MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Japanese celebrity chef best known as the first Iron Chef from his country and who is widely credited for introducing mayonnaise to Japanese cuisine?
He was born on Jan. 3, 1931 in Kanazawa in the Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan. Although primarily a Japanese chef, he was considered a maverick for his philosophy that “there are no borders to ingredients.”
He was unafraid of incorporating decidedly non-Japanese elements into his dishes — something that did not sit well with more traditionalist-minded Japanese cuisine chefs.
The original Japanese Iron Chef, he was on the show from its inception in 1993 until his retirement on his 65th birthday on Jan. 3, 1995.
Indeed, in his first battle against French cuisine-trained Kobayakawa Yousei in the Iron Chef series, he was given a theme ingredient virtually foreign to Japanese cuisine — foie gras. He was declared the winner.
His trademark was the katsuobushi (or “broth of vigor”), a combination of skipjack tuna shavings and a form of edible kelp called knobu, which he used during virtually every battle. He was also widely credited for introducing mayonnaise into Japanese cuisine.
Skilled in calligraphy, he was known for writing out his menu in beautiful Japanese calligraphy when he battled in the Kitchen Stadium.
His imaginative mind and skills allowed him on occasion to finish a battle earlier than expected and prepare extra dishes.
Despite being the oldest of the Iron Chefs, he holds the Kitchen Stadium record for most dishes in a battle: eight. In each contest, he would also try to create one dish that an ordinary person could duplicate without special equipment or knowledge.
After an outstanding career on the show — 32 wins, five losses and one tie — he retired from the show in 1996, making sporadic appearances on the show. Producers even dedicated a special tribute to him called “The Legend.”
Today, foodies can enjoy his neo-Japanese style at Rokusan-tei in Ginza, his main restaurant. He has two other restaurants — Brasserie Rokusaburo and Poisson Roksuboro.
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