Donatella Arpaia
calling out the bullies.
Photo: Food Network.
Never mind Jose Garces being shouted at by the fishmongers at the legendary Tsukiji fish market, or the now openly evil Jehangir Mehta announcing, "I'm not bothered by bringing other people down to make myself look better." We knew there was pain in the air last night from the very first, utterly geeky "Reservoir Dogs"-style shot of the three chefs walking down a rain-slicked street to get their latest assignment from Dacascos and host Alton Brown. We wondered: Why are they walking so slowly? And why is Seamus Mullen limping along in what appears to be utter agony?
Leave it to "TNIC" editors to have downplayed Mullen's ongoing struggle with rheumatoid arthritis until this late in the game. Whether or not the affliction had hindered him in previous episodes, we're not sure, but last night, attempting to run around both the market and the kitchen for several hours on end, it was clear he was suffering. Add to that the indignity of Mehta leaving the forever-temperamental ice-cream machine (when will you guys throw in the towel on that thing?!) in strategic shambles, and the damning comment of "Have you ever cooked rice?" from guest judge Dr. Hattori, and Mullen was having one of those Very Bad Days we all dread.
But more about that later. The challenge was to cook a five-course kaiseki -- a very formal meal composed of local, seasonal ingredients -- that reflected their own "integrity" as a chef. For Mehta this meant buying half of the food in the market and littering his serving trays with edible flowers ("I'm a happy person! I like beauty!"). Mullen may have dubbed it all "smoke and mirrors," but Mehta still managed to produce a fresh clam salad with chili flower that was a standout of the evening.
Meanwhile, Mullen fought through his physical pain to prepare an elegant procession of seafood dishes that more or less spoke for themselves: His uni-and-strawberry amusebouche foreshadowed a meal-finishing strawberry ice cream adorned with a hint of mullet roe to round out the sweetness. (Donatella Arpaia called it "the best strawberry ice cream I ever had.") But that rice -- oh, the shame of undercooked rice -- and his overly stiff salmon mousse served as worrisome distractions from the meal.
If Mehta went for the "wow" factor and Mullen specialized in understatement, then Garces went for a multiculti sort of kaiseki that reflected his Ecuadorian heritage, kicking it off with a king crab gazpacho and leading them through other tours of Latin American/Asian hybrid dishes. The non-traditional meal was divisive: It seemed to rub some judges the wrong way (grumpmeister Jeffrey Steingarten, we're talking to you), while delighting others (Dr. Hattori, for one, whose voice-over translator proclaimed the fusion "strange ... a good strange!").
Either way, Garces' dishes told a story, and he managed to win a powerful ally in Arpaia, who hilariously used his controversial toro with leche de tigre sauce -- raw ginger, garlic and lime juice -- as an opportunity to call Steingarten out for his general fuddy-duddiness ("a waste of very expensive toro!" he cried). The two haven't come to blows yet, but just once we'd like to see her slap him square across the face for complaining with his mouth full.
When all was said and done in the so-called "Tea House of Destiny" -- seriously, Alton? -- the writing seemed as clear as day: Mehta, despite his allegiance to the reality-show dark side and his tendency for overkill, would make it to the final cook-off, as would the effortlessly confident Garces. That left Mullen to limp off into the Tokyo sunset, a few weeks older, dubiously wiser, and probably wondering if all the pain was worth it, after all.
11-16-2009 @12:43PM Bernie B said... I'm pulling for Chef Garces to win, however when asked about his courses it felt like he was BS-ing his way through to give the judges what they wanted to hear and came off wishy-washy. Man up and be decisive about your own food.
Reply
11-16-2009 @6:24PM beth said... I think you're doing Chef Mehta an injustice here. What he said was actually "I'm not bothered TO BE bringing other people down to make myself look better."
My interpretation was that he was referring to the other chefs shaking their heads at his presentation--that he was saying he didn't need to bring other people down to make himself feel better.
Great summary though!
Reply
11-16-2009 @4:10PM FunnyMummy said... I DO NOT like Chef Mehta one bit. I will never root for him to win anything... Iron Chef or not!!! He just seems like a weasel.
I really don't know why the judges didn't take into consideration how wasteful he was in his shopping. Good GRIEF! There should be a limit as to how many ingredients you can buy to make 5 small dishes. I was just disgusted at it all.
Reply
11-16-2009 @7:25PM Lillian said... Great! job by Chef Mullen despite his pain, Chef Garces is Iron Chef material. I hope Chef Mehta doesn't cloud everything with his floral arrangements.
Reply
11-16-2009 @7:57PM tanya said... My boyfriend and I are on both sides of the issue. I'm fond of Mehta, though we're both rooting for Garces. He thinks Mehta's a snake--I think he's portrayed negatively, and by the grace of editing and storytelling, we're meant to overlook any nastiness coming from the other chefs, while being outraged at the slightest Mehta faux pas. So we watched that portion again. He certainly said "I'm not bothered ABOUT bringing other people down to make myself look better." I agree with beth's interpretation especially in context. My boyfriend takes it to mean that he has no qualms with bad behavior. Again, I'd like Garces to win, I think he'd be a great Iron Chef--but come on guys, Mehta's really not that bad.
Reply
11-16-2009 @8:21PM nanis said... If Chef Mehta wins, I will never watch Iron Chef when he's on. He was positively gleeful at Seamus's pain. He is nasty, and I don't care how good his clams were. This is for television - We can't taste the food, but we can see ass****ry.
Seamus is amazing. He IS an iron chef.
Reply
11-17-2009 @2:25AM HCE said...
While I agree that Chef Mehta's personality hasn't exactly been an engaging one, I agree with Beth that what he probably meant was
"I'm not bothered TO BE bringing other people down to make myself look better."
This is borne out by the complete lack of negative comments from him about any of the other chefs, not just in this episode but in any previous episode. I did a quick check of my DVR and I see a lot of sniping by others but none by Mehta.
Of course, on the flip side he hasn't exactly been fulsome in his praise of the other chefs either. But maybe that's his nature - he seems to be a taciturn guy.
- HCE
Reply
11-17-2009 @2:33PM Numb said... So let's be honest... Mehta is a villain. That being said, of the three - who would *truly* be the most entertaining to watch on an actual episode of Iron Chef? Mehta, by a mile. So go Mehta, take home the crown.
Also, I can't help but find Donatella Arpaia completely hot for reasons unknown.
Reply
11-17-2009 @7:19PM dirtgirl said... I'm with Numb on this one. Mullen adds nothing to Iron Chef. He's another Bobby Flay, personality wise. At least Mehta and Garces bring an international element to the show and both seem to have personalities that would make them entertaining to watch in the kitchen. I only wish they'd bring Batali back.
Reply
11-19-2009 @2:03AM jwestc said... Mehta has created very little original, and way too much Indian food-period, no questions, done. The guy did NOTHING "new" on the Indian Food segment-and got away with tht from the judges. Jeffery the Blowhard is in love with the guy's food (obviously from show 1), and his bias (as usual in TNIC) has carried through, bringing Mehta along. I TRULY believe there should be different judges for at least part of this procedure-the last THNC had a friend as one of the judges for heaven's sake! C'mon already...the whole concept is getting old fast to begin with, and now THIC competition is losing any edge or interest it once had. Food Network: ask around before your fans lose even more interest.
Reply
11-19-2009 @4:44PM Tammy said... I really thought when the show began that the two that would enter kitchen stadium would be Amanda Freitag and Jose Garces.
I was really disappointed when she was sent home after the japanese guest judge raved about her rice. The last episode I could not believe that Chef Mehta was moved on, his presentation was horrible and the judges were not completely impressed with his food. I think they sent home the wrong guy in both of the last two episodes.
That being said and in consideration of kitchen stadium. I hope Jose Garces kicks butt after all he beat Bobby Flay last year.
I would evetually love to see him and Amanda Freitag take one another on. With 44 years of experience between the two of them it would be an episode to watch.
Reply
11-20-2009 @1:30AM sandi said... I really like Chef Mehta. I think the show needs to make someone the villian and they try to do this with him. He himself, has not said anything negative about the other chefs. I agree it is done with editing to make the show more entertaining. Look what they do on Hell's Kitchen! I think Chef Garces is also good but want to see an Indian chef on the Iron Chef Show. That is about the only food not already displayed. There are plenty of Asian, French, Italian and Spanish types. I know Garces is from Equador but the tastes are similar. Can't wait to see who wins!
Reply
11-21-2009 @5:05PM suncatcher said... Let's see... Iron Chefs Flay, Cora, Symon, Morimoto and MEHTA? Mehta really, really does not fit on this classy, ethical team. (Morimoto is about to commit Hara-Kiri if Mehta wins)? Whether Mehta's an actual weasel or not - he comes across as a selfish, back stabbing conniving, evil, bastard, short order cook. (Sorry, refuse to put 'chef' in front of his name). Go Chef Garces! Can't wait to see if Food Network is paying attention - or asleep at the wheel and about to drive off a cliff.
Reply
11-21-2009 @3:28PM MKC said... Is everyone forgetting that Mehta took ALL the Greek grape leaves... when it was someone else's task to make stuffed grape leaves as the dish.. then all he did was use them to decorate the tray...?? He did it deliberately, meanly and frankly... if his talent and food were up to snuff he would not have to resort to such mean and little "tricks" in order to get to the finish. I, for one, will no longer watch Iron Chef if blatant cheating and poor sportsmanship are allowed to conquer honest effort, hard work and talent. I was pained to have my children, who both like to cook, witness such poor behavior.
Reply
11-22-2009 @9:23PM Vikki said... I adore chef Mehta. He is truly a gentleman, but for whatever reason, has been 'cast' as the villan of TNIC.
It seems odd to me that the finale is only an hour long. I think Food Network could spare at least a half-hour from all the Thanksgiving programming.
Reply
11-23-2009 @10:33PM Albert said... I beg to differ with you, JWestc, on the point that Chef Mehta has not created anything original in this series. I think he has more than proven his ability to innovate not only in terms of cooking but in terms of presentation also. Although his innovative spirit was evident from the very first round, where he created the “Third World Mango”, it took the judges 3 more challenges to appreciate it. Finally in the Mexican round, where he won the test for adaptability, the judges woke up to his talent! His Mexican dishes were far from being authentic but his innovative use of ingredients had helped him get the flavors bang on! His Apple Caramel Soy Skewer was appreciated by Chef Morimoto who said that it was a surprising combination and an innovative idea. Now that is what I call being original. None of these instances even remotely relate to Indian food; so your claim that he has cooked too much Indian is unsubstantiated. Chef Mehta has made TNIC a show worth watching. Go Chef Mehta!
Reply