Hidden Guilty Pleasure

The first time I saw Iron Chef I was visiting my Dad for the weekend. I remember asking my Dad, "what are you watching??" and ribbing him pretty hard for it. Nevertheless, I sat down and watched with him. I've been hooked ever since.

It's an acquired taste but I think people are drawn to the cheesy humor and layout of the show. Instead of subtitles the hosts and guests (and cooks, everyone but the chairman) are dubbed. This effect causes instant hilarity. My Dad and I got a kick from the off the wall comments, it cracked us up. Another aspect, at least for me and Dad, is watching in awe as people ate food that looked like waste. We'd try not to gag as the tasters got all excited about how delicious a dish was.

I recently tried to get into the new Iron Chef America and it's just not the same. I barely got through one episode. It lacks the charm of the original. But sometimes I get lucky and I catch an old episode on the tube. Even better is when I find one on Youtube I haven't seen yet.