Foodies, get psyched. Iron Chef is coming back to the Food Network.
In its prime, Iron Chef garnered massive amounts of fans and attention in its 12 seasons on the network. The show even helped burgeoning young chefs (like Bobby Flay, Alex Guarnaschelli, Masaharu Morimoto, and numerous others) showcase their talent and jumpstart their on-screen careers. The original Iron Chef ended in Japan in 1999, but Iron Chef America had a two year run before Next Iron Chef in 2007. The show briefly moved to the Cooking Channel in 2015, but the series is on its way home now.
Iron Chef had a simple enough premise: pick an acclaimed chef and have them compete against a series of competitors for the glamorous title of “Iron Chef” at the end of the season. Alton Brown even began his illustrious “color commentary” campaign by hosting Iron Chef, leading the audience through each chef’s peaks and pitfalls.
Interestingly enough, Variety reports that a new variation of Iron Chef is being developed by the Food Network. This new program, entitled Iron Chef Gauntlet, is still under many secretive restraints, but it is publicized to take new twists on the cooking showdown format that has already been adopted by channels like the Food Network and the Cooking Channel. However, Iron Chef fanatics can rest assured, as Alton Brown has agreed to host this new variation of a classic.
Iron Chef Gauntlet is set to begin production next year, with its premiere expected sometime during the second-quarter of 2017.