Serious Eats
After Iron Chef: New Smart, Quirky Cooking Shows From Japan
Betty Hallock of the LA Times discusses the future of quirky smart cooking series imported from Japan, like the New Dotch Cooking Show:
The series — part cooking show, part game show, part reality show, part documentary — airs Saturday nights on Asian-language cable station KSCI (the program, with English subtitles, is listed as "Cooking Showdown"). With its frenetic pace, glistening food close-ups, slapstick humor, a soundtrack that might include a Debbie Harry hit or a heavy metal ballad, and some of the general quirkiness that catapulted the original "Iron Chef" to cult fandom, it has gained an enthusiastic following of Japanese and non-Japanese viewers.
The LAT has a short clip from the show, completely in Japanese and without subtitles, but you'll still get a good idea of its sense of humor and frenetic energy.