The kitchen clash is heading north
Former Iron Chef winner is proud to showcase Canada’s culinary talent
Rob Feenie thought it was game over when he discovered the secret ingredient would be crab.
After all, the Vancouver chef was in the New York City kitchen of Iron Chef America, and up against the fearsome Masaharu Morimoto, considered one of the toughest chefs to beat — whose specialty just happened to be seafood.
“It was incredibly nervewracking. I don’t think anyone can really prepare you for the experience,” says the executive chef of The Cactus Club restaurant chain. “But when I saw the crab, I thought that was it for me.”
It would be the most important 60 minutes of Feenie’s career. The Iron Chef franchise pits two heavyweight chefs against each other, WWEsmackdown style, complete with sports-style commentary — essentially, a cage match for cooks.
While Morimoto furiously hacked away at the crabs replayed in glorious slow motion, Feenie scrambled around the kitchen preparing the five required dishes.
Feenie’s crabmeat ravioli and veal with crab hollandaise sauce would eventually triumph against Morimoto’s melon crab and crab fondue. His victory was historic — the show’s first win by a Canadian.
Still, when the announcer proclaimed the Feenie champion, it wasn’t joy but disbelief that flooded the challenger’s face.
“I just wanted to leave and still be breathing,” says a laughing Feenie, a Vancouver native. “I just figured I would be casualty No. 81 for Morimoto that day. But I didn’t really comprehend how big that win was. It was only three months later when it aired that I realized the impact that show has. It was just pure craziness.”
Fast forward13 years, and now Feenie is an Iron Chef himself on Iron Chef Canada. He is joined by fellow acclaimed chefs Hugh Acheson, Amanda Cohen, Lynn Crawford and Susur Lee.
Feenie faces his first challenger on the show in the second episode, airing Wednesday on Food Network Canada.
The series is hosted by food writer Gail Simmons while food critic Chris Nutall-Smith reports from the floor. Actor Jai West plays the “chairman” who decides what culinary curveball to throw at the chefs using an unexpected ingredient. (In the earliest American incarnation, titled Iron Chef USA, the chairman was played by Canadian William Shatner.)
“It’s really the most pressure packed hour you can imagine,” says Feenie of the Iron Chef experience. “But it really makes me proud that we can bring the Canadian experience and to showcase the amazing chefs and talent we have in Canada.”
Despite the fact that he is now the star and not the challenger, Feenie insists the celebrity Iron Chefs have no advantage over their perhaps-lesser-known challengers.
For one thing, he doesn’t know who his challenger is till the day of the taping. And no one knows the secret ingredient, so all contestants are on an equal footing.
“It’s tough. You’ve got five dishes to do in an hour. So you’ve got to come up with a menu and execute. All you can do is stay true to yourself. You’ve just got to stay the course and do what you do best and not worry about the other guy.”
In the entertaining premiere episode of the series, which aired Wednesday, the alwaysupbeat Iron Chef Crawford faces off against challenger Marc Lepine, owner of Ottawa’s Atelier.
It’s an inspired pairing, with Crawford’s high-end comfort food braced against Lepine’s spectacular experimental plating, while using the most quintessential of Canadian ingredients.
Judges on the first show include La Presse columnist Marie-Claude Lortie, food writer Amy Rosen and Bachelorette Canada star Noah Cappe.
Ironically, the show debuts the same day marijuana be- comes legal in Canada, making high-quality weed a future Canadian staple. We asked Feenie and his publicists at Proper Television and Corus a followup question regarding whether a future secret ingredient on Iron Chef Canada might one day include pot, but the chef did not respond for deadline.
Other competitors scheduled for the first season are an impressive roster that includes Jason Bangerter, executive chef of Langdon Hall Country House Hotel and Spa, Nick Liu of Toronto’s DaiLo, and Ned Bell of Vancouver’s Ocean Wise.
“When I first walked into (the show’s) kitchen stadium I was so impressed,” says Feenie. “You can practise your craft in a professional kitchen, but there is nothing like it.”