They came from culinary epicenters such as Manhattan, New Orleans, San Francisco and Los Angeles but when the blue ribbon was awarded, it was the Cleveland Westsider who trotted away victorious. Chef Michael Symon of Lola and Lolita (and inevitably soon to be more) beat Chef John Besh to become the next Iron Chef with Cat Cora, Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto and maybe or maybe not Mario Batali.
The rumor is that Chef Batali has taken a powder and will not be returning as an Iron Chef in retaliation after the Food Network dumped his other two shows according to the New York Post. The network denies this and he still stands as an Iron Chef on the show but he was noticeably absent in the judging of the new chef. Whatever the case, eight episodes of The Next Iron Chef were spun off to fill the newly created or newly vacated position.
Symon went up against seven cooking greats who all have fantastic restaurants sometimes in multiples in destination cities across the continent. Further, Chef John Besh had an Iron Chef victory under his belt in Battle Andouille against Mario Batali. Some say this was a soft ball thrown to Besh after given his New Orleans origins and the post-Katrina disaster but this win certainly lent itself to his firepower keeping in mind Symon lost handedly to Morimoto in his kitchen stadium debut.
At the onset, Cleveland viewers especially hoped that Symon would do the city right and surrendered to fact a big city heavy-hitter would take the honor as sure as a lost BCS Championship, Eastern Division second place or a Spurs sweep. Manhattan, seat of culinary culture. New Orleans, a cuisine unto its own. San Francisco, pinnacle of innovation and evolution. Cleveland, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp.
Hope springs eternal for the burg on the lake. Michael Symon brought home the gold for all Clevelanders. Congratulations on your win, Michael. Can’t wait to see your first Stadium Kitchen challenge as much as I look forward to sidling up to your bar and snacking on your tasty treats.
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