Thoughts on Tonight's Iron Chef...
Appleman vs. Symon,
This episode just left a really bad taste in my mouth. How can you have two amazing chefs. I'm thinking Appleman will win a Beard this year. AND have two silly sports jocks as judges? Boomer was turned off by the idea of eating brains and skin.
Appleman is a forward thinker, and his skill was not appreciated in the least.
Thoughts?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
18 Comments:
I expressed similar rage at the tv last night over the lack of qualified judges, while my boyfriend reminded the that the pointlessness of it was why he usually turns the tv off when the cooking is done.
annabanannas at 8:59AM on 01/02/09
I didn't watch it but this line caught my eye...
Boomer was turned off by the idea of eating brains and skin.
Shouldn't the very least amount of screening have exposed the fact that Boomer was not adventurous about food? I think the first thing that should disqualify a judge is an aversion to one of the foods that might be served.
Unless a non-food professional is an avid "foodie" in his or her spare time, we need to veer away from slapping someone in a judge's chair just because he or she is a celebrity. Being in the spotlight does not make one a food expert. Asking a jock to judge a food competition is about as annoying as when Martha Stewart (whom I otherwise adore) asks actresses and musicians to help her bake a cake on her show.
Has Bob Vila ever asked Mario Batali's assistance to fix the plumbing? Same thing.
therealchiffonade at 9:09AM on 01/02/09
I feel the same way. I looked at DH and and said I was baffled by the selection of judges based on the "surprise" ingredient. Another FN debacle, IMO.
izatryt at 9:37AM on 01/02/09
i really love iron chef, but unqualified judges COMPLETELY undermine this show.
how much of a ratings boost do the producers expect to get by marching out these D-list celebrities? that's the motivation, right? I just can't figure out why else you'd want these self-absorbed clowns to make a mockery of such masterful cooking.
SO FRUSTRATING!!!
z911empire at 9:41AM on 01/02/09
whoever selects the judges should be hung with a rope of sausage and drawn in clarified butter. Seriously, what a joke. I know chefs regularly have to create for the mass taste buds, but this is supposed to be about pushing the envelope, alot of the judges are a serious waste. Usually if I watch ICA its when the chefs are interesting and the judges are decent, if Jeffery S is there I'll watch avidly, I love the man, dont always agree with him but he's entertaining and knows what hes doing. I refused to watch last night after I saw the judges, I knew I'd be upset and the chefs would be wasting their time.
huneybumper at 9:50AM on 01/02/09
I didn't see this one, but I thought the same thing when I saw their Thanksgiving Showdown where Tiki Barber was one of the judges. It was ridiculous, and at times, insulting. At some point, Cora explained that she and Morimoto was doing an "East meets West" Thnksgiving, to which Riki replied, "so far, it's too much East and not enough West". Other than that, his main contributions were "I like it" or "I don't like it".
brooke29 at 12:51PM on 01/02/09
I agree--there are many interesting, attractive, food-savvy people in the world, and why not get them on the panel?
annien at 2:08PM on 01/02/09
@myself - grrr, it was supposed to be "Tiki", of course, not "Riki", the bloody keys are too close to one another:-)!
brooke29 at 2:23PM on 01/02/09
I'm so glad someone started this thread; I wanted to rant as well! I get so angry when the majority of the ICA judges are nobodies (i mean really, retired football player and guido radio host? cmon.). It seems as though they don't have enough respect for their audience to think we want to hear sophisticated culinary criticism. And it's very insulting to both of these amazing chefs when they hear their food "critiqued" by guys who can't understand a sausage without smoked meat! Bring back Jeffrey Steingarten, Andrew Knowlton - even Katie Lee Joel is more impressive than these goofs. : (
teenagefoodie at 4:59PM on 01/02/09
If any of you watched the original Iron Chef (Japan), you probably realize that there were always actresses and other non-foodie people on the show. Shouldn't part of the challenge be to impress everyday people? I think it's a far greater challenge to please both ends of the spectrum, than to simply focus on food-obsessed people. After all, that's what real chefs have to face on a daily basis, particularly hotel chefs.
fischersentropy at 5:06PM on 01/02/09
So my Iron Chef question (and comments) are: Is the judging done independently of the comments by the judges ? I mean how much of the conversation affects the judges final score. Or is the scoring done before the comments ? I watch it all the time, but haven't read the behind the scenes book. Seems if Julie Chen (not a gourmet) is sitting next to Jeffrey Steingarten (well respected gourmet), his comments would affect how Julie scores the food.
Regarding the nature of the judges - I honestly think they should be randomly selected from the audience. How else can you get unbiased, objective judging.
S'cuse the rambling....comments anyone ?
Ribster at 7:27PM on 01/02/09
@fischersentropy - yes, they did have actresses on a regular basis on the original IC Japan. However - their comments were always deeper an more interesting than "I like it" or "I don't like it". And they didn't seem to have any apparent aversion to the food served, no matter what it was.
brooke29 at 11:20PM on 01/02/09
I was flabbergasted when they announced Chef Symon as the winner..and I am a big fan of his! I seriously thought Appleman was robbed. His dishes were obviously more inventive and creative and it seemed like they were presented better...though I cant speak for the taste aspect, he certainly seemed to have the winning dishes...
mayoxqueen at 12:11AM on 01/03/09
Well, I watched it after i read your question, I was expecting one of the judges to scream like a girl when he got the brains, and all he said was, "What is this we're eating?" or something to that effect. Yeah, he had a weird look on his face, but he had the look before he was told what was in there, and that might have been about something else going on. And afterwards, both he and the other guy liked the dish a lot, so apparently they weren't that squeamish.
I don't know either of the two guys, but one was a retired football player, which probably means he's got the money for good food and travel. And they both were currently radio guys in New York, where one would imagine they have access to good food. So even though they aren't in the food industry, they've probably eaten a lot of good food in their lives. Their comments weren't completely stupid. Not phrased like restaurant critics, but what they said made some amount of sense.
Personally, I'd like to see them use one judge who isn't in the industry on each panel. That judge should be something of a foodie, but not someone who works in the food industry in any way.
My thought is that someone who is in a particular industry will judge things differently than someone who is the intended consumer. And I think both points are valid. And they could be completely different.
dbcurrie at 12:12AM on 01/03/09
I normally am very frustrated by the lack of qualified judges on ICA. However, I was watching (maybe a rerun?) a few weeks ago where Tina Fey was judging, she and Tyler Florence (who was on the show that day) were flirting like WOAH. While Tina's judging was not all that great, the interaction between the two of them was too funny NOT to watch.
veggieout at 10:04AM on 01/03/09
I have always suspected that some of the Iron Chef competitions were rigged anyhow, and that this episode was one of them. Being the new guy, I guess food network felt the need to cheat and show that the right chef got picked for this show (I was so upset that he was picked over John Besh). Appleman was as good as April Bloomfield when she beat Symon, if not better.
tricia_m at 12:54PM on 01/03/09
i'm thinking that maybe they don't have decent judges because they're serving food that is luke warm at best.... who wants to eat a room temperature fried quail egg on something.... anyway, it always amazes me that the food must be pretty cooled off before it's served..... but i guess that's TV for ya!!!!!
pooch at 1:01PM on 01/03/09
Let's hope Jeffrey Steingarten takes a chill pill with his sarcastic attacks - why the digs against Jenna Wolfe? She didn't seem out of place, and such unprofessionalism cheapens the show and his image. Iron Chef America, Flay vs. Tinsley, 1/4/09
notasexist at 3:18AM on 01/05/09