The BEST episodes of The Next Iron Chef

#1 - Resourcefulness

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/17/2010

The eight remaining chefs must prove their resourcefulness when they're tasked with making unique snacks using a variety of pickles. Then, they head out on a fishing field trip, where they'll have to catch the ingredients they'll later prepare.

#2 - Respect

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/31/2010

The humble potato is the secret ingredient, and the six remaining chefs have 45 minutes to make innovative dishes using all types of potatoes.

#3 - Innovation

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/10/2010

#4 - Finale

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/18/2011

The remaining two chefs walk into Kitchen Stadium to complete their final test: PRESSURE. With the Chairman looking on and host Alton Brown commentating from the sidelines, the final challenge is themed around the winter holidays. Enduring the unpredictability and PRESSURE of Kitchen Stadium will determine who will become the Next Iron Chef.

#5 - Passion and Respect

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/23/2012

Each judge selects an ingredient and will shape the chefs ''last supper'' in Las Vegas.

#6 - Lead & Inspire

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/4/2007

#7 - Risk

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/2/2012

An ingredient auction where the currency is the chef's cooking time.

#8 - Fusion

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/9/2012

The chefs are asked to fuse unusual ingredients into something new.

#9 - Resourcefulness

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/4/2012

These chefs must re-live their experiences on the previous competitions and redeem themselves.

#10 - Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/6/2011

The chefs head to Petco Park in San Diego to take on food related to baseball. They meet host Alton Brown and former Cy Young winner Randy Jones at home plate and are challenged to transform classic ballpark favorites into "Iron Chef" cuisine. With only minutes to grab ingredients from food carts, concession stands and the park kitchens, the chefs attempt to hit a gustatory grand slam in just one hour.

#11 - Food Is Funny

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/20/2011

An Iron Chef's ability to IMPROVISE is a key to success in Kitchen Stadium. When ingredients on the altar are revealed, combatants in Kitchen Stadium must respond quickly to what the Chairman has thrown at them. Guest comedian Kevin Nealon and the audience at the Improv comedy club in Hollywood throw ingredient suggestions at the chefs - everything from octopus to marshmallows, perhaps a coconut? Kevin selects a disparate list of ingredients to cook with and the chefs have 45 minutes to improvise an Iron Chef-worthy dish.

#12 - Simplicity and Innovation

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/14/2007

Alton assigns the chefs their next tasks: simplicity and innovation. The chefs must create one perfect bite that reveals their culinary viewpoint.

#13 - Primal: Heat and Meat

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/30/2011

In the season premiere of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, 10 Chefs are brought to the middle of nowhere and their primal instincts are put to the test. Split into five teams, the chefs are given the most basic tools to create build their own cooking stations before creating their Iron Chef worthy dishes.

#14 - Innovation

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/11/2012

The chefs create an innovative take on international classics.

#15 - Simplicity

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/18/2012

Photographer Todd Selby captures each chef's personality in a single snapshot; the chefs must use these photos as inspiration for putting one of their opponents' personalities on a plate.

#16 - Hamptons Beach Cookout

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/11/2011

In this challenge, the chefs must create food for a Hamptons event that reflects the rich seafood bounty of the area. Double-elimination looms while the chefs must entwine their skills and focus on finding their "passion" to take a traditional beach cookout to Iron Chef-worthy heights. Who has the passion, the burning desire, to become the Next Iron Chef?

#17 - Fearlessness

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/4/2009

In the season premiere of The Next Iron Chef, ten chefs arrive in Los Angeles to compete in a series of globally-inspired cooking challenges that will test their abilities to master culinary styles from around the world. The chefs are greeted by host Alton Brown (Iron Chef America, Good Eats), who gives them their first two tests: Memory and Fearlessness. For Memory, the chefs are asked to use an ingredient that has played a significant role in their lives to create a dish that expresses their culinary style and heritage. Next, the chefs are assigned exotic ingredients from around the world that test their iron wills and stomachs. They must showcase their fearless nature through their approach in using these ingredients as the centerpiece of two dishes. The first chef is then eliminated.

#18 - Let's All Go to the Lobby

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/13/2011

An Iron Chef has the INGENUITY to see the extraordinary culinary potential in ordinary circumstances and ingredients. In this challenge, the chefs are brought to the Orpheum Theater, where Alton reveals the raw material for the Chairman's Challenge: iconic movie snack bar goodies, including popcorn and all the candy classics. The chefs have 60 minutes to create two dishes that show off their movie snack bar ingredient in the most ingenious way.

#19 - Transformation

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/25/2012

The remaining 7 use can goods to make a dish they choose.

#20 - Interpretation

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/11/2009

Host Alton Brown gives the nine remaining chefs their next two challenges: Simplicity and Interpretation. In the first challenge, the chefs are asked to use a variety of one-pot cooking devices from around the world to make a family-style dish. The chefs judge one another and reveal who cooked both the most successful and the least successful creations using the ethnic cooking vessels. Next, the chefs are asked to reinvent classic "international" dishes to see who can create an Iron Chef-worthy interpretation of some of the best-known dishes in the world. The next chef is eliminated.

#21 - Honor

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/21/2010

After a season packed with grueling challenges, only two chefs remain to battle it out for the ultimate title of Iron Chef. The challengers head to New York for a Thanksgiving-themed showdown in legendary Kitchen Stadium where they face a true Iron Chef challenge: Prepare five creative and delicious dishes in 60 minutes. In the end, only one chef will reign supreme to earn the title of The Next Iron Chef.

#22 - Imagination (Season 2 Finale)

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/22/2009

The remaining two chefs walk into the hallowed halls of Kitchen Stadium to complete their final test: Imagination. With the Chairman looking on and host Alton Brown (Iron Chef America) commentating from the side, the two finalists compete in a head-to-head battle. Using everything they have learned, they must take the secret ingredient and create a five course meal that reflects the melting pot that is the American culinary experience. One of the chefs will then be selected as the winner and become the new Iron Chef!

#23 - Pressure

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/1/2009

The six remaining competitors meet acclaimed Indian chef, Suvir Saran, and begin their next test: Pressure. First, the chefs have 30 minutes to capture the essence and balance of Indian fare in just one bite. Then, the chefs attend a Bollywood-style gala to gain a true understanding of the traditional foods and culture of India. With this knowledge, they then have two hours to prepare a five-course Indian feast judged for the authenticity, flavor, drama, and theatrical presentation of the food. Two chefs are eliminated, and the remaining chefs learn they will head to the airport and travel on American Airlines to one of the great culinary hotspots in the world – Tokyo, Japan.

#24 - Adaptability

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/25/2009

An Iron Chef must adapt to a secret ingredient that is revealed just moments before cooking. For their next test, host Alton Brown asks the remaining seven chefs endure a tough test of Adaptability. The chefs have 90 minutes to prepare a savory and sweet duo of Mexican-inspired dishes and a creative beverage that successfully utilizes a secret ingredient flown in from Mexico on American Airlines. At the iconic Grand Central Market, the chefs shop for additional indigenous ingredients to effectively capture the heart and soul of Mexican cooking. They are judged on how well they adapt the secret ingredient to their culinary creations. One chef is eliminated.

#25 - Innovation

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/18/2009

Host Alton Brown explains that Innovation is one of the most important traits of an Iron Chef and both challenges in this episode must embody that trait. First, the chefs disperse to four of the best Asian eateries in Los Angeles where they quickly taste and then attempt to recreate the house specialty from each restaurant. The chefs are armed only with their discerning palates to figure out how the dish is made. Next, the chefs are tasked with innovating and creating a new dish that is a hybrid of Asian flavors and American culinary sensibilities. The next chef is eliminated.