Written by Stella Ong
Article Contributed by the Asian Food Channel (AFC)

Whisper “Iron Chef Party” and the layman will immediately conjure images of world class chefs frantically yet somehow in full control moving around a kitchen arena, stirring up culinary masterpieces in a less than an hour. Cue a toad-in-the-well moment as one realizes that the Iron Chef (IC) Party is nothing like that in TV Land. Before you plead ignorance, an IC party is essentially a ‘potluck’, with a main ingredient announced 24 hours before the party, accompanied by prizes for best dishes. For party hosts who have grown weary of the usual curry chicken / potato salad party or tired of flipping through catering menus of dubious standards, this is the party for you!

Web lore has it that The Iron Chef Dinner Party was originated by David J. Cavuto, an avid Iron Chef fan who was blown away by the response to his first IC Party. The “Cranberry Battle” evoked entries that ranged from the exotic squash soups with cran crème fraiche and cranlava to the eyebrow-raising cranberry salmon croquette and cranberry curry, ubiquitous cranberry sangria and giggle-inducing cranberry nut tatties. Expect to be similarly blown away by your guests’ creative culinary skills or potential as cafeteria ladies (mystery goop dish experts).

Over the years, this idea has gained great popularity with Americans; some have even attempted to respect tradition and execute IC competitions at home. The IC Party even has its own spinoff in Australia – the Champion Chef Game Pack, complete with game cards with secret ingredients, costumes, tear-as-you-use invitation, score sheet and instruction pads. Here’s an introductory timeline to help you along. Please note that this list is by no means exhaustive, and if you want extra frills to placate the workaholic in you, kindly add them in.