Iron Chef USA

Iron Chef USA
Genre	Cooking show
Directed by	Bud Schaetzle Jim Yukich
Presented by	William Shatner Michael Burger Anthony Dias Blue Sissy Biggers
Starring	Jean-Francois Meteigner Alessandro Stratta Roy Yamaguchi Todd English
Composer(s)	Jay Ferguson
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	2
Production
Producer(s)	Larry Thompson Bud Schaetzle Jim Yukich
Editor(s)	Bud Schaetzle Jim Yukich
Release
Original network	UPN
Original release	December 16 – December 26, 2001

Iron Chef USA is the first American adaptation of the Japanese television series Iron Chef. Iron Chef USA appeared on the UPN television network in 2001. Only two episodes were aired (both are considered pilots): "Las Vegas Showdown" and "Holiday Battle"; neither received critical acclaim. It would not be until 2004 when another adaptation of Iron Chef, titled Iron Chef America, would air.

Like the original Japanese series, the show featured an eccentric chairman, played by William Shatner, who creates his own Gourmet Academy with four elite chefs who take on challengers in a specially-constructed Kitchen Arena ("Kitchen Stadium" in the original). However, unlike the original and the later Iron Chef America adaptation, Kitchen Arena was set in MGM Grand Garden Arena (a venue often used for boxing) in Las Vegas and not on a sound stage.

Fans of the series, and critics at large, point to many aspects of the show for the reason why the series failed. Among the most notable reasons was the audience factor: the original Iron Chef (and Iron Chef America) had only minimal guest and VIP seating, while Iron Chef USA was shown in front of a larger audience. The audience also tended to be louder and rowdier, in sharp contrast to the relatively quiet audiences of Iron Chef. Another sharp point of criticism was directed at the commentators, who often showed their lack of knowledge of food (with lines such as "What? It's the sperm? We eat that?" in reference to sea urchin roe; "What's that tool called he's using to cut the ravioli?", "That would be a ravioli cutter"; and "it's a sauteed Ho Ho", "He's got a flour thing going" and "It looks like he enjoys cooking with ."). However, critics saw Shatner's portrayal of the chairman in Iron Chef USA as a redeeming quality, as his performance paid homage to Takeshi Kaga and his antics on Iron Chef.

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