Iron Wok Jan! (鉄鍋のジャン！)

Previously on Iron Wok Jan!

Otani...

You really aren't worth a damn.

A piece of crap critic who wouldn't know taste if it slapped him in the face!

THIS IS FICTION WITH NO INTENTIONAL RESEMBLANCE TO ANY PERSONS, ORGANIZATIONS, OR OCCURRENCES.

OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE SOURCE MATERIAL, THERE MAY BE SCENES CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE TO MODERN SENSIBILITIES.

ALL-JAPAN CHINESE CUISINE CONGLOMERATION

What I'm suggesting is...

We take young chefs from all across Japan

and throw one giant cooking competition!

THEIR REGULAR MEETING

ALL-JAPAN CHINESE CUISINE CONGLOMERATION PRESIDENT

The kids out there these days really know their stuff!

This'd be a huge tourney where they're all invited,

regardless of how famous they are!

And we broadcast the whole thing. It'll be a hit!

I see. A tournament for young chefs, eh?

It sounds like a great idea, Chairman.

I see. A tournament, huh?

Exactly! One with the weight and prestige

of the All-Japan Chinese Cuisine Conglomeration behind it!

Here we go! My genius plan!

I'm gonna use this to ruin those fools who had the nerve to humiliate me!

Your days are numbered, Gobancho's!

Especially yours... Akiyama Jan!

There's going to be a Chinese cooking competition

featuring exclusively young chefs as the competitors.

Representing our restaurant will be Gobancho Kiriko and Akiyama Jan!

That's you two.

Whoa! Kiriko-san makes sense, but why Akiyama?!

Head Chef, if this is for younger chefs, couldn't we have sent—

Funny you should mention that.

For whatever reason, they requested Akiyama's participation.

And apparently, it's by invitation only.

Naturally.

The guys running this show know exactly who's got real skills.

And I guess you'll be tagging along.

Just don't cook anything that reflects poorly on the restaurant.

The day of the tournament!

With Otani's vulgar scheme lurking below the surface,

young chefs assemble to test their skills here at Tokyo Dome!

FIRST ALL-JAPAN CHINESE CHEF CHAMPIONSHIP VENUE

Just look at this huge crowd!

Some of them look like real characters too, Osawa-san.

KANTO TV DIRECTOR DAVID OSAWA

Just what I'd expect with cooks from across the country

who're confident in their dishes and skills!

Let's see just who we're dealing with...

That's Jun Tomohide from Oriental Tower!

Jun-kun? Jun-kun!

Oh, hello there, Osawa-san.

I take it you're participating?

And with all this competition! How do you think you'll fare?

It's just the qualifiers. Won't be a problem.

What confidence!

There's a reason you're one of the favorites to win this thing.

Such presence, and only sixteen!

Wh-What is it?

Osawa-san, cooking is all about tradition.

And at Oriental Tower, we have four hundred years of history.

My ancestors were court chefs. Their spirit endured the move to Yokohama,

where they set down roots that run all the way to the modern day.

That's four centuries of technique that have been passed down to me.

If you'll excuse me...

Well, he definitely seems confident.

He's got the goods to back it up.

You handled that well, Boss.

Just "one" of the favorites? Can you believe him?

How is anyone here gonna beat my four hundred years of tradition?

CHEF TOMOHIDE JUN, FROM ORIENTAL TOWER

Kumagen!

It's Kumagen! He's competing, too?!

CHEF ABUKUMA GENJI, AKA "KUMAGEN," FROM HOKKAIDO'S KING SEA LION

He cooks Chinese dishes with rare ingredients like bear, whale, and seal.

He's always on TV and in the magazines.

Wow. Bear dishes?

The tastiest part of a bear is the pad of their right front paw!

The reason being that it's what they use to scoop out the honey they eat!

*THEORIES VARY

Even when they hibernate, they make sure their paws are slathered in honey

to slurp up as they make it through the winter! Didn't know that, did you?!

Understand?

S-Sure.

This championship belongs to everyone's favorite TV chef, Kumagen!

I'm not letting anyone get in my way!

Try and make sure you film me on the right at a 45 degree angle, please.

That's right!

Try to stay on top of that, cameraman!

S-Sawada Kei-kun from Kun Lun in Roppongi!

"Everyone's favorite TV chef," huh?

Does he think being a guest on talk shows makes him a better Chinese chef?

The trick to good cooking is to befriend the flames.

And here you have...

zhima xueogao.

WHITE SESAME ICE CREAM

Ice cream made from white sesame.

How pretty! The ice cream is on fire!

It's so romantic!

You never disappoint, Sawada-kun!

Cooking is all about fire!

I mastered the fundamentals of cooking at age ten...

and that's the conclusion I, Sawada Kei, came to!

CHEF SAWADA KEI, FROM THE CHINESE RESTAURANT KUN LUN

You're always so cool!

There's no doubt you're gonna win!

You think he's a competitor, too?

A temperature of 22 degrees at 65 percent humidity...

Not all that different from inside the dome.

But it's supposed to rain this afternoon.

KAWAHARA YUJI, A STUDENT FROM THE KAWAHARA COOKING SCHOOL

I guess some real weirdos turned out, too.

Cameraman! Here come some of the stars of this show!

Get footage of them!

Right!

The darling of Japan's preeminent Chinese establishment,

Gobancho's Chinese! It's Gobancho Kiriko!

She's not all that famous yet,

but the judges will be paying attention to her.

The other one with the nasty look

is, according to food critic Otani-san, a "person of interest."

He's supposed to be the absolute worst!

Boss, the Gobancho girl is here.

I see.

So that's Gobancho Kiriko...

Well, well, well!

You're Gobancho Kiriko-san, I take it?

I hear you're quite the chef.

Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself.

I work at Roppongi's—

I don't care. Come on, Akiyama.

Yeah.

Oh my...

H-Hey, you!

Are you for real?! That's Sawada Kei from Roppongi's Kun Lun!

He's as hot to look at as he is in the kitchen!

Don't you know him?!

No, I don't. What's your deal?

Ugh! Why is she so rude?!

What're you squealing about? It's not like he's gonna cook with his face.

Hey. Who are you supposed to be?

Akiyama. Akiyama Jan!

Akiyama...

It's him...

Wait. Akiyama, as in...?

Is he related to the legendary Akiyama Kaiichiro?

He's the guy who pissed off Otani the food critic.

Ah, so he's the one.

Looks like your reputation precedes you.

The All-Japan Chinese Chef Championship!

First, our chefs are split into 24 blocks for the qualifiers.

Those who succeed make it into the tournament, where they will do battle.

And the trio who fight all the way through

will face each other in the finals!

ALL-JAPAN CHINESE CHEF CHAMPIONSHIP

During the qualifiers, competitors in each block will prepare a dish

in keeping with a theme.

You can use ingredients prepared by the tournament

or whatever you've brought in.

As for your block...

You will be making soup.

Soup?

You have two hours.

Now then, best of luck to you all.

And now, let the All-Japan Chinese Chef Championship qualifiers...

...begin!

Chicken! Where's the damn chicken?!

Holy crap! Look at all the different kinds of eggs!

I touched it first!

No, I did!

Can't let them get an edge on me! Gotta find the best ingredients!

Meanwhile, in Jan's block...

Soup! Where are the soup ingredients?!

Canned shark fin!

Okay, I'm gonna use this to make shark fin soup!

Damn it! Then I'll use actual shark fin!

I'm surrounded by absolute morons.

Canned shark fin is gonna result in a bland dish.

And the guy using actual shark fin is even dumber.

No way can he rehydrate that in two hours.

Some chump's using edible bird nests here.

Doubt he's got the know-how to use such an expensive ingredient.

That guy seems to know what he's doing, though.

Eel... He's going to make medicinal food.

Hey, Akiyama.

You're the Akiyama guy riding his grandpa's coattails, right?

Otani-san told me all about you.

Gotta stand on your own two feet to get anywhere here, though.