ICT: Battle Chicken: Ishinabe vs. Borie

BATTLE DATA FILE
Japan Original Airdate: 12/19/1993
Episode: 10

The Challenger: Jacques Borie, winner of the prestigious MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France, or Best Craftsman of France) award. As of the date this episode was aired, there were only 50 chefs in the world who held this award.

The Iron Chef: Yutaka Ishinabe, Iron Chef French I. Iron Chef fans from the Food Network days may not recognize him, as this was the only battle of his (if the 2000th Plate Special is excluded) to be dubbed into English. His tenure as Iron Chef didn't last long: while he DID fight the very first Kitchen Stadium battle EVER, he retired at the end of 1993 after only 5 battles, briefly came back to fight two more in 1995, and then fought in the aforementioned special alongside Iron Chef Sakai in 1998. Despite this, an oft-overlooked fact about Ishinabe: he (or at least his panel portrait) is always seen in the opening sequence when Kaga chomps into the yellow pepper. In case you were wondering why there was a guy in green instead of red up there.

The Battle:

It's a special battle for Christmas, and Kitchen Stadium is decked out in Christmas decorations.

"What a wonderful time of the year it is," Fukui proclaims, full of holiday spirit. Joining him and Dr. Yukio Hattori in the broadcast box, is actress Mai Kitajima.

Even Kaga is full of holiday spirit--perhaps even a little too much, as he marches into Kitchen Stadium and loudly bellows "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"...5 days early. He declares this battle his Christmas present to his viewers.

And with that, Jacques Borie, MOF winner extraordinaire, marches into Kitchen Stadium. Kaga is unsure of whether Borie understands Japanese when he meets him at kitchen level. "Oh, yes," he reassures him.

Relieved, Kaga proceeds to call upon "the pride of the Gourmet Academy...the three Iron Chefs." And he does so...a bit more...forcefully than most of us diehard fans are accustomed to seeing. Maybe he's still trying to feel out the Chairman character? This was only the 10th episode, after all. But nevertheless, the original trio--Ishinabe, Michiba, and Chen--ascend into the ethereal atmosphere of Kitchen Stadium.

Kaga, digging deep into his brain, asks Borie (absurdly incorrectly, according to a friend of mine), "Qui vais choisissez?" I don't speak French, not like I'd know. Though Kaga's accent is...well, interesting.

And without batting an eye, Borie replies, "Je prends Monsieur Ishinabe!"

It'll be an all-French duel with Iron Chef Yutaka Ishinabe, the so-called "Sauce Specialist". So far, he's undefeated in Kitchen Stadium...but with an MOF winner on the other side, can he stay that way?

"When you think of Christmas," Kaga begins, "you think of only one ingredient. An ingredient found in almost all chickens--oh, sorry."

...way to go, Kaga, you gave it away. At least Ishinabe got a laugh out of it.

"Well...I meant in all kitchens," he quickly recovers. "I'd like for you to make Christmas dishes with it."

And with that, Kaga rips off the veil and reveals--surprise!--KITCHEN...no, no, CHICKEN!

Kaga's famed call of "ALLEZ CUISINE!" is a little more...subdued than usual. And so is the pace in which the two chefs approach the ingredient stand, but they're quickly up and back down with two chickens apiece.

Hattori comments the winner will be the chef with the more unique dishes, as this is an everyday ingredient.

"Oh no," Kitajima groans. "This is not my favorite part of the show," she says as Ishinabe cleans out one of his chickens. Borie, on the other side, is already breaking his down, beginning with the breast meat.

Ishinabe's using the whole chicken, and slicing up some black truffles (which are oozing juice as he slices them). He tucks those under the skin of the chicken, and as the camera cuts to the other side, we see Borie's assistant is also cutting up truffles...except in much smaller pieces! So much for the budget...

Ishinabe is tying up the chicken that has the truffles tucked under the skin, while Borie is coating chicken breasts with egg. And at this point, we get the first interjection from Ohta--"Fukui-san!"--who says Borie plans on only 2 dishes.

Ishinabe has the pressure cooker open and has stuck bacon and bouillon inside, from the looks of it (15 minutes gone already?!), while Borie is coating the chicken with the truffle bits from earlier. Hattori's calling for a sauté job here.

Hattori speculates Ishinabe's pressure cooker is for...well, we won't know, because the commentators are distracted by Borie drinking what they think is wine in the middle of the battle. Hattori wants whatever it is he's drinking.

"[Borie]'ll be in a festive mood," Fukui jokes as Borie breaks down some carrots.

Ohta reports it's just water...and Ishinabe is being secretive. Hmm...

The whole chicken went into the pressure cooker, which he just opened and is dousing with water. It appears to be boiling as we pass the halfway point...

...back to the other side, Borie's cracking eggs again (which he combines with eggs and truffle juice), and Ishinabe's beginning to break down another chicken, beginning another dish. He's got stuff in the blender, which appears to be even more truffles! Even Ohta has no idea, as Ishinabe is being rather evasive...again...

"He's usually quite candid about what he's doing," Fukui remarks. "Guess he wants to keep his cards close to his vest."

20 minutes left as we see Borie preparing something similar to chawan-mushi, as he gets ready to steam something. That's headed for the oven, as Hattori takes a dig at Fukui's lack of cooking knowledge...and Borie looks to be in trouble.

Ishinabe, meanwhile, has a sauce in the works, while Borie throws the truffled chicken breasts (truffle-side down) in the pan as the 15-minute call is announced. The announcers are drooling as Borie flips them over and see that no truffle piece has fallen off the meat.

Yuzu citrus fruit and wasabi are out on Ishinabe's side (as Ohta observes, instead of Ishinabe telling him), probably for making a sauce. A French chef appealing to the Japanese palate, they comment...well, it IS a Japanese show, after all...

10 minutes left, and Ishinabe looks to be mixing and plating a salad as the pace (finally) picks up...Hattori terms it a "plachir" salad. Borie dunks some truffles into what the announcers were calling the chawan-mushi (though where's the chicken?), and Ishinabe's whole chicken comes off the heat with 5 minutes to go.

Borie has a "bed for the bird," as Fukui says, and he sticks the truffled chicken breast on top of the bed of vegetables. Ishinabe's dressing his whole chicken with vegetables and what looks to be more truffles on the garnishes...1 minute left...Borie is pouring a sauce onto his truffled chicken, while Ishinabe puts the finishing touches on his chicken as the clock runs out...

"And that's it...or at least it should be!" Fukui announces--the men are still working even after time is called! Put it down, walk away, Battle Chicken is history.

Borie's dishes:
--Fresh Truffle Royale--which can't be scored because there's no chicken in it.
--Chicken Breast Étuvé, Truffle Flavor with Vegetables

Ishinabe's dishes:
--Chicken Salad
--Chicken Demi-deuil (the whole chicken with truffle slices tucked under the skin)

We still have 16 minutes to go in the show. Surely the tasting won't go for THAT long...right?

On the panel today for the Chicken Battle:
--Novelist Yasuo Tanaka
--Actress Mai Kitajima
--Culinary Historian Masaaki Hirano

First up, Borie's chawan-mushi (or royale, as he calls it). Remember, judges, you can't judge this one, because there's no chicken in this one...

But they're speaking volumes of it! Hirano's taking the most time out of all of them, and when he finally shuts up, they taste Borie's chicken...which Tanaka terms "a mysterious French lady who chooses not to reveal herself even though you've seen her many times. It has that kind of depth." Oooooookay...

"Even though the chicken comes from France, chicken is chicken, right?" Tanaka responds to Kaga's prompt. Can you tell they're trying to fill time yet? And there's still 12 minutes to go in the show!

"I saw the history of France in both of his dishes," Hirano begins waxing poetic again. "I'm sorry I'm repeating myself so many times..." he adds. The camera cuts to Kitajima while he's speaking, and she's got this look on this face that just screams, "We get the point already, now shut up, old man." (I agree.) And Tanaka's going on a long discourse on how food is serious literature. There he goes about The Soup That Doesn't Count again...

Finally, Ishinabe's up.

"I wanted to set the scene by appealing to the natural flavor of the chicken in a way that would make it easier for Japanese people to understand," he said. The salad is up first...

...and again, Tanaka comparing food to ladies! This time it's a Japanese lady, "with silky skin." Whether he was thinking of Kitajima when he said it, we don't know, but whatever...even Ishinabe is giving him strange looks!

"I think I've been fortunate enough to be on the tasting panel every time Ishinabe-san has cooked so far," Hirano says again. Ishinabe is flat-out ignoring him, beginning to serve his second dish while the old man rambles on...I don't blame him, seeing as Hirano wasn't saying much anyway...

They're still talking about the salad? Hey, judges, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think Ishinabe's listening to you AT ALL...he's trying to serve you his second dish! Kitajima's asking him what kind of greens are in this salad (honeywort), and it takes him a full three or four seconds before he finally looks up and answers her.

"This dish serves the purpose of an appetizer," Hirano says again.

...seriously? I am laughing. I am laughing my head off. They've talked just about the salad for a full 5 minutes, and Ishinabe was too busy serving his second dish to listen to them for half of that time. Ay, Kami-sama...

At long last, they get to taste Ishinabe's whole chicken. And Hirano said something about comparing that dish to a wagon, and lack of maturity in flavor, and not the usual depth, and yada yada yada...Ishinabe's got this smirk on his face. I think HE'S as bored with Hirano as I am.

Every single comment so far has been (and maybe it's a result of the dubbing) a useful comment, an awkward pause, then a less-useful comment, then a full discourse that they could've edited out. In Hirano's case, double every awkward pause and full discourse every time he speaks.

Mercifully, this painful tasting portion has concluded, and now it is time to announce the winner--Borie letting it ride on one dish (although the one dish probably isn't the one with chicken in it, from the sound of the judges' comments), while Ishinabe appears to have disappointed the judges for the first time ever...and Kaga seems a little...TOO serious, if that's possible. It's like he's about to sentence the loser to dea--I mean, uh, forbidding him to have pride for at least a few days.

"An all-out passionate battle?" Kaga, we love you to death for your crazy antics...but don't kid yourself.

But nevertheless, who takes it? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?

"Challenger, Jacques Borie!"

...well, at least Ishinabe's all smiles at the end? From the looks of their reactions, you'd think Ishinabe won instead! Anyway...

My take: I'm no culinary expert by any means, and since this is a TV show, I can't exactly judge based on taste, but I think Ishinabe was definitely more unique in his dishes, incorporating a Japanese touch in his French dishes. Borie, on the other hand, stuck mostly to the book--never mind the fact that one of his dishes didn't even HAVE chicken in it. Granted, if this were a truffle battle instead (which it certainly was shaping up to be, at the rate both of them were going), I'd still knock on Borie for being traditional, but at least he'd be able to count both of his dishes.

Still, it's a rare look at the first Iron Chef French, and also a rare look at the early days of a show that not only revolutionized the way we think of food, but also the way chefs and the world of cooking are viewed. It's a shame, though, that the only Ishinabe battle dubbed into English was the one he lost...he retired after this one, though he'd come back to fight two more in 1995 (which, for some reason, Food Network skipped over even though they aired episodes from that season).

Watch this battle at the Iron Chef Collection here.