As one of the original cooking competition series to become a TV phenomenon, Iron Chef went from being a curious Japanese import to a global obsession, with a wide array of spinoffs and international iterations having been developed since the franchise’s 1993 origins. The latest version that audiences can look forward to, Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, will be the first streaming show of the bunch, and the platform has finally unveiled a few details, including who viewers can expect to see as hosts, and the new show’s summer premiere date.
Revealed in the first-look video seen above, Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend will feature the return of Iron Chef America’s Mark Dacascos as “The Chairman” of the cooking competition’s domestic iteration. Also known for TV roles on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Wu Assassins and Hawaii Five-0, as well as for playing a wicked John Wick villain, Dacascos will forever be tied to The Chairman’s amusingly cartoonish actions and reactions across well over 200 episodes of Iron Chef America, as well as The Next Iron Chef. It’s only right that he’ll be centerstage for the latest iteration at its new home.
Along with The Chairman, Iron Chef fans can look forward to Alton Brown bringing his food knowledge and hosting skills back to the dinner table for the Netflix reboot. Having served as co-host for Iron Chef America and its offshoots, which also includes the 2017 reimagining Iron Chef Gauntlet. Having previously hosted many years of Good Eats, not to mention appearing in a smorgasbord of other Food Network series in the past 23 years, Brown has been earning this gig for years for a reason, so it’ll be fun to watch him return to stern-faced form in this one.
As it’s gone in the past, Alton Brown won’t be alone as host for Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, only fans shouldn’t expect to see Kevin Brauch returning as co-presenter. Instead, that distinction will now go to the always charismatic Kristen Kish, who is arguably best known as the winner of Top Chef: Seattle in 2012, taking the top prize over future winner Brooke Williamson. Kish has also taken on hosting duties for Travel Channel’s 36 Hours and TruTV’s lower-stakes copy-cooking competition Fast Foodies.
Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend will unleash its recipe for culinary supremacy on Wednesday, June 15, which means everybody with a Netflix subscription is going to experience some hardcore mid-week hunger pangs. The reconceived series will introduce five new Iron Chefs ready to show off their mastery against hopeful chefs within a redesigned Kitchen Stadium. In the eighth and final episode of the season, the most successful challenger will return to sweat it out in a grand finale to see whether or not they’re worthy of the “Iron Legend” label.
At this point, it’s unclear who will serve as any of the new Iron Chefs, though one can assume we won’t be seeing former stars like Bobby Flay. The preview video is edited so that the chef’s faces largely remain unseen, although it does look like another Top Chef champ is in the mix, as it appears to be Season 13 winner (and Kish’s Fast Foodies co-host) Jeremy Ford shown at the 39-second mark, unless it isn’t.
There are plenty of cooking competitions available for streaming right now, but there’s only one Iron Chef… Okay, so there are legitimately way more than just the one, but you get what I’m saying. Be sure to have your oven mitts and salt-n-pepper shakers at the ready, because Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend will arrive on Netflix on Wednesday, June 15. Be sure to check out other awesome shows on the way with our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
