The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs week 3 power rankings

I enjoy The Next Iron Chef but it's not without its shortcomings. I've already mentioned how episodes are largely drama-free, since all competitors are extremely talented and not looking to do much trash talking. But there's also the fact that the Secret Ingredient Showdown - the cook-off that takes place between the two chefs whose dishes were the judges' least favorites - is more entertaining than the Chairman's Challenge. There is more at stake, and with fewer competitors there is more focus and a stronger narrative. And Alton Brown's presence as host is almost superfluous. In Iron Chef America, his play-by-play is the glue that holds all the madness together. But here, he adds little value. He'd do better in a head judge role, like Tom Colicchio on Top Chef. The challenges are also growing monotonous. This is the second straight episode where the chefs haven't left Kitchen Stadium (or wherever), and they've only had to cook for the judges, never a cocktail party or wedding reception or other such typical Top Chef rigamarole.

Anyway, on with the power rankings:

OUT: Chuck Hughes. I admit, I fell for the editing, which set up Beau's tofu trilogy to fail from the second he announced he was preparing the tofu three ways.

1. Geoffrey Zakarian - Hasn't erred much so far, and besides, he has the look of a man who knows he's superior to you in every way.
2. Elizabeth Falkner
3. Alex Guarnaschelli
4. Beau MacMillan
5. Anne Burrell
6. Michael Chiarello
7. Marcus Samuelsson

There still aren't any obvious weak links, and there still aren't any runaway favorites. Nobody is pulling away as a sentimental favorite either, since nobody has developed a real personality yet. I don't know whether that's the fault of the editors or if Food Network is banking on the viewer being familiar with the contestants through their other shows. Which is fine if you watch Food Network on a regular basis, but I don't.

The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs week 2 power rankings

Ah, the traditional "elevate a common cuisine" challenge, this time focusing on ballpark food. If you loved the tailgate-themed episodes of Top Chef: Chicago and Top Chef: Masters, and the baseball concession stand challenge from Top Chef: DC, then you'll love and/or tolerate this episode.

OUT: Robert Irvine. The judges aren't messing around, aren't they?

1. Beau MacMillan
2. Alex Guarnaschelli
3. Geoffrey Zakarian
4. Chuck Hughes
5. Elizabeth Falkner
6. Michael Chiarello
7. Anne Burrell
8. Marcus Samuelsson

Honestly, these rankings are leaning on the arbitrary. They may not even be worth doing. With so many high-caliber chefs, nobody is going to truly be bad. The degrees of separation are negligible - it wouldn't surprise me if Samuelsson won three straight challenges and MacMillan lost in the next episode. I'd imagine that a favorite will emerge in a few weeks but right now the playing field is completely even.

Premiere League: The Next Iron Chef, "Primal: Heat and Meat"

If you've seen your fair share of reality cooking shows involving established chefs - namely, Top Chef: Masters or The Next Iron Chef - you already know that since the contestants are professionals with reputations to uphold, you're in for minimal amounts of drama. Nobody will be thrown under a bus. Cursing and antagonizing will be at a minimum. In fact, some of these chefs may actually be here to make friends.

This is a "Super Chefs" edition of Next Iron Chef, meaning that the contestants are of a higher profile than previous seasons, mostly because they are connected to established Food Network properties. I don't know whether Iron Chef is directly firing shots at Top Chef, but the appearances of Michael Chiarello (Masters contestant), Marcus Samuelsson (Masters winner), and Spike Mendelsohn (All-Stars contestant) are especially conspicuous.

The first episode contains a ballsy challenge in that the contestants have to cook outdoors on an open fire. This restriction has been the bane of Top Chef competitors in the past, but doesn't faze any of the potential Iron Chefs. Indeed, these chefs are cooking on a higher level and their dishes look appropriately delicious. Even the losers of the "Chairman's Challenge," Mendelsohn and Samuelsson, don't completely bomb it.

In a good twist to the reality-cooking formula made familiar by Top Chef, the "main" challenge is first, while the shorter challenge is reserved at the end for the chefs the judges thought performed poorest. The sudden-death, secret-ingredient format provides for good drama in the premiere and should continue to deliver throughout the season.

There isn't much else to say about the first episode. Reality show premieres are rarely interesting anyway. My biggest complaint is that the judges are pretty bland - where's Donatella Arpaia when you need her? It's nice to see chefs at the top of their games cook well; unfortunately (and Top Chef: Masters has had problems with this in the past), that doesn't always translate into compelling television.