TV Chefs
Top Texas chef throws down the gauntlet on new Iron Chef show

After a four-year absence, Food Network show Iron Chef America is back with a new format and a Texas chef in the cast.
The show, an American spin-off of a cult favorite that originally debuted in Japan, last aired in 2013 with the old format of one chef competing against one iron chef. For its 2017 return, Iron Chef Gauntlet pits seven chefs against each other in a more intense cooking contest that ends with a competition against three iron chefs.
Representing Texas is Jason Dady, a leading light of the San Antonio restaurant scene, where he's chef-owner of favorites Tre Trattoria, Tre Enoteca, Two Bros BBQ Market, The DUK Truck, B&D Ice House, Shuck Shack, and the Bin Tapas Bar.
Over the years, Dady has received an array of awards and honors in the culinary industry, including being named San Antonio Chef of the Year in our CultureMap Tastemaker Awards in 2016. He's been a regular visitor to Dallas for cooking events and festivals such as Savor Dallas.
Other competing chefs hail from New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Seattle. One contestant, Chicago chef Sarah Gruenberg, is originally from Houston. The lineup also includes TV chef veteran Stephanie Izard, who won season 4 of Top Chef.
Food Network promises that Iron Chef Gauntlet will be more grueling than previous iterations. Here's a quote:
"After five weeks of Chairman's Challenges, judged by Kitchen Stadium guru Alton Brown, and all-or-nothing Secret Ingredient Showdowns, the last chef standing will enter a three-ringed gauntlet. It's in that pressure-packed finale that the remaining challenger will put his or her culinary skills on the line and battle not one, not two, but three Iron Chefs — Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto, and Michael Symon — with as many secret ingredients."
Root for Dady in the season premiere on April 16.