Do the chefs know what the secret ingredient is before it's revealed on Iron Chef America??

Question

How can the team of chefs all be on the same page, and just happen to all have the right ingredients to make their final dishes?

Answer 1

I  don't really know but my answer is the same as yours.  It seems unreal that two people can along with their helpers, know exactly what to do and when and come out perfect all the time.

Answer 2

They actually know a week in advance just like the original Japanese show. They may not know all the form that it may be provided in though. For instance, in battle eggs they may not have been told all of the kinds of eggs. They could guess the usual chicken, duck and quail eggs but be surprised by the turkey eggs which are not easy toacquiree.

Answer 3

I personally think they know what it is.  I say this because I saw one episode where they were doing some kind of fish.  The challenger brought these huge slab of pink salt.  I mean like, 1 foot by 1/2 foot slabs and it was implied these things were incredibly expensive.  

Now how would he *know* that he would be able to use that for a dish?  

That being said, I don't think it removes anything from the excitement of the show or the fun.

Answer 4

I think there is an extensive pantry of ingredients, but it seems a little far fetched that they can come up with so many recipes at the drop of a hat...unless the show is edited for time, and there is a half hour before the actual cook off for the chefs to figure out what they're going to make...

Answer 5

Yes, they know about 15 minutes in advance. I saw it on a "behind the scenes" episode of Iron Chef America.

Answer 6

they don't know that's why it's called a secret ingredient. and it's not a matter that they have all the right ingredients they just know what to do with what they have.