be a big secret - thanks - Rob
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