Fantasy Iron Chef America

[sasha1]

Ok - appoint 4 new Iron Chefs, who are there for their talent and originality, and not for their boyish good looks and lack of charm. And just for fun, propose a secret ingredient. Since I'm feeling a little devilish, I'd love to see what they could do with ketchup. Or water.

On the chef decision, I'd keep Mario, because he seems less distracted than many of Food Networks "stars" by the fame, and has kept true to his passion, which is cooking and food. Bobby, I would ax. He is conceited (standing on a cuttingboard???), and it irks me that he can't plate a dish without putting every color of the rainbow on it. I think Morimoto is talented but sometimes nuts (wasn't there a episode on the original show where he made spaghetti with ketchup in paper cones?), but he doesn't get called up much. Cat Cora is the token female, and she is just that. A token. Rarely gets called, and I think she is her #1 fan. I'm not sure who else is in her corner. I'd almost put Suzanne Goin in her place. This is a local preference of course, but having been to Lucques a couple times and AOC a couple more times, I haven't had a single dish I haven't liked or loved.

Who are your choices?

[sgordon]

John Besh
Tracy De Jardins
Iacopo Falai
Kenny Shopsin

[la vida dulce]

I'd watch these match ups---
Iron Chef Mamas: Mary Ann Esposito vs. Lidia Bastianich

Iron Chef Lab Experiments: Harold McGee vs. Shirley Coriher

Iron Chef Pie Fight: Three Stooges vs. Soupy Sales

Iron Chef Chocolates: David Lebovitz vs. Jacques Torres

Iron Chef Food Critics: Virbila vs. Levine

Iron Chef McSteamy: Curtis Stone vs. Tyler Florence
(hey, it's my fantasy!)

Iron Chef In The Sky: Careme vs. Escoffier

[Phaedrus]

If you're going to go that far, how about Brillat-Savarin against Ferran Adria?

[chaddict]

Yan/Bourdain I can oddly see. Emeril/Pepin-oh.my.gawd! The mind reels! It hasn't even happened I am already ordering the sympathy flowers for Pepin. ML8000, you have a sick and twisted mind. Marry me?

[ML8000]

Marriage? Only if Flay officiates and follows up with catering from a "Throwdown! With Bobby Flay" show and it's Thai food. You are right about Yan/Bourdain. I think they'd both get the joke (unlike others chefs) and milk it just right.

[ML8000]

In Roto League fantasy mode, I'll go right to the match ups:

Battle High & Low - Keller vs Flay
Battle Old School vs Hip & Lip - Pepin vs Bourdain
Battle Showmen - Yan vs Emeril
Battle Food Nerds - Alton Brown vs Chris Kimball

Notes:

Flay might do better then you think, Keller might not like the environment/set-up...everyone would love to see Flay destroyed

Bourdain would have a a difficult time "getting it up" against someone he respects...talker vs. non-talker

Yan and Emeril, similar: hams of a different flavor, it would be weird but both can cook

Brown vs Kimball...just because you could

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Bonus Tag Team Grudge Matches

Keller & Kimball vs Flay & Brown
Yan & Bourdain vs Emeril & Pepin

[Kuisine]

Wasn't there an Emeril episode where that essentially happened? Emeril invited Yan on the show and Yan totally out-showmanshipped (ok I'm making words up now)him?

[ML8000]

Indeed there was and I admit to copping the idea...but it did lead me to think it would be great match up esp. w/ Emeril out for revenge.

[Bostonbob3]

Ooo, Emeril out for revenge?

Don't forget, he's from Fall River, Mass., home of Lizzie Borden.

[Phaedrus]

I think Bourdain and Pepin would be choking their respective partners at the end of the Grudge match. That's good TV though!

[Bostonbob3]

How about Julia Child versus James Beard?

"Battle of the Graveyard Stars."

[heathermb]

Battle of the Food Icons:

Iron Chef French: Julia Childs
Iron Chef Italian: Marcella Hazan
Iron Chef "American:" Alice Waters
Iron Chef Vegas: Wolfgang Puck

[Bostonbob3]

What would the secret ingredient be in the Julia Child battle? Formaldehyde?

[heathermb]

Yuck! No, but since this is a *fantasy* posting, I'd love the chance to see her square off in the kitchen against one of today's food icons.

[xfleetwoodx]

I'd like to see Thomas Keller v. Grant Achatz.

[Phaedrus]

Yeah, I would actually pay to see that.

How about El Bulli staff versus French Laundry staff.

[Bostonbob3]

I would pick El Bulli to win, but only because they have a full arsenal of odd chemicals and aerosols they could use as weapons againt Keller.

[Grubbjunkie]

Alice Waters v. Wylie Dufresne doing Battle Egg or Potato would be fun to watch and judge.

[steinpilz]

Iron Chef Local - Alice Waters
Iron Chef Global - Jean Georges Vongerichten
Iron Chef West - Thomas Keller
Iron Chef East - Mario Batali

- because I'd like to regularly see their cooking style.

Battles I wouldn't mind seeing:

Waters vs Boulud
Vongerichten vs Nobu
Keller vs Ducasse
Batali vs Fergus Henderson

[sasha1]

Funny! Sandra Lee would drink herself into oblivion with her aquamarine coctails if the secret ingredient wasn't vanilla pudding.

[ooroger]

Iron Chef Nightmare: Sandra Lee
Iron Chef Crockpot: Rachel Ray
Iron Chef Grating: Paula Deen
Iron Chef Creepy: The Hearty Boys

[Bostonbob3]

LOL! Especially Iron Chef Creepy.

Not only are they creepy, they prepare bad catering food.

[ChefJune]

<Not only are they creepy, they prepare bad catering food>

Have YOU eaten their food? I have, and it was delicious. I don't watch their show, but when they were on TNFNS, I didn't think there was anything creepy about them.

[lollya]

i actually did laugh out loud just now and spit out my moroccan chickpea soup.

[Bostonbob3]

I propose a Deen Boys versus The Hearty Boys battle.

I wouldn't actually watch it, but it would make for a train wreck of annoying personalities.

[heathermb]

Do you think that's what they had in mind with the RR vs Giada?

[Bostonbob3]

Or, as I called it, the Teeth versus the Lollypop Head.

[Bostonbob3]

Iron Chef French: Daniel Boulud
Iron Chef Italian: Anthony Susi
Iron Chef Japanese: Masayoshi Takayama
Iron Chef American: Thomas Keller (I know, I know, he does French, but how can you leave him off the list?)

[Morton the Mousse]

It would take Keller an hour just to prepare and plate the amuse bouche! I love his food, but I don't think his style of cooking would adapt to the Iron Chef format.