The Next Iron Chef - Season 4

First aired: 10/29/2011 8 episodes
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Episodes

1. Primal: Heat and Meat

Aired: 10/30/2011

In the season premiere of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, 10 Chefs are brought to the middle of nowhere and their primal instincts are put to the test. Split into five teams, the chefs are given the most basic tools to create build their own cooking stations before creating their Iron Chef worthy dishes.

2. Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Aired: 11/6/2011

The chefs head to Petco Park in San Diego to take on food related to baseball. They meet host Alton Brown and former Cy Young winner Randy Jones at home plate and are challenged to transform classic ballpark favorites into "Iron Chef" cuisine. With only minutes to grab ingredients from food carts, concession stands and the park kitchens, the chefs attempt to hit a gustatory grand slam in just one hour.

3. Let's All Go to the Lobby

Aired: 11/13/2011

An Iron Chef has the INGENUITY to see the extraordinary culinary potential in ordinary circumstances and ingredients. In this challenge, the chefs are brought to the Orpheum Theater, where Alton reveals the raw material for the Chairman's Challenge: iconic movie snack bar goodies, including popcorn and all the candy classics. The chefs have 60 minutes to create two dishes that show off their movie snack bar ingredient in the most ingenious way.

4. Food Is Funny

Aired: 11/20/2011

An Iron Chef's ability to IMPROVISE is a key to success in Kitchen Stadium. When ingredients on the altar are revealed, combatants in Kitchen Stadium must respond quickly to what the Chairman has thrown at them. Guest comedian Kevin Nealon and the audience at the Improv comedy club in Hollywood throw ingredient suggestions at the chefs - everything from octopus to marshmallows, perhaps a coconut? Kevin selects a disparate list of ingredients to cook with and the chefs have 45 minutes to improvise an Iron Chef-worthy dish.

5. New York on a Plate

Aired: 11/27/2011

The remaining chefs are brought to Charlie Palmer in NYC's Grand Central Station for their next test: STORYTELLING. Alton reveals six postcards and hidden on the back of the cards are six iconic NYC locations. The chef who won the Chairman's Challenge the previous week assigns each chef a New York location. The mission? The chefs must create a culinary story based on one of these iconic sites and present how they have each put New York on a plate. Will they incorporate iconic foods like the beloved New York bagel?

6. Food Auction

Aired: 12/4/2011

In Kitchen Stadium, chefs must take culinary RISKS. Time and again the risk-takers are the ones who create the spectacular dishes that dazzle the judges. Alton and the Chairman welcome the five remaining chefs at an empty auction house. In this challenge the chefs bid on ingredients (ponzu sauce, perhaps?) with time; a winning bid comes from the chef who claims he/she can cook an interesting dish in the least amount of time. The chefs are judged based on the chance the chef has taken and the riskiness of the dish. Taking a calculated risk and acting on instincts may be more beneficial than playing it safe.

7. Hamptons Beach Cookout

Aired: 12/11/2011

In this challenge, the chefs must create food for a Hamptons event that reflects the rich seafood bounty of the area. Double-elimination looms while the chefs must entwine their skills and focus on finding their "passion" to take a traditional beach cookout to Iron Chef-worthy heights. Who has the passion, the burning desire, to become the Next Iron Chef?

8. Finale

Aired: 12/18/2011

The remaining two chefs walk into Kitchen Stadium to complete their final test: PRESSURE. With the Chairman looking on and host Alton Brown commentating from the sidelines, the final challenge is themed around the winter holidays. Enduring the unpredictability and PRESSURE of Kitchen Stadium will determine who will become the Next Iron Chef.