Chen Kenichi
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

, whose name is often romanized Chin Kenichi in Japanese sources, is a chef best known for his role as the Iron Chef Chinese on the
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
''
Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, was a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle bui ...
'' (料理の鉄人). Nicknamed The Szechuan Sage, he wears a yellow outfit and rises into Kitchen Stadium holding a large
Chinese chef's knife A kitchen knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives – notably a large chef's knife, a tough cleaver, a small paring knife and some sort o ...
in his hand. He is the only Iron Chef to have held his position throughout the life of the show. He was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father of Japanese nationality,
Chen Kenmin Chen Kenmin ( zh, s=陈建民, t=陳建民, p=Chén Jiànmín; ja, 陳 建民, ''Chin Kenmin''; June 27, 1912 – May 12, 1990) was a Chinese-born Japanese chef known as the father of Chen Kenichi, the Iron Chef Chinese on the television ...
and his formal name is .


Biography

Chen is the son of Chen Kenmin (陈建民), who is regarded as the father of Sichuan cuisine (四川料理) in Japan. Chen's special dish, "
prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature' ...
s in
chili Sauce Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces ...
" (
Ebi Chili Chili shrimp ( or ) is a dish of stir-fried shrimp in chilli sauce (which may use doubanjiang) in Chinese cuisine. It is a part of both Sichuan and Shanghai cuisines. In Japanese Chinese cuisine, ''ebi-chiri'' ( ja, エビチリ) is derived f ...
) (干烧明虾), is an adaptation of a dish that his father had introduced to Japan. As a result, Chen is often compared to his father on the series, with some saying that ''Iron Chef'' helped the son exceed the skills of his father.


''Iron Chef''

Chen originally accepted his position on ''Iron Chef'' out of the need for a challenge, although the format of the show intrigued him. 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 A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
, which had become booked every night since the show's start, as well as a bout of depression following the death of his mother. Ultimately, it was fellow Iron Chef
Hiroyuki Sakai is a Japanese chef who specializes in French cuisine. Sakai is best known as the second, final, and longest-serving Iron Chef French on the Japanese television show ''Iron Chef'', first appearing at the beginning of 1994 (after Yutaka Ishinabe ...
who convinced Chen to stay, with their agreement that should one leave the show, so would the other. Because of his long tenure, Chen has fought more battles than any of the other Iron Chefs, at 92 battles. He won 67, lost 22, and tied 3. He also has a run of 14 consecutive victories, the longest of any Iron Chef. His most memorable dish was chili prawns. Despite his excellent record on the show, Chen often appeared endearingly surprised and relieved at victory. Arguably, his win over
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
-
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
- French "fusion"-style chef Juinichi Itoh in the
yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...
battle exemplifies this. 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. The commentators to the show referred to this practice in humor as Chen's "eating".


Memorable matches

Among his more memorable matches was one with challenger Dominique Corby of the Tour d'Argent, where, after the main battle (with
foie gras Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding). Foie gras is a popular and well-known delica ...
as the theme ingredient) was fought to a tie, the overtime battle (with
asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus '' Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...
as the theme) also resulted in a tie—the only time that such an outcome occurred in the series. 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. As with other Iron Chefs, Chen has "feuded" with a faction determined to take him down. In his case, he battled with the chefs of Heichinrou restaurant in
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...
, defeating two of their numbers before finally losing to their head chef in an overtime battle. *Takashi Saito (not to be confused with the baseball player), top apprentice of
Chen Kenmin Chen Kenmin ( zh, s=陈建民, t=陳建民, p=Chén Jiànmín; ja, 陳 建民, ''Chin Kenmin''; June 27, 1912 – May 12, 1990) was a Chinese-born Japanese chef known as the father of Chen Kenichi, the Iron Chef Chinese on the television ...
and coach of Chen Kenichi. Chen beat his tutor in a prawn battle. Saito re-created Kenmin's original prawns in chili sauce, while Kenichi created his father's modern version of the dish (canapé style with ketchup). *Junichi Itoh had one of the most interesting cooking styles in the world. He started French cooking at age 18 and left for France at age 28 to further his skills. However, he left for Italy three years later and joined Enoteca Pincchiori, the same place Masahiko Kobe was trained. At age 32, he began training at a top Japanese restaurant to learn Japanese-style cuisine. When he was 35, he opened his restaurant L'Herlequin Bis in Tokyo. His French-Italian-Japanese fusion style cooking led
Takeshi Kaga , real name , is a well-known stage and movie actor in Japan who is best known internationally for his portrayal of Chairman Kaga in the Japanese television show ''Iron Chef'' produced by Fuji TV. Biography Kaga was born on October 12, 1950, ...
to ask him to be a challenger. Itoh accepted and went to Kitchen Stadium with
Asako Kishi was a Japanese journalist and culinary critic, best known for her role as a guest judge on Iron Chef Japan. Career Kishi was raised in Tokyo, and attended Kagawa Nutrition University. She began her writing career when she joined the Japanese mo ...
. To everyone's surprise, he chose Chen Kenichi as the opponent, saying he is interested in Chinese cuisine, but had never been trained at it. Kaga chose a difficult theme ingredient, plain
yoghurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bact ...
. Itoh was smiling while Chen was under great pressure. However, according to Kishi's comments at the end, all of Itoh's dishes used the yoghurt as a supporting ingredient instead of the main focus of the dish. This resulted in all four judges voting for Chen. This was quite a surprise to Chen, who pointed to himself in disbelief. *
Katsuyo Kobayashi was a Japanese celebrity chef, food writer, and founder/leader of the charity "Kagurazaka Women's Choir". Biography Katsuyo Kobayashi was born in Osaka in 1937. A graduate of Tezukayama Gakuin College, she became a homemaker after marriage. When ...
was the show's second female challenger and a popular TV chef in her own right, hosting ''Kyo no ryori'' (''Today's cooking'') on
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
. She allowed Chairman Kaga to choose the Iron Chef for her and he gleefully chose Chen, who had previously lost to Kitchen Stadium's first female challenger, Kyoko Kagata. At one point during the battle, in which potatoes were the theme ingredient, Kobayashi paid a brief visit to Chen's station to observe his cooking, which he wasn't very pleased about. Chen ultimately lost to Kobayashi, with the judges commenting that his potatoes tended to be undercooked or underplayed.


Outside ''Iron Chef''

Chen is an avid baseball fan and states that it would have been his choice to go professional but opted not to. Outside of ''Iron Chef'', Chen also runs the ''Shisen Hanten'' (四川飯店, lit. "
Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
restaurant") group of restaurants located in Akasaka, Ikebukuro and Roppongi in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, as well as
Tokushima city is the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku island in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 249,865 in 122085 households and a population density of 1305 persons per km².The total area of the city is . Geography The ci ...
in Tokushima Prefecture; Kure, Hiroshima; Matsuyama, Ehime; and Hakata-ku, Fukuoka. The restaurant was inherited from his father and he is currently the third to run it after his mother took over. The branch in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, operated by his son , has earned two Michelin stars since 2016. It is located in the newly renovated 1000+ room Hilton Singapore Hotel, the largest in the Asia Pacific.


Notes


See also

* Chinese people in Japan


External links


Iron Chef Battle Database
(in English)
Szechwan Restaurant
''in Japanese'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Kenichi 1956 births Living people Japanese chefs Japanese people of Chinese descent People from Tokyo Sichuan cuisine Tamagawa University alumni