Resident Foodies say: Iron Chef will remain an all-boys club, save one. Chef Geoffrey Zakarian won the Next Iron Chef, defeating Chef Elizabeth Falkner, in a holiday-themed cook-off in Kitchen Stadium. A number of the judges–5 men (including the Chairman) and 1 woman–seemed to think Chef Falkner cooked the best dish of the night, but Chef Zakarian, known as a master technician, had the best overall meal. Falkner was described by some of the judges as the more creative chef and with greater potential, plus her pastry skills, but Zakarian was considered to be a master chef already. Judge Simon Majumdar, however, was vocal in his dislike of one of Zakarian’s dishes, the “gift” dish made of beef, which Majumdar found chewy and described as a “flop.” It wasn’t exactly clear how the Iron Chef is selected–by a majority vote or by the Chairman based on the advice of the judges. In the end, though, Zakarian won.
With Chef Zakarian, Iron Chef has now 7 men and 1 woman, a gender disparity that is now worse than the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court (more on that later).
Congrats to Chef Zakarian and Chef Falkner for a spirited finale.