Food Network favorite returns with plenty of familiar faces

By Andrew Warren TV Media

It’s finally back. After a three-year hiatus and a little bit of an amusebouche earlier this year, “Iron Chef America” finally returns with a revamped format, a renovated Kitchen Stadium, a tweaked name and a whole lot of familiar faces.

“Iron Chef Showdown” premieres Wednesday, Nov. 8, on Food Network. Unlike this past spring’s “Iron Chef Gauntlet,” which pitted seven acclaimed chefs against both each other and Alton Brown’s refined palate, this rebooted series should feel more familiar to longtime “Iron Chef America” fans, for a whole bunch of reasons.

First up: The Chairman is back. In the show’s somewhat kooky lore, he’s the nephew of The Chairman from the original Japanese “Iron Chef,” and actor Mark Dacascos (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) is back in the role after his notable absence from “Gauntlet.” Fan favorite Alton Brown (“Cutthroat Kitchen”), who did double duty as both host and Chairman in “Gauntlet,” also returns as host, while former sportscaster Jaymee Sire takes on the role of floor reporter, getting up close and personal with the chefs as they cook.

The basic format of “Showdown” is relatively unchanged from the original. An accomplished chef enters Kitchen Stadium and challenges one of the resident Iron Chefs — Bobby Flay, Jose Garces, Alex Guarnaschelli, Michael Symon and “Gauntlet” winner Stephanie Izard — to a cook-off using a secret ingredient revealed by The Chairman only moments before the clock starts ticking.

That’s the familiar part. In a new twist to the tried-and-true “Iron Chef” format, the challenger first needs to earn the right to challenge an Iron Chef. Each episode begins with two potential challengers who go head to head in the Chairman’s Challenge, preparing a single dish