Rather than have Chen and Corby fight a second overtime battle, Chairman Kaga, the show's host decreed that both contestants were the winners, effectively calling the battle a draw.Īs with other Iron Chefs, Chen has 'feuded' with a faction determined to take him down. Memorable matchesĪmong his more memorable matches was one with challenger Dominique Corby of the Tour d'Argent, where, after the main battle (with foie gras as the theme ingredient) was fought to a tie, the overtime battle (with asparagus as the theme) also resulted in a tie-the only time that such an outcome occurred in the series.

The commentators to the show referred to this practice in humor as Chen's 'eating'. He was also remarkable for his frequent tasting of food, frequently dipping his ladle into steaming concoctions for sampling, only to place the same ladle back in the food. Arguably, his win over Japanese- Italian- French 'fusion'-style chef Juinichi Itoh in the yogurt battle exemplifies this. His most memorable dish was chili prawns.ĭespite his excellent record on the show, Chen often appeared endearingly surprised and relieved at victory. He also has a run of 14 consecutive victories, the longest of any Iron Chef. Ultimately, it was fellow Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai who convinced Chen to stay, with their agreement that should one leave the show, so would the other.īecause of his long tenure, Chen has fought more battles than any of the other Iron Chefs, at 92battles. Even though he is the longest-serving Iron Chef and the only original Iron Chef, having been an Iron Chef for the series' six-year run, Chen had on several occasions considered leaving his position among his reasons was the desire to tend to his restaurants, which had become booked every night since the show's start, as well as about of depression following the death of his mother. Chen originally accepted his position on Iron Chef out of the need for a challenge, although the format of the show intrigued him.

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