The Behind the Scenes Journey
Tony Vaught, owner of Professional Aquaculture Services (PAS) and president of the California Aquaculture Association (CAA) provided the sturgeon used for the filming of Episode 7: Battle Live Sturgeon of Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend at the Iron Chef studios in Los Angeles, California. The Iron Chef television franchise is a well-known, long-standing chef competition series, first airing in Japan in the 1990s, then moving to the United States in the 2000s, and still going strong with its new series, Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, which was released on June 15th, 2022.
Vaught consulted with Iron Chef producers and staff to determine which fish to use for the episode. In an effort to better familiarize viewers with the many culinary qualities of sturgeon meat, as well as its prehistoric history, Vaught recommended using cultured sturgeon. With the producers in agreement, Vaught contracted with The Fishery in Galt, California to supply the high-quality sturgeon needed for filming.
Vaught and the Executive Director of CAA, Michael Lee, set out the day before filming with live sturgeon in a transport truck. To ensure the fish arrived in top condition, the user-friendly Aquasend miniDOT® Clear was used to monitor dissolved oxygen levels and water quality over the ten hour trip. When they arrived, the sturgeon were placed into a specially prepared display tank on the set in the Iron Chef studio for the next day’s filming.
On set, Vaught engaged with judges and advised producers, chefs, special effects staff, and camera personnel on what to expect from the fish during filming. Vaught also provided tips to chefs on how to prepare the fish, including the ever-so-difficult task of removing the notochord!
From transport to filming, the event and experience was a complete success. The engagement from Iron Chef staff, producers, chefs, and judges, and their appreciation for locally produced, farm raised California sturgeon was tremendous. The message of the importance of aquaculture’s role in our state’s and nation’s food security was very well received from all involved.
Upon completion of filming, the sturgeon that were not used in the episode were donated to and used by Wolfgang Puck at his Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills, California.
Battle Live Sturgeon – Allez Cuisine!
Episode 7: Battle Live Sturgeon features a fierce battle between Iron Chef Ming Tsai and dual challengers, Gregory Gourdet and Mei Lin.
Hosting the episode were Alton Brown, Kristen Kish, and The Iron Chef Chairman, Mark Dacascos. Judging the competition were Nilou Motamed, Andrew Zimmern, and Wolfgang Puck.
Iron Chef Ming Tsai, who specializes in east–west fusion cuisine, took the judges on a trip “around the world” with his culturally diverse and eloquently-prepared sturgeon dishes. (Dishes listed below under “Spoiler Alert” section.)
Having teamed up on previous chef competitions, challengers Gourdet, who is Haitian-American, and Lin, who is Chinese-American offered judges an enlightening culinary experience of their diverse heritage and background. (Dishes listed below under “Spoiler Alert” section.)
Watch Battle Live Sturgeon
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Spoiler Alert – Chefs’ Dishes
The dishes prepared by Iron Chef Ming Tsa include:
- Sturgeon Fish Cake with Caviar Mayonnaise and Tomato Water Shot
- Tea Smoked Sturgeon with Coconut Lime Crema
- Sturgeon Tonkatsu with Kimchi Jjigae
- Sturgeon Sisig with Taro Chips
- Sturgeon Coulibiac with Soba Noodles, Maitake, and Truffles
The dishes prepared by challengers Gregory Gourdet and Mei Lin include:
- Chicken Fried Sturgeon with Roe and Yuzu Ranch
- Smoked Sturgeon Tataki with Coconut Leche de Tigre
- Chili Oil Poached Sturgeon with 3 Cup Sauce and Crispy Nori
- Sturgeon Shabu Shabu with Donabe Rice, Sturgeon Floss Furikake, and Sturgeon XO Sauce
- Grilled Jerk Sturgeon Belly with Pearl Onions
And the winner is…?
Watch the episode to find out!
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