ICA: Zakarian vs. Gallante
Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian faces off against challenger Shea Gallante, who is the executive chef at Ciano in New York. The judges for Battle: Pasta are Michael Ruhlman, Candice Kumai and Martin Yan.
Gallante has been wearing a chefs apron from the early age of 14 where he jump started his career and fascination for Italian cooking at a local pizza shop in Upstate New York. It wasn’t long before his hunger for the restaurant world had him enrolling in the Culinary Institute of America, after which he knew his quest would to one day own his own restaurant in New York City. His first job after the CIA was with Pino Luongo at Coco Opera near Lincoln Center. After two years training under him, Gallante began working with the famed Lidia Bastianich at Felidia and was quickly promoted to sous-chef after demonstrating to her his passion for the type of cooking that earned Felidia three stars. After this, Gallante was recruited by David Bouley, whom he credits as the person who has had the most profound effect on his career to date, to work at his eponymous restaurant Bouley. Gallante spent four years working with Bouley before moving on to Cru, where during his time as executive chef the restaurant received three stars in the New York Times by then reviewer Frank Bruni, a Michelin Star, three stars in New York Magazine by Adam Platt and Gallante was also named one of the Best New Chefs in 2005 by Food & Wine.
Chef Shea Gallante has landed back in the New York City dining scene, this time to open a place he can call his own. Having partnered with Philippe Chow principle Stratis Morfogen, Gallante has now signed on as Executive Chef/Co-Owner of Ciano (45 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010), a new, seasonal ingredient driven casual and atmospheric Italian restaurant in the former Beppe space in the Flatiron District.
Chef Gallante has a very impressive resume but so does Iron Chef Zakarian.
Check below for the outcome.
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| Zakarian | Gallante | |
| Taste | 25 | 26 |
| Originality | 11 | 14 |
| Plating | 14 | 13 |
| Total | 50 | 53 |
ICA: Forgione vs McClain
After a summer nearly devoid of new ICA action this is the second fresh episode in a row. This time, Iron Chef Marc Forgione faces off against challenger Shawn McClain, the executive chef at Sage, at Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Martin Yan, Ching-He Huang and Adam Richman are the judges for this battle.
Shawn McClain, executive chef of Sage at ARIA Resort & Casino, has a knack for balancing innovative concepts with refinement and sensibility. His spirited New American menu takes the seasons as its departure point, tapping the freshness of California’s fertile environment to produce elevated flavor combinations interwoven with Mediterranean undercurrents.
A native of San Diego, Calif., and a 1990 graduate of the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College in Evanston, Ill., McClain’s star rose quickly in the culinary world. He broke onto the national scene at Trio restaurant in Evanston, earning four stars from both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. There, his style came into focus, one that juxtaposes Eastern influence with Western foundations. After seven accolade-filled years, he left to open Spring – his homage to seafood. The restaurant opened in 2001 to extraordinary critical and consumer success. That same year, Spring was nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s Best New Restaurant award, and McClain was named Esquire magazine’s Chef of the Year. In 2002, he appeared in “40 Under 40,” Crain’s Chicago Business’ highly competitive list of who’s who in the city.
Chef McClain’s food had better be Zen perfect when he goes up against Iron Chef Marc Forgione in Battle: Tropical Ingredients.
Check below for the outcome.
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| Forgione | McClain | |
| Taste | 41 | 46 |
| Plating | 20 | 17 |
| Originality | 17 | 20 |
| Total | 78 | 83 |
ICA: Morimoto vs. Sedlar – Outcome
SPOILER ALERT: The following information is the outcome of Morimoto vs. Sedlar. If you want information on the combatants click HERE. If you are only interested in the outcome read on.
This is a first run episode even though it is from two years ago. The judges for Battle: Quail were Martin Yan, Mario Rizzotti and Claudia Bassols.
Morimoto Sedlar
Taste: 27 Taste: 23
Plating: 15 Plating: 12
Originality: 14 Originality: 10
Total: 56 Total: 45
Next time it’s Iron Chef Michael Symon vs. the youngest (and possibly hottest) chef to ever enter Kitchen Stadium, 24-year-old chef Emma Hearst.
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ICA: Morimoto vs. Sedlar
Chef John Rivera Sedlar has been called the “father of modern Southwest cuisine”. Will he triumph in Kitchen Stadium, or will Iron Chef Morimoto show him who’s daddy?
According to Chef Sedlar’s web site:
John Rivera Sedlar literally wrote the book on Modern Southwest Cuisine (I bet Bobby Flay and Johnathon Waxman will be surprised to hear that), and the nation’s top food writers agree that no other chef can compare to him. Gourmet magazine declared him “The father of modern Southwest cuisine,” as did Food Arts, which lauded him for “updating, upgrading and celebrating the foods of his Hispanic heritage.” “Genius or madman?” asked Los Angeles Times food editor Laurie Ochoa. No less an authority than Craig Claiborne of the New York Times opted for the former assessment, calling Sedlar “one of America’s treasures, a genius in the kitchen.”
Sedlar grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and in his early 20s gained acclaim as a chef in the South Bay region of Southern California. He then apprenticed himself to legendary French chef Jean Bertranou of L’Ermitage in Los Angeles, mastering classic techniques while evolving his own approach to food.
This is a first run episode even though it is from two years ago. The judges for Battle: Quail were Martin Yan, Mario Rizzotti and Claudia Bassols.
Click HERE for the outcome.
