Iron chef America experience

[redfish]

Hi Mario,

Love your show, one of about three on the Food Network I watch regularly. I love the authenticity that you bring to the scene.

I had a question concerning your recent Iron Chef America experiences. If you could would you please briefly describe the things that you liked or was impressed with the most, what surprised you or you did not like, and what you can tell us about any future shows, both Iron Chef America and your own.

Also what it was it like to work with Iron Chef Sakai?

Thanks much keep up the good work.

[Mario Batali]

iron chef was a an experience that far exceeded my expectations... first of all the team tht produced it was spectacularly organized and very enabling in terms of helping us cook and letting us do what we hoped to do, most importantly, look good cooking under severe pressure in a competitive situation.... all of the time during the conversations i had with food net mgmt i had always thought that it was unsaid but implied that we new comers would win... alas, when i arrived it was apparent that neither the judges nor the production team had been let it on "my little secret" for the main reason... there was no little or big "fix" in....

so the whole thing was a new edge and for that very good reason, i was truly sweating it out in front of the cameras for a true 60 minutes... i felt good about the food me and my team... (mark l, exec chef at lupa, partner in otto and the new chef at il postone next spring, anne b, exec chef at italian wine merchants ex of felidia and beppe.... two of the best cooks in my world) put up and felt we deserved to win the one on one as well as the two on two.... unfortunately, the judges felt otherwise on the 2 on 2 ... crushed we were, trounced, pelted and pulped reviewing the show it seems hard to believe but.. anyway..... sakai is a zen master, a mensch, a rock star truly a joy and a pleasure to work next to a true hero and a brilliant cook/chef his food was a revelation in subtle simplicity, the good fight for true french cooking is his... i think the judges american palettes worked against him everything he touched that i tasted was integrated and balanced as well as provocative and textural.... all in all the show was great fun and i believe we are skedded for more in the fall