Napa Valley Film Festival Serves Up "Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend" Premiere

Napa Valley Film Festival Hosts Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend Series Premiere

NAPA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: Signage is seen during the screening, Q&A and dinner for Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend hosted by Napa Valley Film Festival and the Culinary Institute of America at Copia on June 15, 2022 in Napa, California. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Netflix)

“Allez Cuisine” The Napa Valley Film Festival (NVFF) recently hosted a unique culinary and cinematic event on the day of the new Netflix Iron Chef Series premiere “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend” on June 15, 2022. The celebration at the Film Festival was in conjunction with the launch of this new Iron Chef food competition series on Netflix, at The CIA at Copia in Napa, California. The event commenced with a screening of the finale episode of the eight-part Iron Chef series chronicling the heroic quest of the challenging chef with the highest awarded points taking on the five legendary Iron Chefs in their quest to be named “Iron Legend” and be awarded the coveted “Golden Knife.”

NAPA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: (L-R) Lanae Brody, Moderator and Senior Reporter of Emerging Content at PEOPLE, Chef Esther Choi, guest, Chef Dominique Crenn, Chef Gabriela Cámara, Co-host Kristen Kish, Chef Ming Tsai, Co-host Alton Brown and Chef Marcus Samuelsson speak onstage during a screening, Q&A and dinner for Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend hosted by Napa Valley Film Festival and the Culinary Institute of America at Copia on June 15, 2022 in Napa, California. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Netflix)

NAPA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: Co-host Kristen Kish is seen with guests during a screening, Q&A and dinner for Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend hosted by Napa Valley Film Festival and the Culinary Institute of America at Copia on June 15, 2022 in Napa, California. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Netflix)

NAPA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: (L-R) Co-host Alton Brown and Chef Marcus Samuelsson speak onstage during a screening, Q&A and dinner for Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend hosted by Napa Valley Film Festival and the Culinary Institute of America at Copia on June 15, 2022 in Napa, California. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Netflix)

Following the “Quest for a Legend” season finale – the chef contestant showdown and screening event at the CIA in Napa – competing chefs and creators were available for an informative Q & A with anxious and hungry guests. Afterward, the attending guests and foodies had the pleasure of joining a VIP Reception and Dinner. This extraordinary VIP sit-down dinner was prepared by the show’s chefs and the Culinary Institute of America chefs recreating the remarkable dishes from the season finale.

Celebrity Guests at the June 15 event hosted at Napa Valley’s iconic Copia included Iron Chefs Gabriela Cámara, Dominique Crenn, Marcus Samuelson, and Ming Tsai, hosts Alton Brown and Kristen Kish, and challenger chef Esther Choi.

Allez Cuisine – VIP Dinner – THE MENU AT THE CULINARY INSTITUTE AT COPIA

NAPA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: The menu is seen during the screening, Q&A, and dinner for Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend hosted by Napa Valley Film Festival and the Culinary Institute of America at Copia on June 15, 2022, in Napa, California. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Netflix)

THE DISHES PREPARED WERE INSPIRED BY THE IRON CHEFS During the Quest for the Iron Legend on Netflix

HANABI CRUDO

Recipe by Iron Chef Finalist Esther Choi – Anchovy broth granita, scallops, Dungeness crab, spot prawns

NAPA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 15: Food is seen during the screening, Q&A and dinner for Netflix’s Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend hosted by Napa Valley Film Festival and the Culinary Institute of America at Copia on June 15, 2022 in Napa, California. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Netflix)

SMOKED KING FISH

Recipe by Iron Chef Dominique Crenn – Seaweed, whey

KING CRAB TOSTADA

Recipe by Iron Chef Gabriela Cámara – asparagus, HalfMoon Bay sea urchin

TRUFFLE EXPLOSION SHRIMP SHUMAI

Recipe by Iron Chef Ming Tsai – ginger lemongrass broth

LOBSTER BIRD

Recipe by Chef Marcus Samuelsson – corn, honshimeji, bok choy

GREYSTONE BERGAMOT PAVLOVA

Recipe by CIA Chef Ashley Goodloe – strawberry jus, fior di latte crémeux

Additional attendees included Rick Garber, chairman of the Napa Valley Film Festival, Thomas Bensel, CIA managing director, California campus, and actress Maria Bello.

Juan Rendon, Alton Brown, Ming Tsai at the Alpha Omega BBQ
Photo Credit: Park Weston

On the day prior to the series premiere, Tuesday, June 14, The Napa Valley Film Festival also celebrated the cast of the new series on Netflix, “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend” with a wine country BBQ and toast to the eight-part series. The event was hosted by vintners Robin and Michelle Baggett at their esteemed Alpha Omega winery in Rutherford, overlooking their beautiful vineyard, and went into the night. Baggett Ranch BBQ prepared a delicious family-style feast with suckling pig, St. Louis style ribs, fire-roasted Wolfe Ranch quail, and King City pink kettle beans that paired beautifully with Alpha Omega wines.

Guests to the Tuesday BBQ at Alpha Omega Winery included Iron Chefs Dominique Crenn, Marcus Samuelsson, and Ming Tsai, hosts Alton Brown, and challenger chef Esther Choi.

The Exhilarating and Mouthwatering New Netflix Culinary Series – “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend”

Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend – The legendary Iron Chef series has been reborn again with a supersized approach to the ground-breaking culinary competition that started it all. It’s been called the toughest culinary challenge a chef will ever experience. This is where world-class cuisine meets high-octane sports.

Five new trailblazing Iron Chefs, Gabriela Cámara, Dominique Crenn, Marcus Samuelson, Curtis Stone, and Ming Tsai, will welcome brave Challenger Chefs in the reimagined Kitchen Stadium, where they will face off and be pushed to the limits of endurance and creativity, as they cook up extraordinary culinary creations. In the finale, the highest-scoring challenger must create five dishes in competition with all five Iron Chefs. The competition’s most successful Challenger returns to battle in a grand finale for the chance to be named the first-ever “Iron Legend” and be awarded the “Golden Knife.”

Check out the trailer for Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend

Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend is an American cooking show reboot of Iron Chef and Iron Chef America. Alton Brown returns to co-host the show with Kristen Kish and Mark Dacascos again as he brings back “The Chairman.” Contestants challenge the Iron Chefs in a cookoff with a secret ingredient, and in this series, the highest-scoring challenger battles with all five Iron Chefs one more time in hopes of becoming an Iron Legend. The series debuted on Netflix on June 15, 2022, for its first season of eight episodes.

It all takes place in the reimagined Kitchen Stadium, where the competing chefs and their teams face off and are pushed to the limits of endurance and creativity as they create and prepare five extraordinary creations in a short period of time. Each contestant’s initial creation will be presented to the esteemed panel of judges after 30 minutes. The following four dishes will be delivered simultaneously after another 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the category.

Five Iron Chefs are introduced in this new series – Curtis Stone, Dominique Crenn, Marcus Samuelsson, Ming Tsai, and Gabriela Cámara. The challenger chefs compete against the Iron Chefs to prepare a dish centered around a secret ingredient revealed by The Chairman. Hosts Alton Brown and Kristen Kish provide real-time commentary on how the competition proceeds. Each episode has three judges, Nilou Motamed, Andrew Zimmern, and a third guest judge. At the end of the season, the highest-scoring Challenger returns to face off against all five Iron Chefs in hopes of becoming an Iron Legend and receiving a Golden Knife.

Here is a tasty bit about this season’s Iron Chef – Quest for and Iron Legend hosts, competing Chefs, and the series.

IRON CHEF: Quest for an Iron Legend HOSTS:

Alton Brown

Alton Brown was directing TV commercials when he got the crazy idea of going to culinary school and reinventing the cooking show. Good Eats was an irreverent, science-forward program that kept Brown gainfully employed for over twenty years. Along the way, he also hosted Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen. Brown’s live culinary variety show Beyond the Eats is currently playing to sold-out theaters across the country, and his recently released book, Good Eats: The Final Years is a New York Times Best Seller. Brown has garnered two James Beard awards and a Peabody. He lives in Atlanta.

Kristen Kish

Kristen Kish was born in South Korea and adopted into a family in Kentwood, MI. At a young age, she showed an affinity for cooking and, prompted by her mother, attended Le Cordon Bleu. Kristen began her career working with Chefs Guy Martin and Barbara Lynch, and in 2012 competed in and won Bravo’s Top Chef. In 2017, she published her first cookbook, Kristen Kish Cooking, and the following year, she opened her first restaurant, Arlo Grey, in Austin, TX. Kristen co-stars in Fast Foodies on truTV and is a host of Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend on Netflix.

Each week’s secret ingredient was revealed by Mark Dacascos, known as “The Chairman,” The enigmatic figure who pits the challengers against the Iron Chefs by shouting his signature line, “Allez cuisine!”

PARTICIPATING IRON CHEFS:

Curtis Stone

Curtis Stone is a Los Angeles-based Michelin-starred chef, restaurateur, author, and culinary entrepreneur. Curtis began cooking at the Savoy Hotel’s five-star restaurant in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia, at 18. He moved to Europe when he was 21 to further his education and classical training under renowned chef Marco Pierre White for eight years, a foundation that would inform his subsequent career in Los Angeles. In 2014, Curtis opened his first solo restaurant, Maude (Beverly Hills, CA), to immediate acclaim. Following the success of Maude, Curtis opened Gwen Butcher Shop & Restaurant (Hollywood, CA) in July 2016 with his brother Luke Stone. The brothers opened their second restaurant together, Georgie, modeled after Gwen, with restaurateur Stephan Courseau in Dallas, Texas in the fall of 2019. In addition to the restaurants, Curtis operates Curtis Stone Events in Los Angeles, a full-service events and catering company that crafts personalized occasions for guests.

Outside his restaurants, Curtis is widely known for his appearances on television programs such as Take Home Chef (TLC), Top Chef Masters (Bravo), the Emmy-nominated Top Chef Junior, an extension of the NBC Top Chef franchise, as well as making frequent appearances on Master Chef Australia. In fall 2019, Curtis debuted Field Trip with Curtis Stone on PBS, a six-episode series inspired by his global travels to research the regional menus at the newly minted Michelin-starred Maude. Season two premiered in October 2020 and is streaming on Peacock and Tastemade. Curtis filled a judge’s seat for Crime Scene Kitchen (FOX), an all-new baking competition hosted by Joel McHale, premiering in May 2021. A New York Times best-selling author, Curtis has authored six cookbooks, including his most recent, Good Food, Good Life. In 2007, Curtis developed Kitchen Solutions, a sleek and functional cookware collection, which has now become the best-reviewed brand and top-selling culinary line on the Home Shopping Network. In 2016, Curtis began a new pledge to give back through his #Commit2One initiative. Each year he partners with a charity, devoting most of his time and resources to the cause. Through these efforts, he has raised funds and awareness for The National Young Farmer’s Coalition, Chrysalis, AdoptTogether, and Share Our Strength, which aims to end childhood hunger through their No Kid Hungry campaign DroughtAngels. Curtis is married to actress Lindsay Price, and the couple lives in Los Angeles with their two sons.

Dominique Crenn

Dominique Crenn is the chef/owner of Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. She focuses on cuisine as a craft and the community as an inspiration. In November 2018, Crenn became the first female chef in the US to receive three Michelin Stars. She also owns Petit Crenn, an ode to the home cooking of Brittany, and Bar Crenn, a wine bar that pays homage to the Parisian salons of the early twentieth century. In 2021, she was honored with the World’s 50 Best Icon Award for her constant presence in the international culinary community, promoting innovation, sustainability, and equality through her restaurant ideals and participation in various panels and summits.

Marcus Samuelsson

Marcus Samuelsson is the acclaimed chef behind restaurants worldwide, including Red Rooster Harlem, MARCUS Montreal, Marcus B&P in Newark, Red Rooster Overtown, Streetbird at Yankee Stadium, and Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House in the Bahamas. Samuelsson was the youngest to ever receive a three-star review from The New York Times and has won multiple James Beard Foundation Awards, including Best Chef: New York City and Outstanding Personality for No Passport Required on PBS. He is a longstanding judge on the hit Food Network show Chopped, head judge of Top Chef: Family Style, and newly named Iron Chef on Netflix’s rebooted Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend. Marcus also co-hosts This Moment podcast with Swedish rapper Timbuktu on ACAST. He is the author of multiple books, including The New York Times bestselling memoir Yes, Chef: A Memoir and his latest book, The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food. Follow Samuelsson on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @MarcusCooks.

Ming Tsai

Chef Ming Tsai is a James Beard & Emmy Award-Winning chef. He recently founded MingsBings, a consumer-packaged goods startup bringing healthy, plant-based, gluten-free, convenient food to the frozen food aisle. Chef Ming Tsai’s love of cooking began at an early age. Raised in Dayton, Ohio, he spent hours alongside his parents at Mandarin Kitchen, the family-owned restaurant. In this, Ming learned about restaurant operations and, most importantly, the art of making customers happy through food.

While studying at Yale University, earning his degree in Mechanical Engineering, Ming spent his summers attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and apprenticing at restaurants in Paris. After graduating from Yale, Ming moved to Paris, trained under renowned Pastry Chef Pierre Herme, and then to Osaka with Sushi Master Kobayashi.

In 1998, Ming opened Blue Ginger in Wellesley, MA. The James Beard Foundation crowned Ming “2002 Best Chef Northeast,” Esquire named him Chef of the Year, and the Zagat Restaurant Guide consistently rated Blue Ginger within the “Top 5 of Most Popular Restaurants”.

In early 2013, Ming opened his second restaurant: Blue Dragon, an Asian gastropub located in Boston’s Fort Point Channel area. Blue Dragon was named one of Esquire Magazine’s “Best New Restaurants 2013” and Zagat’s “24 New Restaurants You Need to Know About Around the US”.

Along with MingsBings, Chef Ming is Chef/Partner at BaBa at Yellowstone Club in Big Sky, Chairman of the National Advisory Board for Family Reach, the author of five cookbooks, and recently completed his 18th season as host and executive producer of PBS-TV’s Simply Ming.

Gabriela Cámara

Gabriela Cámara is the restaurateur, chef, and cookbook author behind restaurants Contramar, Entremar, Itacate del Mar, and Caracol de Mar in Mexico City, as well as Cala in San Francisco (not currently open). Named to the 2020 TIME 100 list and the 2019 Bloomberg 50 list, in addition to being recognized as one of Fortune Magazine’s Most Innovative Women in Food & Drink, Gabriela continues to pioneer sustainability practices and cultivate equitable environments at her restaurants while highlighting modern Mexican cuisine.

The Judges

Each episode has three judges, Nilou Motamed, Andrew Zimmern, and a third guest judge.

Permanent judges are Andrew Zimmern, best known as the host of the long-running culinary travel series Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, and Nilou Motamed, former editor-in-chief of Food and Wine and Epicurious magazines.

This season’s guest judges include Danny Trejo, Francis Lam, Nancy Silverton, Justin Willman, Loni Love, Keyshawn Johnson, Vernon Davis, Wolfgang Puck, Lorena Garcia, and Masaharu Morimoto.

Iron Chef fans will recognize Morimoto as one of the chefs from the original series, where he specialized in Japanese cuisine.

IRON CHEF: QUEST FOR AN IRON LEGEND

SEASON ONE

Episode One – Battle Street Food

Mulleted sandwich ace Mason Hereford elevates gas station ingredients in a Curtis Stone street fight that holds lamb to the flame five ways.
Secret Ingredient – Lamb
Challenger Chef – Mason Hereford
Guest Judge – Francis Lam

Episode Two – Battle Tailgate

Esther Choi and Marcus Samuelsson score in a rib-laden tailgate round, while Keyshawn Johnson and Vernon Davis assist.
Secret Ingredient – Ribs
Challenger Chef – Esther Choi
Guest Judge – Danny Trejo

Episode Three – Battle Milk

Heavy cream meets heavy metal as Michelin-starred chefs Curtis Duffy, and Dominique Crenn turn milk into prized pastry.
Secret Ingredient – Milk
Challenger Chef – Curtis Duffy
Guest Judge – Nancy Silverton

Episode Four – Battle Medieval

Chefs Gabriela Cámara, Dominique Crenn, Marcus Samuelsson, and Curtis Stone go medieval in epic team combat with a secret twist.
Secret Ingredient – Game Birds, Mushrooms, and Grapes
This is a Battle of the Iron Chefs
Guest Judge – Justin Willman

Episode Five – Battle Chocolate

The battle is like a box of chocolates, as self-described “border kid” Claudette Zepeda faces Ming Tsai in a cocoa-infused challenge.
Secret Ingredient – Chocolate
Challenger Chef – Claudette Zapeda
Guest Judge – Loni Love

Episode Six – Battle Chili Peppers

Coming in hot, Yia Vang and Gabriela Cámara celebrate serranos, shishitos, and a spectrum of chilis in a spicy showdown.
Secret Ingredient – Chili Peppers
Challenger Chef – Yia Yang
Guest Judge – Lorena Garcia

Episode Seven – Battle Live Sturgeon

Chef pals Gregory Gourdet and Mei Lin make a splash with East-West sturgeon plates in a fish fight against Ming Tsai.
Secret Ingredient – Live Sturgeon
Challenger Chefs – Gregory Gourdet and Mei Lin
Guest Judge – Wolfgang Puck

Episode Eight – Battle for Iron Legend

A battle royal begins as the highest-scoring Challenger must create five dishes in competition with all five Iron Chefs. A Golden Knife and title await the winner.
Secret Ingredient – Sea
Challenger Chef – The competition’s most successful Challenger goes into battle with the Iron Chefs seeking the coveted “Golden Knife”
Guest Judge – Masaharu Morimoto

About the Napa Valley Film Festival

The Napa Valley Film Festival (NVFF) is a five-day celebration that blends the art of film, food, and wine together. Discover the best new independent films of the year, savor exquisite cuisine paired with legendary wines, and create lasting memories found only in the Napa Valley. The Napa Valley Film Festival is presented by Cinema Napa Valley, a registered 501c3 non-profit organization headquartered in Napa, California. Cinema Napa Valley’s mission is to celebrate the cinematic arts and enrich the community by presenting an annual world-class festival and year-round education and outreach programs. Visit napavalleyfilmfest.org for more information on passes and festival events. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, andLinkedIn.

About The CIA at Copia

Presented by The Culinary Institute of America, The CIA at Copia is a gathering place to “Feed Your Joy™.” Located in the heart of Napa’s Oxbow District, where people can take a cooking or beverage class or Boot Camp in our state-of-the-art Hestan Teaching Kitchen; enjoy seasonal dishes prepared by executive chef and CIA alum Sayat Ozyilmaz at The Grove at Copia; a unique, 3D animation tasting menu and exploration of Marco Polo’s Spice Trail; or simply drop in for drinks and bocce or an outdoor movie with friends. Whether breaking bread with friends, improving culinary knowledge and skills, discovering new recipes and cuisines, or make more sustainable food choices, there’s something for everyone at The CIA at Copia. As part of the not-for-profit Culinary Institute of America, dining in our restaurants, shopping in our store, and taking a class, help support future chefs.