Yes, you're reading that right. Episode 1, as in the very first Iron Chef episode to air anywhere in the world. It was recently rebroadcast in Japan on a premium channel (as a companion to the new series, I suppose), as have been many classic episodes never before seen in the United States. Now, thanks to the wonderful Iron Chef Collection, I can dutifully recap this very special episode here.
Note: I'm watching the original Japanese--no subs, no dubs. So I'm trying as best I can in what little Japanese I understand. I'll admit I've learned a lot just from watching this show, but I've got a long way to go.
That being said...on with the show!
BATTLE DATA FILE
Episode: 1
Japan Original Airdate: 10/10/1993
The format of these first episodes was slightly different from what we know today...more on that in a little while. Meanwhile, Kaga's first monologue begins in his library. He mentions Béchamel from France, Enbai from China, and Rosanjin from Japan--three great chefs of the world. We get an interesting shot of what appears to be concept art for what we've come to know as Kitchen Stadium--before we see Kaga step into the real thing, into the opening sequence we all know so well.
Kaga then explains the concept behind the Gourmet Academy. But before the Iron Chefs make their appearance, we need to have...a preliminary battle! We join Fukui on the Iron Chef's side of the stadium, where five chefs are examining the layout of the kitchen.
Speaking of the stadium, a red curtain is hiding the half where Kaga usually stands.
The format of the preliminary battles is as such: a theme "dish" (not ingredient) is presented. The chef who best articulates that theme dish will face one of the Iron Chefs. In this case, today's theme is...gyoza!
And after a monologue from Kaga about gyoza, we meet the tasting panel:
--Novelist Tamio Kageyama
--Newscaster Mitsuko Ishii
--Rosanjin Scholar Masaaki Hirano
We start the preliminaries with Seiji Yamada, 33. He wraps whole shrimp in a gyoza skin, putting those into a hot chili sauce. And a dessert dish is also prepared--strawberries were definitely involved, but wrapped in gyoza skins? Hmm. He gets presentation points from me, though.
Kageyama likes it--I can't tell what Hirano says, but he brings up the sauce.
Next to face the panel: 57-year-old Masatoshi Kondo. I think I heard pork and shrimp went into his gyoza--which are, for some reason, colored green across the top. Apparently this is called "fei tsai fa yen" in Chinese.
Kageyama says something about the color--he might've said something about it being a little strange.
Third up: 18-year-old Takahiro Yamakura. Gelatin goes into his gyoza, which he boils and serves in a kind of soup. Some other kind of meat went in there, but I couldn't catch what kind.
The fourth man is the first international chef: from Nepal, Piremu Rama. He grinds some spices, combines them with pork, and serves it in a rather large gyoza the tasters have trouble picking up. Two sauces are included: coriander and (I think) tomato.
Kageyama says it's good, but Ishii is clearly having trouble picking up the large dumpling with her chopsticks.
Last up: Takeshi Maryuama. Ground meat, green onions, and shiitake mushrooms are combined into a filling for his gyoza, which look like little purses. Those are stir-fried. He calls it "nira-manju." (Anyone with info about that name, please comment below.)
Judging by the panel's reactions, I think they all like it...but then we turn to Kageyama for the announcement of the winner of the preliminary...Takeshi Maruyama! He'll face one of the Iron Chefs shortly.
After the break, we see Maruyama waiting behind the challenger's curtain as Kaga makes his first entrance. This is the first time I've seen him acknowledge any crowd at all, as he openly waves and thanks those in attendance. He's behaving a bit more like an emperor than a chairman, but that's just me...
He then welcomes Maruyama, the very first challenger, into Kitchen Stadium--and this is an odd sight--Maruyama strides into Kitchen Stadium without applause or any narration from Fukui. Hmm.
Well, no matter...for the first time, we hear Kaga's immortal words: "Come to life, Iron Chefs!"
And for the first time ever, the world meets the Iron Chefs:
Chen, Ishinabe, and Michiba. The invincible men of culinary skills make their appearance for the first time...with no introduction of their background. But the question is, who will be thrown into the shark tank first?
With determination, Maruyama calls out...Ishinabe! The man in green, the one they call the Visconti of the culinary world, the God of Sauces, acknowledges Maruyama's challenge with a raise of his bell pepper and descends to the kitchen floor to take part in the first-ever battle.
Of note--Michiba is still standing at the dais while Kaga is announcing the theme ingredient. Speaking of...the first theme ever comes with Kaga's invitation to use any of the wide range of ingredients the Gourmet Academy has to offer. With that, Kaga rips off the red tablecloth for the first time and reveals...salmon! (Quite dramatically, I might add.)
And after a proverb about salmon from Kaga, he booms forth the now-familiar call to battle: "ALLEZ CUISINE!"
The gong is banged, and the first battle--which has a time limit of 90 minutes--is underway rather slowly as both men approach the ingredient stand with trepidation. Fukui and Hattori are alone in the announcer's booth, but they'll be here to guide us through this culinary confrontation all the same.
Maruyama is going grocery shopping on his side of the stadium, while Ishinabe seems puzzled by the available plates.
Maruyama's wok is fired up, and he makes a sign about wiping sweat off his brow. On the other side, the first action we see is Ishinabe chopping onions and carrots, while his assistants look on. After an edit that magically takes us 25 minutes into the battle, we see Maruyama finally beginning to break down his salmon. Takes him a couple of cleaver chops to do so.
Ishinabe has a deconstructed Ise-ebi (Japanese lobster) in his food processor, which shakes violently as he starts in. 30 minutes into the battle (which isn't announced, but shown on-screen), we get our first report from Ohta on the challenger's side: I don't know what Ohta just said, but Maruyama seems embarrassed for some reason.
Back to the Iron Chef's side, Ishinabe is deboning his salmon with tweezers (or is that forceps?). We swing back to Maruyama, who has a hunk of salmon in his wok. Ishinabe is slicing up his salmon into smaller, more manageable fillets, while we get another report from Ohta about the challenger--I think he may have said the challenger is intimidated by the cameras.
Ishinabe has scallops and Japanese lobster meat on this side. And as Hattori speculates about a mousse of some kind, Ishinabe acknowledges in kind! Fukui flips out as Ohta confirms that Ishinabe is indeed making a mousse.
A graphic reveals that there are about 15 minutes left in the battle. Maruyama has a minced mixture that he's stir-frying in his wok, while Ishinabe's salmon fillets from earlier have hit the skillet for a sauté. The commentators are trying to figure out what Maruyama's mixture is...all they conclude is that it's ground meat of some kind and vegetables. Kinda stating the obvious, but then...
Ishinabe's scallops are laying on top of the salmon fillets in the skillet, and the lobster joins it. Maruyama is arranging a circle of Chinese cabbage on a plate, while Ishinabe magically has a green spinach sauce. Fukui is quick to point out that said sauce matches the color of his costume.
10 minutes to go (hey, the first time call!), and Ishinabe's salmon has hit the plate, as has Maruyama's ground meat mixture. Ishinabe is dotting his salmon with the green sauce, adorning the plate with a lobster head. Maruyama's plate gets some slices of lemon, while the challenger dashes off to the fridge to fetch some lettuce. It doesn't appear as though Maruyama has used a lot of his fish--a shot reveals what he hadn't used, and there's still a considerable portion left!
Ohta comes in with a report that makes Fukui sound like he spit his coffee out--something about salmon, that much I understood...and somehow, we fast forward to 15 seconds left in the battle...Maruyama is preparing some lettuce to serve alongside his ground meat dish...but does he make it in time? The final gong rings just as Maruyama chucks some unusuable portions of lettuce into the trash (and as he does, you can hear some beeping in the background...maybe that was their official clock at the time?).
Now, for the first dishes ever presented on Iron Chef:
Challenger Maruyama has just one dish:
Iron Chef Ishinabe has two dishes:
I don't understand much Japanese, but what I *do* understand while Maruyama's dish is being tasted: Ishii makes a face as she looks over the lettuce wrap, and says, "Where's the salmon?" This alone probably doesn't bode well for Maruyama...
But after all that...who takes it? Will it be the Iron Chef or the hero of Chinese cuisine? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?
"Tetsujin, Ishinabe Yutaka."
Kaga doesn't shout the verdict as we've become accustomed to him doing...he just plainly states it like that, and without any postmortem from Fukui, the show fades to credits.
And that's how it all began on that one October day in nineteen hundred and ninety-three.
My thoughts: Obviously, every show experiences some growing pains when they first start. And while this is such a fantastic look into the episode that started a legend, I think we can all agree that it's a good thing they changed the format. It was pretty obvious Ishinabe was going to win once the battle was over, but personally, I love seeing this first show and wondering what must've been going through everyone's minds.
Watch this battle at the Iron Chef Collection here.
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