Iron Chef is a phenomenon that started in Japan in 1993 when they introduced the kitchen stadium. The kitchen originally became a worldwide sensation. Taking the formula from Japan, Iron Chef America arrived in 2005 and became an instant hit in the United States. Several comparable cooking competitions sprouted during the Reality TV heyday phase in the 2000s.
Several people would love to have their own kitchen stadium in their own homes. But what goes into creating an “Iron Chef” kitchen?
For reference, we are using the Iron Chef kitchen stadium from Season 12 as our template.
The Food Network made a video this season that discusses the production design of the Iron Chef Kitchen. The video does not break down the structure of the actual kitchen furnishings. However, we can see how the production needs influenced the design of the kitchen stadium.
Production Design
When people think of an Iron Chef kitchen without having seen it, one would think it is most likely monochrome. Similar cooking competitions like MasterChef feature colored with silver and dark wood. In fact, my memories of watching Iron Chef Japan were always a silver kitchen with gray marble countertop. The lighting in the Iron Chef kitchen is like a sports stadium.
Iron Chef Kitchen Lighting
Based on the production design of Iron Chef America, they rethought how a kitchen set would look. They designed the set using lights to give a quick change of color and over 600 light fixtures. The show can change the look of the set in a matter of seconds, like theater lighting.
With the invention of LED lights, using a lot of bright lights no longer overheats the kitchen. I mention all this because the lighting affects the kitchen design of Iron Chef America.
With several lights overhead, it is important the kitchen surfaces are not reflective so that the set is not overexposed. The countertops are dark-tone natural wood with dark gray.
In this show, the countertops mimic both gray marble and the silver kitchen by using a dark gray terrazzo countertop. Terrazzo surfaces have been trending in kitchen designs and this show has been reflecting that trend. The overall effect is that it resembles a seamless mixture of contemporary and industrial kitchen styles.
Iron Chef Kitchen Design Aspects
The colors of the kitchen are all neutral to make the bright colors of the food stand out. Usually, in cooking competitions, a beautiful display of vegetables in their vibrant hues makes for attractive photography.
The entire set forms a half-octagon, reminiscent of an octagon in an MMA fighting ring. The outside of the counters toward the camera is a stylistic minimal design of the crossed blades of the logo.
Breaking Down the Competitive Kitchen
Iron Chef Kitchen Cabinets
In the video from Food Network, we see a brief close-up of the backs of the counters. They are open shelving so the chefs don’t have to worry about figuring out what is in these cupboards. One section has base cabinets for all of their cookware, like baking sheets, pots, and pans.
Accessories like sieves, spatulas, rolling pins, and butane torches are also on these base counters. Instead of rolling shelves, they place things on large baking sheet pans to access accessories in the back.
Iron Chef Kitchen Countertop
The long counter bends at an obtuse angle to accommodate both the chef and sous chefs. Toward the end of the counter, there is a double-basin stainless steel sink for water or cooling pasta. The faucet is a pull-down spout, allowing large pots and colanders to be placed beneath it.
Mixers and food processors are at the angled part of the counter, close to cameras, because their actions are visual.
Iron Chef Kitchen Appliances
Along the other side of the counter is a range with six grills; one has a pot of boiling water. At the other end of the counter is the oven, positioned for camera access. It is notable that this is not a combination range and oven that a house is accustomed to. Thus, one chef needs to access the oven without someone in the way at the range for competition reasons.
In the center of the kitchen stadium is a large island that both competitor teams share. On top of these islands, counters are small appliances enabling chefs to create food. Everything from mixers, fryers, and ice cream makers are available on the countertops.
The refrigerator where the contestants get the food is an actual refrigerator. This is opposed to other cooking competitions like MasterChef, where the first part of the competition is to source their ingredients by walking into a large space designed to look like the inside of a walk-in restaurant freezer. This is because there is a timer, and sourcing food would only hamper the time they need for cooking.
Recreate the Iron Chef Kitchen
How can we create the Iron Chef kitchen? Let’s get right into it.
Firstly, the kitchen style uses modern European cabinets. Since there are no wall cabinets, we can replace them with open shelving. The Iron Chef kitchen utilizes open shelving so competitors can access all cooking utensils. For optimal everyday usage, we can have all the base cabinets be double doors and incorporate roll-out shelves.
Most people will not need all the different appliances found in the stadium. Therefore, we can use a single slide-in range with the stovetop and oven together. This maximizes the storage space and countertop space we have. Most kitchen cabinets are along the home’s walls so that we can create a traditional “L-shaped” kitchen.
Finally, since we are not creating a production set, we can incorporate the infamous work triangle in the kitchen. For the set, the refrigerator is located farther away from the workstation. Like typical kitchens, they will have a cabinet over the fridge and a pantry.
