The BEST episodes of Iron Chef

#1 - Nakamura vs Mera Takashi (Seaweed)

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/21/1997

#2 - Hong Kong Special

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/31/1995

Two hour special featuring Michiba vs. Shu Chu in Battle Spiny Lobster and Chen vs Ron Waikei in Battle Pork

#3 - Ishinabe vs Oyama Eizo (Banana)

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/12/1993

Christmas time is approaching and Chairman Kaga is looking forward to all the special desserts. He holds the first dessert battle in Kitchen Stadium.

#4 - Sakai vs Yuji Wakiya (Sea Urchin)

Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired 6/17/1994

Sea Urchin provides a young chef the chance to revolutionalize Chinese cooking. Judges: Tamio Kageyama (Novelist), Mayuko Takata (Actress), Masaaki Hirano (Rosanjin Scholar)

#5 - Chen vs Katsuyo Kobayashi (Potato)

Season 2 - Episode 32 - Aired 8/19/1994

Chen faces the second female chef in kitchen stadium. She is a television icon to many Japanese housewives. Both chefs enjoy fame. One's an Iron Chef, the other hosts a popular cooking show. Spuds will fly in battle potato.

#6 - Sakai vs Hidetoshi Ushimaru (Curry Powder)

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/19/1996

While the search continues for a new Iron Chef Japanese, Iron Chef French Sakai accepts the challenge of a rising French-trained chef making a name in hotel dining: head chef of the Terrace at the Westin Tokyo. Wanting to spice up the battle, Chairman Kaga presents them with a challenging theme: curry powder accompanied by five other spices for variety.

#7 - France Special Part 2: Sakai vs Pierre Gagnaire (Homard Lobster)

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/12/1996

Chairman Takeshi Kaga travels to battle the great chefs of France - witness as Iron Chef French #2 (Hiroyuki Sakai) and Iron Chef Japanese #2 (Koumei Nakamura) battle to defend the honor of Iron Chef and the Gourmet Academy. For the second battle, Iron Chef French Sakai and famed French chef Pierre Gagnaire are given a unique challenge. They have 24 hours to obtain authentic French ingredients, then return to the French castle site to hold the actual battle.

#8 - Chen vs Lee Myong Suk (Liver)

Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/5/1995

Chairman Kaga welcomes his first Korean challenger, bringing with her a distinctive form of cuisine rarely seen in Japan.

#9 - Michiba and Sakai vs The Cuomo Brothers (Tomato)

Season 3 - Episode 33 - Aired 8/18/1995

Tag Team Battle! Two Iron Chefs vs 2 Italian Brothers in the battle of the tomato. After growing up in Italy, these brothers started their own restaurant in Tokyo. It is so popular that you must make reservations up to 6 months in advance. Judges: Yasushi Akimoto (Songwriter), Hideki Saijo (Singer), Asako Kishi (Culinary Critic)

#10 - Sakai vs Mario Nakagawa (Lamb)

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/22/1994

Sakai must face a former apprentice. Which will prevail - Sakai's traditional methods or Nakagawa's nouveau "third wave" style? Judges: Tamio Kageyama (Novelist), Mayuko Takata (Actress), Asako Kishi (Critic)

#11 - Sakai vs Ron Siegel (Lobster)

Season 6 - Episode 38 - Aired 10/9/1998

An American chef enters Kitchen Stadium for a lobster battle.

#12 - The Final Kitchen Stadium Battle (Longgang Chicken)

Season 7 - Episode 40 - Aired 9/24/1999

Alain Passard vs. Sakai, the winner of the King of the Iron Chef Tournament. The theme is Longgang Chicken. The challenger for this final Kitchen Stadium battle has been here before. He competed against Iron Chef Komei Nakamura in the 1997 Iron Chef World Cup. That battle ended in a tie. Chairman Kaga has invited him back to take care of this unfinished business. This chef is called the best in the world by some. He is a three star chef from France. He began cooking at 8 years old. This will a very tough challenge for the Iron Chef.

#13 - Nakamura vs Kiyoshi Suzuki (Foie Gras)

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/1/1996

After two months, retired Iron Chef Michiba presents Chairman Kaga with his successor: Komei Nakamura, an imposing chef from a prestigious formal Japanese restaurant who both keeps a traditional base and fearlessly seeks out new ideas. For his inaugural battle, he faces two challenges: the owner of Auberge de Suzuki in Seijo, one of the chefs of Club des Trentes; and the theme of Foie Gras, the same ingredient Michiba faced in his debut match three years ago.

#14 - Chen vs Tsuguo Fujiwara (Sea Cucumber)

Season 3 - Episode 38 - Aired 9/22/1995

Tsuguo Fujiwara is Managing Director of the Chinese Chefs' Association of Japan: the largest association of Chinese chefs in the country. Iron Chef Chinese Chen is placed in an uncomfortable position. As a lower member of the Association, he finds himself feeling like the challenger for once as he has to face his senior.

#15 - Michiba vs Masao Suzuki (Matsuba Crab)

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/10/1995

The challenger is the head chef at a restaurant that Iron Chef Michiba himself dines at frequently. Judges: Tamio Kagayama (Novelist), Mayuko Takata (Actress), Asako Kishi (Culinary Critic)

#16 - Chen vs Yukihiro Noda (Sardine)

Season 3 - Episode 25 - Aired 6/23/1995

Chairman Kaga is in a very bad mood. His Iron Chefs have lost their last two battles. Worse, the stress of the last loss has left the mighty Iron Chef Japanese Michiba in the hospital. And now, he has to answer a challenger representing the famed Italian restaurateur Don Sabatini. Can Chen avoid the fate of his fellow Iron Chefs and defend the honor of Kitchen Stadium?

#17 - Michiba vs Yukio Hattori (Truffle)

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/29/1994

Commentator Dr. Hattori issues a challenge to Michiba and is rewarded with an incredible secret ingredient. Judges: Joel Robuchon (Chef), Mai Kitajima (Actress), Masaaki Hirano (Rosanjin Scholar)

#18 - Chen vs Liang Shuqing (Pork Belly)

Season 6 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/22/1998

The younger sibling of the Liang brothers, rulers of Cantonese cuisine in Japan, faces Iron Chef Chinese.

#19 - Nakamura vs Toyoaki Suganuma (Egg)

Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/19/1996

#20 - Chen vs He Yewen (Lettuce)

Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/26/1996

The new chef of Akasaka Rikyu demonstrates his distinctive Hong Kong cooking skills.

#21 - Nakamura vs Katsuko Nanao (Cod Roe)

Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/3/1996

Chairman Kaga welcomes a woman who opened a restaurant that specializes in home-style Japanese cuisine and presents for the battle a common, everyday ingredient that fits in her style.

#22 - Chen vs Shunji Morikawa (Pineapple)

Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/10/1996

Morikawa's restaurant, Cay, is said to have pioneered Thai food in Japan. His patrons include Stephen Hawking and Yoko Ono. Can Chen beat him at his own game?

#23 - Nakamura vs Kenji Motai (Udon)

Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/24/1996

The challenger is the chief instructor of culinary skills at Hattori Nutrition College and was recommended by Dr. Hattori to be the new Iron Chef Japanese after Michiba retired. Because of the theme involved, the Noodle Rule is invoked for this battle. The Iron Chef must retire from the kitchen after 50 minutes as the challenger completes his dishes and presents to the judges first. As that occurs, the Iron Chef returns to complete his final ten minutes of preparation just before presenting to the judges.

#24 - Chen vs Gotoh Ichio (Cuttlefish)

Season 4 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/31/1996

Today's challenger is French-influenced Italian chef of such renown that anywhere he cooks, you'll find lines running out the door.

#25 - Sakai vs Kondo Motohito (Girls' Festival)

Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/6/1998

In honor of the Girls' Festival, Kaga invites a challenger from the ancient city of Kamakura, Motohito Kondo, who had training in Kyoto and is an expert in both tea and sake. He challenges Iron Chef French Sakai. For this one battle only, there is no theme ingredient (the theme is the Girls' Festival itself), and the chefs are invited to improvise dishes using only the ingredients provided by the Kitchen Stadium pantry. Judges (for this occasion, all female spanning four generations): Yumi Adachi (Actress, Teen), Naomi Hosokawa (Actress, Young Adult), Yoko Akino (Actress, Middle-Age), Asako Kishi (Culinary Critic, Elder)