Past Seasons Discussion

[David T. Cole]

The good, the bad. The tasty, the revolting.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

My all-time favorite moment: Michiba was interviewed during the second ICJ challenge between Morimoto and Flay. He said something to effect of "I'm sure Flay will make something with peppers and corn and salsa in it. He's good at stuff like that." Knowing the disdain that Morimoto had showed towards Flay following their first battle, I told my wife "Wow. That was nice of Michiba to say something so....wait. He just totally insulted Flay, didn't he?" I immediately remembered something I'd read years ago about a similarity between the Japanese and the British: they'll couch an insult in such nice terms and so obliquely that you'd thank them and go days or weeks before realizing it was, in fact, an insult. This was the first time I'd seen it in action.

 

My second-favorite moment (also during ICJ): Morimoto was in Battle Natto against somebody from the hyper-conservative Ohta faction. At one point, he decides to stir-fry the Natto with Coca-Cola! The reaction of the Ohtas when he poured the can into the frying pan was priceless.

 

Third-favorite (from ICA): Cat Cora making tamales, then wrapping them in newspaper and putting them in a paper bag with paper napkins and plastic utensils, in commemoration of her uncle taking her to the beach when she was growing up and buying her tamales wrapped in that fashion. It would never have flown on ICJ in a million years, but it came off as neat and unique.

 

Fourth-favorite (from ICJ): Chen's look when Battle Yogurt was announced. He looked positively nauseous, probably because as a Chinese chef, he'd never cooked with it before. IIRC, he actually tied the battle and won the runoff.

 

Fifth-favorite: Two moments from the otherwise execrable Iron Chef USA. Challenger Kerry Simon, when asked by the moron commentators (one of whom didn't even know what a food processor was) how he'd made a hole in a crab shell for one of his entrees: "Um, I used a KNIFE," all while sporting a "Who are these idiots???" look on his face; the other moment was courtesy of Steven "Bobby Bacala from the Sopranos" Schirripa, when critiquing Marcus Samuelsson's turkey-tuna roll: "Chef, I love ya, but the turkey and tuna? It ain't happening."

Edited June 15, 2014 by Sir RaiderDuck OMS

[SophiaD]

The cooking channel has stopped showing old episodes of ICA in the evenings.  I am sad.

[Julia]

I am so tickled about this - iTunes has just added seasons 1-6 for $14 each. Bizarrely, they want $20 for the current season.