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Now, it appears these episodes will each be Holiday Specials, which will start in October and will air on Saturday nights at 10pm on Food Network. It looks like there will be five holiday specials which include: Oktoberfest, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Iron Chef/Cooking Channel Holiday, and a Winter Ice Battle.
The matchups and air dates for each of the specials are as follows:
- Oktoberfest - October 12th - Michael Symon and Geoffrey Zakarian face off against Chef Bernhard Mairinger from BierBeisl in Beverly Hills, CA
- Halloween - October 26th - Alex Guarnaschelli and Geoffrey Zakarian battle Spike Mendelsohn and Marcel Vigneron, who have appeared on both Next Iron Chef and Top Chef.
- Thanksgiving - November 10th - Bobby Flay and Michael Symon battle Alex Guarnaschelli and Geoffrey Zakarian
- Iron Chef/Cooking Channel Holiday - November 30th - There will be 3 teams competing, which include: Bobby Flay and Ching He Huang vs. Masaharu Morimoto and G. Garvin vs. Jose Garces and Bobby Deen.
- Winter Ice Battle - December 14th - Bobby Flay and Jose Garces go against Masahuru Morimoto and Geoffrey Zakarian.
Here are some observations:
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| Photo - Facebook |
- Alex Guarnaschelli and Geoffrey Zakarian are on the same team twice, and Geoffrey Zakarian is in four of the five holiday specials.
- The Thanksgiving battle seems like a big mismatch.
- It looks like there could be two different three-way battles with the Oktoberfest battle (unless Symon and Zakarian are on the same team, which I doubt) and the Iron Chef/Cooking Channel battle. UPDATE - Symon and Zakarian are on the same team against a team of Austro-German chefs led by Bernhard Mairinger,
- The Spike Mendelsohl and Marcel Vigneron bromance is back.
- One picture (to the right) has Bobby Flay, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Marc Forgione on the same team, but I can't figure out what battle that is for. There is also a picture with Marc Forgione, Masaharue Morimoto and Michael Symon, but I do not know the battle.
Also, from looking at the pictures (below) from Donatella's Facebook page, it looks like some of the judges besides Donatella include Lawrence Fishburne, Mike Greenberg (ESPN), Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse on True Blood), Gina Torres (The Matrix) and Caroline Manzo (Real Housewives of New Jersey).
Any battles that you are looking forward to?
Meh. I'll watch, but I'm not overly excited for any of these battles. It seems like they keep running pretty much the same premise with the same people over and over. However, anything is better than "The Shed." What the heck is that monstrosity?
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously looking forward to them! Also to the Chopped holiday specials.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you say that Thanksgiving looks like a big mismatch? Just curious because Halloween looks like a bigger mismatch to me. I actually like Spike and Marcel but I don't see either of them in the same league as Geoffrey Zakarian.
ReplyDeleteJust because Michael Symon has the best record of any Iron Chef ever, and him and Bobby Flay have been in kitchen stadium about 100 times vs. newcomers Zakarian and Guarnaschelli who have about 15 battles total.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Halloween matchup is a mismatch as well
I think these have pure awesomeness potential. Yet another reason why Fall is the season FTW.
ReplyDeleteBobby may have been losing his mojo lately though. He used to win a lot more than he does now.
ReplyDeleteFN's sad attempt to capitalize on the Duck Dynasty madness. A fail for sure.
ReplyDeleteMe too! I am especially looking forward to Chef Zakarian and Chef Guarnaschelli. LOVE holiday Chopped and Iron Chef specials!
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean. Michael and Bobby are personal friends too so they'll probably have some strategy worked out. Of course, that may also be true of the other team. We know they're friends on the FN; I have no idea if they're friends in their personal lives.
ReplyDeleteI love Chopped and will watch anyone compete--holiday or not!
ReplyDeleteAbby and Autumn, I couldn't agree more. However, if I judged either show, I'd probably call in sick for the Halloween shows. I don't eat bugs or guts.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Andrea, I can't agree. I saw Brad Orrison compete a couple of years ago and he's funny and likable. The whole crew is just as personable. I enjoy it, although it probably is a one-and-done.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see Spike and Marcel take down Geoffrey and Alex—especially Alex.
ReplyDeleteAgree with MoHub on the judges!!
ReplyDeletewere alex and Geoffrey Married?
ReplyDelete