Iron Chef Showdown Season 3 Episode 7 Morimoto vs. Eme

In Iron Chef Showdown season 3 episode 7, viewers get to witness a culinary showdown between two culinary titans – Masaharu Morimoto and Chris Eme. Morimoto is a Japanese chef best known for co-owning several restaurants in New York City and is known for his fusion style cooking. Eme, on the other hand, is an American chef with a rich culinary background, having trained under several accomplished chefs throughout his career.

The episode starts with the traditional introduction of the chefs as they walk onto the set of the show amidst cheers and applause from the live audience. The host, Alton Brown, explains the theme of the episode, which is vegetables, and proceeds to reveal the mystery ingredient – the eggplant.

The two chefs quickly get down to work, and it's clear from the outset that both of them have a clear strategy in mind. Morimoto takes a minimalist approach, focusing on elevating the natural flavors of the eggplant. His dish features thinly sliced eggplant lightly seasoned with soy sauce and mirin, topped with grated ginger and served with a side of sesame dressing. In contrast, Eme goes all out, incorporating the eggplant into several different dishes. He makes an eggplant dip that features roasted eggplant, lemon, garlic, and olive oil, a roasted eggplant salad, and an eggplant parmesan that he hopes will impress the judges.

As the clock ticks down, the chefs move onto the next course, which features the mystery ingredient and a surprise ingredient, which turns out to be corn. Morimoto decides to incorporate the corn into a sushi roll, making a vegetarian version of his signature dish. He makes a sushi roll with eggplant, avocado, and corn, with a side of pickled ginger and wasabi. Eme takes a more unconventional approach, making a corn and eggplant chowder that features grilled eggplant and fresh corn kernels. The judges are impressed with both dishes, but it's too early to tell who has the upper hand.

For the next course, the chefs are asked to make a dish that incorporates the mystery ingredient, corn, and a regional ingredient, which turns out to be Hatch chiles. Morimoto decides to make a fried rice dish, incorporating Hatch chiles into the dish along with the eggplant and corn. Eme takes a more complex route, incorporating all three ingredients into an elevated version of a classic eggplant parmesan. His dish features fried eggplant, a homemade tomato sauce, and a corn and Hatch chile relish. The judges are blown away by Eme's dish, but Morimoto's simplicity wins over their palates.

The final course is a dessert course, and the mystery ingredient is revealed to be sweet potatoes. Morimoto decides to make a sweet potato ice cream sandwich, with a sweet potato and eggplant puree, while Eme decides to make a sweet potato cake, with a side of grilled eggplant and corn. Both dishes are a hit with the judges, who compliment the chefs on their creativity and bold flavors.

As the scores are tallied up, it's evident that both chefs put up a strong fight, and the judges have a tough decision to make. In the end, one chef emerges as the winner, while the other is left to dethrone. The episode ends on a high note, with both chefs congratulating each other on a job well done and looking forward to a rematch in the future.