Food Network to Reboot ‘Iron Chef America’ Franchise (EXCLUSIVE)
Food Network is heading back to Kitchen Stadium. The cabler plans to reboot its “Iron Chef America” franchise with a fresh incarnation dubbed “Iron Chef Gauntlet.”
The cooking competition will be hosted once again by Food Network regular Alton Brown, who gained fame through his “color commentary” reporting on “Iron Chef.” “Gauntlet” is expected to begin production early next year for a second-quarter premiere. Details of the new format are thin other than it promises to offer some new twists on the cooking-showdown format.
The original “Iron Chef” aired for 12 seasons on Food Network and helped burnish the credentials of such foodie TV stars as Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto, Michael Symon, Marc Forgione, Geoffrey Zakarian and Alex Guarnaschelli. The competition pits one notable chef each season to face a series of challengers in a bid earn or retain the title of “Iron Chef.”
“Gauntlet” is produced by Triage Entertainment in conjunction with Food Network. It’s based on the “Iron Chef” format owned by Japan’s Fuji Television Network.
The original series bowed in 1999 in Japan. “Iron Chef America” premiered on Food Network in 2005, followed by “Next Iron Chef” in 2007. The series was a staple on Food Network through 2014 before moving to Cooking Channel for another year in 2015.
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