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Though he didn't win The Next Iron Chef, Marco Canora – one of our Kitchen Daily experts – made more than a solid run at the coveted title. Of all the Iron Chef hopefuls, chef Canora won the most battles, utilizing his simple-speaks-volumes methodology. The owner of New York City's Hearth and Terrior wine bar, Canora has made a name for himself not only in New York, but in Tuscany as well, where he retreats each summer to give hands-on classes.

Slashfood spoke with Canora about what we didn't see on the final episode of The Next Iron Chef and about his vision for his next cookbook.


You didn't become the next Iron Chef, but you did seem happy for Marc.

MC: I was. I was happy for him. We all got along well. There was no animosity, everyone was rooting for each other. Even though it was a competition, we knew nine people were going to go home and one guy was going to be left standing. That's just the nature of the beast. I'm very happy for the guy. Good for him, you know?

It came down to Marc Forgione and Marco Canora duking it out for the privilege of joining one of the most coveted cooking fraternities in television, that of the Iron Chef. The final contest on The Next Iron Chef -- "Battle Honor" or "Battle Thanksgiving" -- was held in the famed Kitchen Stadium. The task at hand, to create a five-course Thanksgiving meal. Chef Forgione took that idea of honor and brushed aside the traditional turkey-and-dressing component in favor of stuffed venison. The son of "the godfather of American cuisine," Larry Forgione, Marc Forgione stated from the outset that he wanted to be known for his own work, not merely as his father's son. We're confident that being an Iron Chef will put any feelings of dwelling in the shadows to rest.

This Sunday, chef Forgione steps into Kitchen Stadium for the first time as an Iron Chef, where he faces Washington D.C.'s R.J. Cooper.

Slashfood spoke with chef Forgione about his nerves going into "Battle Honor,' his inspiration behind his Thanksgiving course and which Iron Chef dishes are in store for patrons of his Manhattan hot spot, Restaurant Marc Forgione.

As an Iron Chef, are you supposed to introduce yourself as a doctor does?

MF: [laughs]. I don't know. I guess so, right? Like I should put an "I.C." at the end of my name.

In the final episode, "Battle Honor," were you nervous going in?

MF: At that point I wasn't nervous anymore. It was more ... I can't even describe the adrenaline, the anxiety ... I felt like I was fighting for my life, literally. When you're standing there and he's about to pull that curtain down, if you didn't see your face, you might as well have been told you were going to jail for the rest of your life. It was that intense, at least for me.

We can't imagine "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" without Jamie, but, if things had gone Oliver's way back in 2008, the show would have been hosted by "American Idol" star Ryan Seacrest.

In the first segment of an exclusive three-part Slashfood interview with Jamie Oliver (parts 2 and 3 run tomorrow and Wednesday), the English chef reveals that he didn't want to host the American version of the show he had launched in England, and asked Seacrest to take on the job. "I had heard he was into food politics," Oliver said.

Although Oliver had experienced success on American TV with his "Naked Chef" series, on Food Network, he had been trying to pitch a prime-time show here for six years, based on the television docs he'd made in England about trying to improve school lunches and the local diet in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. But he was doubtful that he was well-known enough in the States to pull off it off here. So he emailed Seacrest, who he didn't know at the time.

Seacrest expressed interest, but after Oliver sent him a full proposal, the American Idol host said 'It's not for me, but I'll help you do it,'" Oliver recalled.

So how will Kenny meet his untimely end tonight? Cuisinart? Freak flambé accident? Maybe just a good old 8-inch Henckel?

It may seem like it's been a long time coming (just because, let's face it, so much about the Food Network is ripe for parody), but tonight one cable titan takes aim at another: South Park is giving the likes of Guy Fieri and Alton Brown its signature bobble-head treatment.

Comedy Central isn't saying much about the episode, either in its press release or the 17-second preview clip. All we know is that Stan's dad gets obsessed with the constant stream of filleting, dicing, braising, sautéing, etc. that is the Food Network's raison d'être, and it starts to tear his marriage apart, leaving Stan's mom to pursue a mysterious "new interest" of her own.

Episode #1414 is called "Crème Fraîche," and it airs at 10 p.m. ET, ironically, as Eater.com points out, opposite the finale of "Top Chef: Just Desserts."

The notion of a mellow Iron Chef seems to be a bit preposterous, but that's exactly how chef Celina Tio came across on this season of The Next Iron Chef. While some might be scrambling frantically for a spot of parchment, chef Tio demonstrated a steady calmness with a wide variety of cooking techniques, including a heat-by-proximity style of cooking fish and the willingness to accompany a chocolate ganache with grapefruit gel. As the owner of Kansas City's Julian and a graduate of Drexel University's Hotel and Restaurant management program, chef Tio has been hailed by Chef magazine as "chef of the year" in 2005 and in 2007, was recognized by the James Beard Foundation as the "Best Chef: Midwest."

Slashfood spoke with chef Tio about her underdog-inspired run to the final four, an undisclosed hindrance she carried with her throughout the season and which of her fellow chefs inspired her to place a new item on Julian's menu this fall.


You seemed really mellow over this season. Either you have an amazing poker face or you don't get stressed.

CT: I try not to get stressed, because it really doesn't help anything, it just hinders the process. I don't freak out, I'm just not that person. I can count on one hand how many times I've freaked out, ever. That's a week for some people.