ICA: Garces vs. Fukushima
When Katsuya Fukushima enters Kitchen Stadium he will be on familiar ground. Fukushima has been here before. . . and won. In April 2007, the incredible Jose Andres took on Iron Chef Bobby Flay in Battle: Goat and Fukushima was there acting as sous chef for Andres.
Fukushima will not be alone as he is bringing fellow Andres disciple Ruben Garcia of Washington DC’s MiniBar with him. Fukushima himself is still part of the Andres empire as he heads up the kitchen at Cafe Atlantico, also in DC. Both restaurants are part of Andres’ Think Food Group which is made up of eight eateries and José Andrés’ Catering with Ridgewells.
Fukushima attended the L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Upon graduation in 1996 he took a job working the line at Vidalia under Jeffrey Buben. After Vidalia he then worked at Cashion’s Eat Place, The National Press Club and Jaleo. . . all at the same time! Jaleo is Andres’ flagship restaurant, a tapas bar in Bethesda, MD and it wasn’t long before the young chef dedicated himself to just the one job.
As part of his mentorship of Fukushima, Andres sent him to work and learn at Verbena in New York and an inspiring season at el Bulli under Ferran Adria, Fukushima was then named the Chef de Cusine position at Café Atlántico and Minibar.
Waiting for Chef Fukushima is the newest Iron Chef, Jose Garces. Garces, who had been rumored to be leaving Iron Chef: America is in fact back and looking to continue his undefeated streak.
The judges for Mahi Mahi were Susan Ungaro, Anthony Anderson and Michelle Bernstein.
Click HERE for the outcome.
ICA: Garces vs. Pomeroy
Someone call the FBI and cancel the APB on Jose Garces! Last year’s Next Iron Chef winner makes an appearance with just his third battle as an Iron Chef.
Chef Naomi Pomeroy comes to town to do battle from her acclaimed restaurant Beast in Portland, Oregon. Beast is a six-course prix-fixe restaurant that celebrates the glories of meat. The menu changes based on what is in season with one exception, a footnote that reads “Substitutions politely declined.” Amen!
Fresh off an appearance on the Cooking Channel’s Food(ography) in June, this one-time vegetarian now boasts a meat-centric menu that recently landed her in O Magazine as one of “10 Women on the Rise.” In 2009 Food & Wine honored Pomeroy with a Best New Chef Award for the cuisine she calls “refined French grandmother.” In 2008 Portland Monthly magazine named her, Chef of the Year. That same year she was one of six ladies featured in a Food & Wine article entitled Women Chefs: The Next Generation and the restaurant she co-owns with Micah Camden, Beast, was named co-Restaurant of the Year by Diner.
Chef Naomi is a genuine individual crediting neither apprenticeship nor culinary school for her success but rather reading. She is obsessed with cookbooks and food history. She attributes Richard Olney, Larousse and Harold McGee for her culinary education. She is famous for her Smoky Tomato Soup with Maple-Candied Bacon. Her cuisine was once described by Karen Brooks of the Oregonian as being like, “a blind date between Julia Child and Anthony Bourdain.”
Pomeroy’s appearance should squelch rumors that Jose Garces is no longer on the show. Or does it? In a June interview at OregonLive.com Pomeroy reveals that the episode was actually shot in October of ’09. Probably around the same time that the other Garces battles would have been taped. So again the questions pops up, “Is Garces still an Iron Chef?” Why are they doing The Next Iron Chef 3? The plot thickens.
The judges for Battle Truffle were Jose Andres, Karine Bakhoum and Jeffrey Chodorow.
Click HERE for the outcome.
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ICA: Cora vs. Kostow
After last week’s battle of the salads between Morimoto and Amanda Cohen hopefully there will be some meat on the menu in the second-to-last ICA of season 8. With Cora doing battle this week, we once again are left wondering Where’s Jose Garces?
Chef Cora’s challenger this week is rising star chef Christopher Kostow. Oddly enough, Kostow has a full bio on the Food Network web site, a rarity for a one time challenger. Could there be something in the works?
Who could blame the Network for wanting to enlist Kostow after the hullabaloo surrounding the talented young chef the past few years. A Michelin-starred chef by age 30, Chef Christopher was named to Food & Wine‘s list of Top Ten Dishes of the Year in 2007 and San Francisco Chronicle named Christopher a 2008 Rising Star Chef. It was also in 2008 that he arrived at The Restaurant at Meadowwood in Napa Valley after a lofty and unconventional journey.
Rather than spending years shut away in some culinary school, Kostow opted to instead earn his way to chef by working at some of the most notable restaurants in the world. He got his education old school when he left his hometown of Chicago to work for the likes of Trey Foshee and Daniel Humm. Afterwards he did the rounds throughout France to learn the tricks of the trade in traditional French bistros.
Kostow describes his approach, “I embrace food memories — traditional combinations that work together — and then distill those flavors into something that is very much different, and very much stands on its own.” Cat Cora has created a few food memories herself.
The judges for Battle: Oatmeal were Liliana Cavendish, Ryan D’Agostino and Nina Griscom. There was also a Top Chef sighting as both competitors had sous chefs from that “other cooking contest” in tow, Richard Blais and Ed Cotton.
Click HERE for the outcome.
If you haven’t already please check out the interview of Cat Cora done recently by Lindsay Mott of MS Digital Daily.
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