We jumped up and bally-hooed when Michael Symon took The Next Iron Chef title this past Sunday Night. I’ve become a huge fan of this guy over the past month. Watching the series and reading The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman, how could I not? His cooking is solid and his personality is just what the Iron Chef’s need. I try to catch of Iron Chef America as much as possible, and Next Iron Chef has been a much discussed weekly event. Judge Michael Rulhman always seemed like a straight dick on the show, but his book was actually really good. It spent several chapters exploring the life of Chef Symon and his restaurant Lola. Good reading. I guess if you co-write The French Laundry cookbook, you’ve got a right to be a dickhead judge on Iron Chef. All the judges were really objective actually, and deciding between Symon and John Besh was no easy task. I really thought Besh had it there for awhile. It was a good thing they had Morimoto and the other Chefs to help ‘em sort it all out.
I was right there with you. My mate did not understand why I was suddenly screaming “yeah! Go Mike!” He is exactly what the Iron Chef clan needs. I hope his head does not get any bigger!