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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.
One month before
1. Send out invites explaining the IC party concept.
2. Find out dietary preferences and needs of guests. You do not want the lone vegetarian conducting his/her scavenger hunt for soy and greenery.
One week before
1. Decide on miscellaneous items list – accompanying wines, breads, salads for dishes which you think might be complementary to the theme.
2. Plan and purchase party décor – voting slips, tags for food labels, chef’s hats for tack(y) factor.
3. Additional equipment – an oven for reheating? A telephone to secretly cheat and order pizza?
4. Purchase the prizes. Just a note: for all their effort, people don’t generally take to Hello Panda Family Packs.
5. Plan order of events – sampling, judging, prize-giving, mingling & Iron Chef re-runs with lots of photos to show off on Facebook
6. Decide on the main ingredient. A fool-proof choice would be a vegetable, preferably a ubiquitous, boring one like a mushroom. There is a simple rationale behind this: picking a carb would require a follow-up party at Weight Watchers’, and selecting a protein-heavy meat item might transfigure your lady friends into lady boys.
Twenty-fours hours before
1. Arrange furniture – location of food, seating plans, judging area, price-giving stage.
2. Clean-up – no undergarments lying around, unless of course it’s part of your décor
3. Most importantly, don’t forget to inform everyone of the main ingredient!
For more fun during your party, make a date with Iron Chef on AFC on Astro Channel 703
