Japanese Cooking Show Hot Stuff in U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO —  Amid a burst of dry-ice-generated smoke, a platter piled high with salmon is lowered into a cavernous kitchen.

“Start cooking!” the master of ceremonies commands as two competing cooks grab their fish.

It’s another battle of “Iron Chef”--an over-the-top Japanese television series that is gaining a following on this side of the Pacific.

Hand-held cameras follow the hour-long competition between the Iron Chef and his challenger. A commentator provides the play-by-play in the “kitchen stadium.”

“Huge flames,” he exclaims at one point, “are coming out of the Iron Chef’s pan!”

Later, the two cooks present their dishes to a panel of judges. Only one will go home a winner.

The show’s reputation is built mostly on word of mouth.

“It’s kind of like ‘South Park,’ and how that became popular after it went out over the Internet, or like ‘Ren & Stimpy,’ ” said Todd Evans, 28, of Oakland. “One fan told me about it, then I told another friend.”

“Iron Chef” is part game show, part cooking class and part sports event. In every episode, one of three regal Iron Chefs--each specializing in a different type of cuisine--faces a challenger.

Each cook has one hour to create several dishes with a theme ingredient: In a recent show, a salted salmon called aramaki was the focus of the competitors.

Overseeing it all is Kaga Takeshi, a handsome, eccentric host, who is fond of wearing ruffles and who takes an overly dramatic bite from a yellow pepper to open each show.

“You have to admit, it’s all very weird, the dry ice and everything,” fan Stephanie Masumura said. “I like the campy factor.”

While many 20-somethings spend Saturday nights out on the town, Masumura is usually in front of her television with the latest edition of “Iron Chef.” She has become such a fan that she set up a Web site devoted to the show.

“I was actually flipping channels and I saw it once, but then I talked to a friend at a party and he said, ‘Oh, this is the greatest show. You have to watch it,’ ” the 26-year-old said. “Since then, I’ve been hooked.”

Although she talks to fellow “Iron Chef” fans all the time, Masumura can’t really pin down the reason for the show’s popularity.

“I don’t know. It may be the type of programming, because you’ll never find that kind of show in America,” she said. “I think that a lot of foodies watch it because they come up with things that are so original.”

“Iron Chef” can be seen in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay area, Hawaii and parts of New York and New Jersey, as well as Japan, where the show, known as “Ryori no Tetsujin,” remains popular after five seasons.

George Lui, director of programming for KTSF in San Francisco, says “Iron Chef” is one of the station’s most popular Japanese-language shows--earning it a prime-time slot, 8 p.m. on Saturday.

“We have a lot of people calling us and writing us, telling us how much they like it,” he said. “It’s almost got a cult-like status.”

New advertisers over the last year indicate a widening audience: Once the domain of sake and soy sauce commercials, the show is attracting ads from American Airlines and computer companies.

But there is a new controversy concerning “Iron Chef” in San Francisco. To the shock of faithful viewers, English subtitles were unceremoniously dropped. FujiTV in San Francisco, which imports the show, was flooded with phone calls, letters and faxes. Internet chat buzzed furiously. The station planned to forward the complaints to the show’s distributors in Japan.

But the cult around “Iron Chef” has survived the crisis.

Videotapes of episodes continue to be passed among viewers. One group of fans created a drinking game to play while watching the show. For example: “Take a sip whenever a judge comments: ‘I think he may steam that.’ ”

Some devotees have been known to stage their own battles.

Evans helped organize one this fall at an Oakland warehouse where he lives--which has two kitchens. He estimates up to 300 people attended. He played Kaga, the host, as a roving camera and lots of TVs helped party-goers keep up with the action.

As for the popularity of “Iron Chef,” Evans said he has happily spread the word about the wacky show.

“I’ve told five friends about it,” Evans said, “And they’re now bigger fans than I am.”

In Los Angeles, a truncated version of the show airs Sundays on KSCI, from 7 p.m. to 7:40 p.m.