The real stars in this version is the food. I never cared much for Bobby Flay or Mario Batali. What is annoying is the mainstays seem to win most of the time! Are there other chefs who can participate other then Flay, Batali and Cat Cora? Are some of the judges for real?? I mean the challengers are top class chefs and they get beaten by Food Network celebrities?? Pathetic! It's a gross example of this thing called BIAS. However I do get a kick of finding out what the secret ingredients are and how and what will be the results. That is why I watch the show. It's the challenge of creating dishes the everyday people dream of eating in only one hour. As for the supporting characters are they OK but Mark Dacascos sometimes look like he's buttering up to the Iron Chefs with comments like "Iron Chef it is an honor seeing you work." This show could be better if other chefs not affiliated with the Food Network are given the chance of wearing the mantle of Iron Chef from time to time and the judges be more fair otherwise Iron Chef: America is nothing more than an ego contest of Food Network mainstays against everyone on the outside. What a pity it will stay that way.
