When it comes to Iron Chef, this is a cooking competition that has a long and storied history. Originating in Japan, the series has finally made its way to Mexico thanks to Netflix and their reboot of the American version of the culinary competition.
While the rebooted Iron Chef now goes by the name Iron Chef: Quest for a Legend, in both Brazil and Mexico, it seems like they are sticking to just calling themselves Iron Chef with their country name. That being said, all three shows are using the same format, where a group of challengers take on different Iron Chefs and the chef with the best score of the competition gets to take on all of the Iron Chefs in a single battle.
It offers us a great opportunity to see many amazing chefs cook their best dishes. While it does use many of the elements that we know and love from both the Japanese version and the original American version, there are noticeable differences. (They work, they are just different.)
Iron Chef Mexico may be about the cooking but the ridiculousness is also next level
Perhaps the only thing that detracts from Iron Chef Mexico is the over-the-top antics of the Chairman. And we aren’t just talking about the Chairman we already know from the American versions of the series, there is also his “nephew” who is taking on the mantle of Chairman for the Mexico version.
It’s almost like the series is trying too hard to have fun while also focusing on the seriousness of the cooking. If only they had toned down some of the Chairman moments I think this series would have been so much more entertaining.
And that is definitely why we loved Iron Chef Brazil. They didn’t have a chairman and while the hosts were fun, it was all about the cooking and the talents of the chefs.
It was cringeworthy watching the Chairman moments, but the cooking absolutely makes up for that. These chefs were amazing. From the challengers to the Iron Chefs, these chefs are truly next level with their ability to take whatever is thrown their way and creating multiple stunning dishes.
These chefs bring the heat to the kitchen right alongside the spice. And we love it. Some of the challenges these chefs had to take on were so difficult, or at least they seemed difficult to us. But at no point did it seem like our chefs were not up to the challenge.
This is what we wanted to see. We wanted next level cooking and an appreciation for the challenges that were tossed their way. While we definitely got that, the ridiculousness almost spoiled the entire experience.
But we want to know what you thought of Iron Chef Mexico? Have you binge watched the series yet? Have you watched the other two series’ on Netflix yet? Which is your favorite?