Iron Chef USA

"Iron Chef USA" was the first American adaptation of the Japanese television series "Iron Chef", appearing on the UPN television network in 2001. Two pilot episodes were aired, the "Las Vegas Showdown" and the "Holiday Battle", neither to critical acclaim. It would not be until 2004 when another adaptation of "Iron Chef", titled "Iron Chef America", would air.

Like the original Japanese series, the show featured an eccentric chairman, played by William Shatner, who creates his own "Gourmet Academy" with four elite chefs who take on challengers in a specially-constructed "Kitchen Arena" ("Kitchen Stadium" in the original). However, unlike the original, and the later "Iron Chef America" adaptation, Kitchen Arena was set in an auditorium in the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas and not on a sound stage.

Fans of the series, and critics at large, point to many aspects of the show for the reason why the series failed. Among the most notable reasons was the audience factor: the original "Iron Chef" (and "Iron Chef America") had only minimal guest and VIP seating, while "Iron Chef USA" was shown in front of a larger audience. The audience also tended to be louder and rowdier, in sharp contrast to the relatively quiet audiences of "Iron Chef". Another sharp point of criticism was directed at the commentators, who often showed little in terms of their knowledge of food (with lines such as "What? It's the sperm? We eat that?" in reference to sea urchin roe, to "What's that tool called he's using to cut the ravioli?","That would be a ravioli cutter"; and "it's a sauteed HoHo", "He's got a flour thing going" and "it looks like he enjoys cooking with booze") [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/11/16/DD38073.DTL] . However, critics saw Shatner's portrayal of the chairman in "Iron Chef USA" as a redeeming quality, as his performance paid homage to Takeshi Kaga and his antics on "Iron Chef". It was also suggested that some dishes were prepared ahead of time, prior to the show.

Format

Like the original "Iron Chef", chefs are given 60 minutes and a theme ingredient (called a "secret" ingredient) to create their culinary creations. Unlike the original, however, chefs brought in their own assistants, and were required to prepare five dishes. The dishes were judged by four celebrity judges (none of whom are food experts or food critics), and the chef with the higher rating was declared the winner. Curiously, the scoring system used was different from the one used on "Iron Chef" and later on "Iron Chef America".

Chefs and crew

In addition to Shatner as the chairman of Gourmet Academy USA, Michael Burger and Anthony Dias Blue played the roles of play-by-play and color commentator, with Sissy Biggers serving as the floor reporter. The four Iron Chefs are [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290672/fullcredits] , presented from left-to-right when they are first introduced:

* Iron Chef French Jean-Francois Meteigner, the "Battering "
* Iron Chef Italian Alessandro Stratta, the "Italian Scallion"
* Iron Chef Asian Roy Yamaguchi, the "Samurai of Stir-Fry"
* Iron Chef American Todd English, "Captain America" (English's specialty is in fact Mediterranean cuisine)

Of the four Iron Chefs, only Stratta and English saw action on "Iron Chef USA," both bringing victories to the Iron Chefs. Both English and Kerry Simon (who had been the challenger in English's lone battle) later competed on Iron Chef America, but there has been absolutely no mention made of either's tenure on "Iron Chef USA".

* Larry Thompson - Executive Producer

Episodes

Only two pilot episodes of Iron Chef USA were produced. [http://www.ironfans.net/episodes/specials/icusa/]

Episode one titled "Holiday Showdown" [http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ic/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9970_23165,00.html]
*Marcus Samuelsson - Challenger - Chef and co-owner of Restaurant Aquavit [http://starchefs.com/chefs/MSamuelsson/html/bio.shtml]
*Ron Popeil - Judge - - The inventor of many products sold through infomercials
*Loretta Devine - Judge - - Best known as Marla Hendricks on the TV series Boston Public
*Kelly Hu - Judge - - Notable roles as Deathstrike from the movie X2 or Rae Chang from the TV series Sunset Beach
*Steven Schirripa - Judge - - Bobby 'Bacala' Baccalieri from The Sopranos

Episode two titled "Showdown in Las Vegas" featured four different guest judges from the first episode as well as a new challenging chef [http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ic/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9970_23164,00.html]
*Kerry Simon - Challenger - Chef at Prime restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel.
*Bruce Vilanch - Judge - Comedian with regular appearances on the new Hollywood Squares gameshow
*Elise Neal - Judge - - Yvonne Hughley from the TV series The Hughleys
*Brande Roderick - Judge - - 2001 Playboy Playmate of the Year
*Mark Famiglietti - Judge - - The actor who played Scout Calhoun on the Dawsons Creek spin off series Young Americans