List of Iron Chef episodes


This is the list of episodes for the Japanese cooking television series Ryōri no Tetsujin, known among English-speaking audiences as Iron Chef, produced by Fuji Television. The series is a cooking competition in which a challenger chef "battles" one of the resident "Iron Chefs" by cooking at least one dish in a one-hour time slot based on a theme ingredient.
Not included in the lists below is a special episode titled "The Legend of Michiba", aired on January 5, 1996. This special episode was made exclusively for English-speaking audiences, especially "Iron Chef fans in the States."
For consistency, all Japanese names are in Western order, macroned with Hepburn romanization. All other East Asian names, on the other hand, are in Eastern order. Also, for each of the non-Japanese East Asian challengers, as much as possible, the name used is the romanization used by either the English-dubbed version of the show or any English language publication or website. Otherwise, the romanization used for the Chinese names is derived from the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation and Pinyin romanization of the name.
All East Asian challengers, except those with Wikipedia articles, will have their names in kanji in parentheses upon first mention in the list. For the non-Japanese East Asian challengers, the Japanese pronunciation of the name as used in the show is also included.
In the case of East Asians with mixed Chinese-Japanese heritage, such as Chen Kenichi, they follow the same criteria as the Chinese names.

1993

Premiere episode. Originally, episodes were broadcast in a 30-minute timeslot at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday nights, and for this first battle, the Iron Chef and Challenger were given 90 minutes of cooking time. This was reduced to 60 minutes in the next episode.
This is the first battle featuring a foreign challenger.
This is the first battle in which a challenger won against the Iron Chef, as well as the first episode after the preliminary battles and Honorary Iron Chef titles were scrapped.

1994

The year ended with the 1994 Mr. Iron Chef competition; Part 1 aired on December 23, and Part 2 aired on January 2, 1995. Both parts were never dubbed in English. This tournament featured winning challengers from previous episodes, each representing four different styles of cooking, battling against each other. The winner faced off against Michiba.
Jacques Borie was offered a spot as the French challenger, but declined. Artur Rütter was then asked, but the production staff was frustrated over him suddenly cancelling the offer, due to "a full restaurant reservation for Christmas". Shimizu was ultimately selected, with the approval of regular customers.
Overall
Episode #		Original airdateChallengerChallengerTheme IngredientWinner
60December 23, 1994Toshirō KandagawaHiromi YamadaSpiny lobsterToshirō Kandagawa
60December 23, 1994Tadaaki ShimizuCheng KazuhikoBeefTadaaki Shimizu

Overall
Episode #		Original airdateIron ChefChallengerChallenger SpecialtyTheme IngredientWinner
61January 2, 1995Toshirō KandagawaTadaaki Shimizu1994 Mr. Iron Chef Preliminaries AbaloneToshirō Kandagawa
61January 2, 1995Rokusaburo MichibaToshirō Kandagawa1994 Mr. Iron Chef FinalsYellowtailRokusaburo Michiba

This is the first rematch episode.
Sakai's first battle as Iron Chef.
This is the first episode to feature a female challenger.
Last episode broadcast in a 30-timeslot on Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m.
From here on out, the show was broadcast in a 45-minute timeslot on Friday nights at 11:00 p.m. This episode was never dubbed in English, and is not widely available. The cooking time was extended to 90 minutes for this battle.
This is the first tag team match wherein both teams have no assistants.
There were two different Keiji Nakazawas with two different specialties who battled two different Iron Chefs Japanese almost five years apart. The first one, a French cuisine chef, battled against Michiba, while the other one, a sushi chef, battled against Morimoto.
Xu Peirong was announced as the 50th challenger, and this episode was the 50th battle.
No specialty is listed for Umemiya, an actor who trained extensively but did not cook professionally.
This episode covers the second half of the 1994 Mr. Iron Chef competition.
As the winner of the preliminary finals, Kandagawa challenged Michiba in the final round of 1994 Mr. Iron Chef.

1995

Overall
Episode #		Original airdateIron ChefChallengerChallenger SpecialtyTheme IngredientWinner
62January 6, 1995Chen KenichiToshiyuki Nakagawa JapaneseMochiChen Kenichi
63January 13, 1995Hiroyuki SakaiKōji Yamada FrenchTurnipHiroyuki Sakai
64January 20, 1995Chen KenichiHisao Oidate Chinese Chinese cabbageChen Kenichi
65January 27, 1995Hiroyuki SakaiFuyuko Kondō PastriesChocolate and appleHiroyuki Sakai
66February 3, 1995Chen KenichiYoshie Urabe JapaneseSoybeanChen Kenichi
67February 10, 1995Rokusaburo MichibaMasao Suzuki FusionMatsuba crabRokusaburo Michiba
68February 17, 1995Chen KenichiKunihiko Hashimoto JapaneseTaroChen Kenichi
69February 24, 1995Hiroyuki SakaiToshihiro Komine FrenchAsparagusHiroyuki Sakai
70March 3, 1995Rokusaburo Michibanihongo\|Wang Zhijian|王志堅|Wan Jichenref|16

1996

The first episode of 1996 covered the second half of 1995 Mr. Iron Chef competition. This would be Michiba's last battle as a regular Iron Chef.
Overall
Episode #		Original airdateIron ChefIron ChefTheme IngredientWinner
111January 3, 1996Rokusaburo MichibaChen KenichiBeefRokusaburo Michiba

Overall
Episode #		Original airdateIron ChefChallengerChallenger SpecialtyTheme IngredientWinner
112January 12, 1996Chen Kenichinihongo\|Gao Jinyi|高進益|Kō Shin'ekiref|25

1997

Overall
Episode #		Original airdateIron ChefChallengerChallenger SpecialtyTheme IngredientWinner
161January 10, 1997Hiroyuki SakaiHiroshi Kasahara JapaneseMochiHiroyuki Sakai
162January 17, 1997Chen KenichiHiroshi Michifude Chinese Dried scallopHiroshi Michifude
163January 24, 1997Hiroyuki Sakairef|29ref|30

1998

Overall
Episode #		Original airdateIron ChefChallengerChallenger SpecialtyTheme IngredientWinner
209January 9, 1998Chen KenichiAkihiko Inoue JapaneseSalted salmonChen Kenichi
210January 16, 1998Masahiko KobeYasuhiro Fukatsu FrenchVenisonYasuhiro Fukatsu
211January 23, 1998Hiroyuki SakaiYoshimasa Matsumoto JapaneseSnow crabHiroyuki Sakai
212January 30, 1998Chen Kenichinihongo\|Tong Chiufai|唐 朝輝|Tō Chōkiref|39ref|39ref|40ref|41

1999

This episode, aired in two parts, celebrated Morimoto's first anniversary as an Iron Chef. The two elder Iron Chefs Japanese were present to help Morimoto put his focus back.
This is the first episode in which all four Iron Chefs appear at the same time, rather than have Kobe making a separate entrance. This was also the first episode wherein Chairman Kaga boycotted the battle due to the Iron Chefs' recent losses. Yukio Hattori did double-duty as emcee and usual color commentator for this episode.
There were two different Keiji Nakazawas with two different specialties who battled two different Iron Chefs Japanese almost five years apart. The first one, a French cuisine chef, battled against Michiba, while the other one, a sushi chef, battled against Morimoto.
Theme ingredients included tuna, kohada, anago, eggs, and kanpyō. Also, the one-hour time limit for the battle did not include the preparation of the rice to be used for the sushi.
Corby was the 300th even challenger, when separate appearances count as two. This number takes into account the challengers who battled in both parts of the 1994 and 1995 Mr. Iron Chef Specials, the 1995 Hong Kong Special, all the other aforementioned Specials, the overtime challengers, and doesn't count Yoshinori Kojima.
Both Chen and Corby were declared joint winners in the overtime battle.
The final three episodes cover the King of Iron Chefs tournament which saw the Iron Chefs battle against each other. The last Iron Chef standing would then battle the last ever challenger in the show's regular run, Alain Passard.

Specials (2000–2002)

SpecialOriginal airdateIron ChefChallengerChallenger SpecialtyTheme IngredientWinner
Millennium CupJanuary 5, 2000Chen Kenichinihongo\|Zhao Renliang|趙仁良|Chō Jinryō

Specials notes

The Millennium Cup, occurring three months after the last regular battle, introduced two "new" Iron Chefs in the persons of Yūji Wakiya and Seigo Mitani as successors to Iron Chefs Sakai and Chen. Both actually never battled since their introduction. And while there were two battles, all four chefs involved were competing to have one of their dishes be declared as the "Millennium Dish." Although Bouchet lost his battle with Michiba, his beef main course was declared the "Millennium Dish."
The first part of the New York Special saw Iron Chefs Morimoto, Sakai, Kobe and Honorary Iron Chef Michiba visit the city. During the Iron Chefs' visit to the Zagat weekend home, Tim and Nina Zagat had arranged a battle between Morimoto and Flay. Also included in the first part were Kobe and Sakai's visit to an Asian cooking class in the Culinary Institute of America and Morimoto and Michiba's guesting in an episode of Doorknock Dinners. Gordon Elliott, the host of that show, would also serve as the English-speaking host for Flay and Morimoto's battle in the second half of the special alongside Kaga.
The 21st Century Battles were held especially to usher in the beginning of the 21st century, and brought back two previous challengers. The first was prolific guest Toshirō Kandagawa, who shaved himself bald to atone for his antagonistic role in the past. The second, Bobby Flay, was brought back to fulfill a clamor for a rematch against Morimoto as according to several reports, Flay did not take his loss very well, even complaining about the treatment against him in that battle.
In the events that led to the Japan Cup, Chairman Kaga had died due to puffer fish liver poisoning. A memorial service was held before the new chairman, Kaga's equally flamboyant nephew, played by actor Masahiro Motoki was introduced. The Japan Cup, launched to keep the tradition of Kitchen Stadium alive, held and recorded at the Tokyo Big Sight. Chen was chosen to represent Chinese cuisine while the selection of representatives for French, Italian, and Japanese cuisines was opened to "unknown nameless chefs." There were only two battles that were covered in full: Chen's semifinal battle and finals between Chen and Nonaga, only highlights of Nonaga's semifinal battle were shown due to time constraints. Takeshi Kaga, the actor portraying the character Chairman Kaga, was still alive at the time of the Japan Cup, his character was killed off due to commitments he had at the time that prevented him from reprising his role. The story element of the "death" of Kaga's character was ignored in Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters, as according to that show's storyline, it was Chairman Kaga himself who sent Sakai and Morimoto to America to grace the opening of a new Gourmet Academy there.

Revival series (2012–2013)

On October 26, 2012, Fuji TV revived the original Iron Chef franchise, this time simply using the English name Iron Chef. Actor Hiroshi Tamaki assumed the role as the new Chairman in this revival. For the line-up of Iron Chefs, Yuji Wakiya became the official Iron Chef Chinese, while Yōsuke Suga was selected as the new Iron Chef French instead of Seigo Mitani; Jun Kurogi was chosen as the new Iron Chef Japanese. Yukio Hattori would reprise his role as commenter, guided by a set of culinary experts.
Unlike the previous series, the 2012 revival had challengers nominated by prominent personalities, such as past Iron Chefs. Through public vote, challengers who won battles would have a chance to officially become future Iron Chefs.
For consistency, all Japanese names are in Western order, macroned with Hepburn romanization. All other East Asian names, on the other hand, are in Eastern order. Also, for each of the non-Japanese East Asian challengers, as much as possible, the romanization used for the Chinese names are derived from the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation and Pinyin romanization of the name.
All East Asian challengers, except those with Wikipedia articles, have their names in kanji in parentheses upon first mention in the list. For the non-Japanese Asian challengers, the Japanese pronunciation of the name as used in the show is also included.
In the case of East Asians with mixed Chinese-Japanese heritage, such as Chen Kenichi, they follow the same criteria as the Chinese names.

2012

The last episode of 2012 is the New Year's Eve episode as the Mr. Iron Chef competition. It was broadcast live for six hours and there were seven judges for each battle. It was broadcast as alternative programming to NHK's hugely popular Kōhaku Uta Gassen.
Overall
Episode #		Original airdateResident
Iron Chef		Guest
Iron Chef		SpecialityTheme IngredientWinnerFinal Score
Omisoka Special December 31, 2012Yōsuke Suga

2013

Overall
Episode #		Original airdateIron ChefNomineeNominee SpecialtyTheme IngredientWinnerFinal Score
8January 18, 2013Jun KurogiKazuhide Nose FrenchCheeseJun Kurogi85 - 75.5
9January 25, 2013Yuji WakiyaTsuneyuki Hamada JapaneseBeefYuji Wakiya85.5 - 80.5
10February 15, 2013Yuji WakiyaHiromi YamadaItalianCabbageHiromi Yamada91 - 94
11February 22, 2013Yōsuke SugaHideki Irie JapaneseScallopYōsuke Suga90 - 82
12March 1, 2013Yōsuke SugaToshihiko Yoroizuka PastryStrawberryToshihiko Yoroizuka90 - 93
13March 22, 2013Jun KurogiTakemasa Kinoshita FrenchBamboo shootJun Kurogi88 - 83

Overall
Episode #		Original airdateJapanUSASpecialityTheme IngredientWinnerFinal Score
World Cup Special July 4, 2013