The Iron Chefs: Their Highs, Lows and Careers Both On and Off Screen

[David T. Cole]

Your chefs topic.

[Kromm]

I'll say it straight out. I miss Mario Batali on this show.

 

I know he had good reasons for leaving.  He felt totally compromised by the show (and frankly, I bet, by all of The Food Network), nevertheless the only time I REALLY enjoy the show now are the few times a year Morimoto shows up.

[DiamondDoll]

I only watch for Marc Forgione. He's one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen and I really like his personality and his cooking style. 

 

I tend to skip it if Flay, Guarnaschelli, Zakarian or Garces are cooking. Flay is too much of a douchebag and the rest are so boring it's not worth it. 

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

I'll say it straight out. I miss Mario Batali on this show.

 

I know he had good reasons for leaving.  He felt totally compromised by the show (and frankly, I bet, by all of The Food Network), nevertheless the only time I REALLY enjoy the show now are the few times a year Morimoto shows up.

How exactly did he feel compromised? I always wondered why he left.

 

I only watch for Marc Forgione. He's one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen and I really like his personality and his cooking style. 

 

I tend to skip it if Flay, Guarnaschelli, Zakarian or Garces are cooking. Flay is too much of a douchebag and the rest are so boring it's not worth it. 

Flay's a twit and Zakarian's just a loathsome human being. Batali, Cora and Morimoto are my favorites.

[Kromm]

How exactly did he feel compromised? I always wondered why he left.

 

[Christina]

Trying to figure out where best to ask this, and hope this thread is okay; it didn't seem worth creating an entire new one for just this question.

Back when The Next Iron Chef was airing, Alex Guarnaschelli's win was controversial but I cannot remember why. After googling, I don't see any real controversy and now wonder if I'm confusing her with someone else. Does any remember if there was something there, or was it just her usual attitude that soured me on her win?

[spiderpig]

53 minutes ago, Christina said:

Trying to figure out where best to ask this, and hope this thread is okay; it didn't seem worth creating an entire new one for just this question.

Back when The Next Iron Chef was airing, Alex Guarnaschelli's win was controversial but I cannot remember why. After googling, I don't see any real controversy and now wonder if I'm confusing her with someone else. Does any remember if there was something there, or was it just her usual attitude that soured me on her win?

My memory is like a sieve, but this is the best I can come up with.

It seems to a lot of people that Alex is pre-ordained to win any FN competition.  From a personal perspective, I used to call her Pooh-Face, because she'd always wrinkle up her nose when delivering her verdicts on Chopped - but her television persona has softened a lot over the past couple of years, and now I really like her.  No question she can cook like a beast.

If I recall correctly, she was competing against Amanda Freitag on ICA, who more than held her own.  Yet Amanda is always the bridesmaid, never the bride.  Maybe the anti-Alex was kind of a general feeling of "You win all the time - give somebody else a chance.

Just tossing a couple of maybe-whys out there.

[Christina]

To me, Alex is super competitive in a way that is unpleasant to watch. She's more a "How dare you NOT like something I cooked," and quite dismissive of the other competitor's meals instead of acknowledging that perhaps, she may not have cooked as perfectly as she thought and the other competitors out cooked her. I always appreciate it when the professionals acknowledge the success of their competitors.

I really can't remember why I thought it was controversial. It seems like there were conversations about her win not being the correct choice for some reason, not just the usual disagreement, but like something was ignored to give her the win. Google didn't turn anything up, though.

[MsNewsradio]

I believe that with Alex's win it seemed evident which way producers were leaning from the word go, which really bothered a number of viewers. While she's clearly great in the kitchen, the strings seemed evident - I remember through much of the season, and especially when it got down to Alex and Amanda that it clearly seemed like Alex was being favored. I don't recall Alex's season being quite as blatant as Zakarian's though...his really showed the producer/network manipulation. He completely ignored the challenge requirements in two separate challenges and there was nary a peep about it, despite routinely flogging/eliminating other contestants for that. He was incredibly smug about it, too. Between those two seasons many people were coming away with the feeling of the whole thing being rigged and wondering why they bothered with the competition at all. 

Edited April 18, 2017 by MsNewsradio
Because sentences don't make sense with random words inserted.

[rab01]

I don't remember any actual controversy but Alex had competed before so it wasn't that she always won Next Iron Chef.  I think there may have been some issue with Geoffrey taking part in the judging since Alex had teamed up with him in some Iron Chef battles (maybe?).  And I remember a feeling in the later seasons of Next Iron Chef that that you could figure out elimination order by the chef's ties to Food Network.  But, all of them know each other and all of them were more than willing to work with FN so it was probably a level enough playing field ... (I wasn't an Alex fan so I was willing to entertain conspiracy theories but I just don't remember seeing any articles.)  

The only one where I read articles on suspect judging was the first one where Simon beat Besh and afterwards one of the judges (Ruhlman maybe?) said in an interview that he voted for his friend Simon even though Besh may have cooked a better meal.  Simon turned out to be fabulous for FN so he was probably the right choice for them regardless but I remember being shocked that Ruhlman would admit it.

[Snarklepuss]

On 4/16/2017 at 9:47 PM, spiderpig said:

My memory is like a sieve, but this is the best I can come up with.

It seems to a lot of people that Alex is pre-ordained to win any FN competition.  From a personal perspective, I used to call her Pooh-Face, because she'd always wrinkle up her nose when delivering her verdicts on Chopped - but her television persona has softened a lot over the past couple of years, and now I really like her.  No question she can cook like a beast.

That's exactly as I remember it, and I was one of the people who felt she was "the chosen one" to win that season and I didn't like her much for it either, but over the years I have grown to like her a lot.  Later on I began to suspect that she perhaps was equally as deserving of the win the year Zakarian won, which is why they invited her back and it seemed like they were favoring her. 

Edited April 20, 2017 by Snarklepuss

[nitrofishblue]

Never liked Alex and I would switch away whenever she was the IC picked. She acted like such a diva. She felt that she DESERVED it. Well, in my opinion no one deserves anything. You should work for and EARN whatever is the goal. I hate people that think that just because they spent time doing something they DESERVED BETTER REWARDS. That is a bunch of whooy. You EARN not DESERVED!!!!!!!!

[Christina]

Yesterday FN played the ICA: Redemption season that Alex G. won. I had it on as background noise so I wasn't watching thoroughly, but there wasn't anything about her advancement or win that I found super controversial. There were definitely judgments at the end that I thought she was put through even though the comments about her food were worse than her competitors. Now, I'm thinking that I was probably remembering Zakarian's season because I definitely thought he was getting preferential judging and frankly, I've never liked the man. 

[ITALIA]

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 6:47 PM, spiderpig said:

My memory is like a sieve, but this is the best I can come up with.

It seems to a lot of people that Alex is pre-ordained to win any FN competition.  From a personal perspective, I used to call her Pooh-Face, because she'd always wrinkle up her nose when delivering her verdicts on Chopped - but her television persona has softened a lot over the past couple of years, and now I really like her.  No question she can cook like a beast.

If I recall correctly, she was competing against Amanda Freitag on ICA, who more than held her own.  Yet Amanda is always the bridesmaid, never the bride.  Maybe the anti-Alex was kind of a general feeling of "You win all the time - give somebody else a chance.

Just tossing a couple of maybe-whys out there.

Alex looks like a beast - she comes across as a total b.

Edited May 20, 2017 by ITALIA

[Wings]

On 6/14/2014 at 5:49 PM, Kromm said:

 

 

 

I came here to say the same thing Mario stated.  If this show is going to have a rebirth some changes are necessary.  I remember Penn Gillette  saying he didn't like raw fish when a judge.   My thought, of course, was then why were you chosen!  

The judges have to be in the food biz, for sure.  

It is incestuous with only FN chefs competing.  I understand why, that is obvious. 

Instead of having a stagnant roster open it up to chefs everywhere.  Gordon Ramsey, Top Chefs who have placed in the top 3 or those who have gone on to open restaurants that are highly acclaimed.  I understand they want chefs that are known to the viewing audience.  They are not hard to find. 

So many shows need a format tweak, they become stale and this is one. 

ETA.  I would go as far as wiping the slate clean.  The old iron chefs have had their day.  Give them a plaque and ask them to be judges.  They of all people understand how it works.  New blood is desperately needed for this to succeed.  

Edited May 21, 2017 by wings707

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, wings707 said:

The judges have to be in the food biz, for sure.

I don't necessarily agree.  I think it's okay if the actors are well known foodies who have tried experimental things.  Even chefs have things that they won't eat or don't love eating. I remember many food industry judges who have said things like "I normally don't like X but..."  I think there have been some entertainers who have been good.  And some who have been awful.  And yes, they have to be willing to be adventurous.

3 hours ago, wings707 said:

New blood is desperately needed for this to succeed.

But new good blood.  Some of the newer Iron Chefs haven't been that great.  I wonder if they'd have better luck auditioning people rather than doing a contest.

[Wings]

11 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't necessarily agree.  I think it's okay if the actors are well known foodies who have tried experimental things.  Even chefs have things that they won't eat or don't love eating. I remember many food industry judges who have said things like "I normally don't like X but..."  I think there have been some entertainers who have been good.  And some who have been awful.  And yes, they have to be willing to be adventurous.

But new good blood.  Some of the newer Iron Chefs haven't been that great.  I wonder if they'd have better luck auditioning people rather than doing a contest.

Okay, I can go with this.  I actually think your idea is better.  A good example is Debbie Mazur who is married to a chef and knows a lot about food, she is often on Beat Bobby Flay.  

Yes, of course the newcomers would have to be good.  Owning restaurants that have excellent reviews by respected critics (not yelp), for example.  Stephanie with 3 Chicago restaurants, is a good contender.   

Edited May 21, 2017 by wings707

[blackwing]

On 4/18/2017 at 2:51 PM, rab01 said:

I don't remember any actual controversy but Alex had competed before so it wasn't that she always won Next Iron Chef.  I think there may have been some issue with Geoffrey taking part in the judging since Alex had teamed up with him in some Iron Chef battles (maybe?).  

That was the controversy.  She competed against Zakarian on the season he won.  He wins.  She then became his sous chef when he appeared on Iron Chef.  Then they announced a new season of Next Iron Chef.  She is one of the competitors and he is one of the judges.  The bias was obvious.  It was clear from the beginning that she had already been chosen.  The show could at least have made some effort not to appear biased by not having Zakarian be a judge, but of course he is also one of their darlings so he had to be on it.

I've always disliked her and her attitude.  I remember during her first season on Next Iron Chef when she rudely told a cameraman (or maybe it was another competitor) to get out of her way.