Chen Kenichi facts for kids

Chen Kenichi (陳建一 (Chin Ken'ichi, 5 January 1956 – 11 March 2023)) was a famous Japanese chef. He was best known as the Iron Chef Chinese on the popular TV show Iron Chef (料理の鉄人). People often called him The Szechuan Sage. He wore a bright yellow uniform and carried a large Chinese chef's knife when he entered the Kitchen Stadium. Chen Kenichi was the only Iron Chef who stayed on the show for its entire run. He was born in Japan. His mother was Japanese, and his father, Chen Kenmin, was Chinese but had Japanese nationality. His legal name was Ken'ichi Azuma (東 建一, Azuma Ken'ichi).

About Chen Kenichi

Chen Kenichi was the son of Chen Kenmin. His father is known as the founder of Sichuan cuisine (四川料理) in Japan. One of Chen Kenichi's special dishes was "prawns in chili Sauce" (Ebi Chili). This dish was his own version of a recipe his father brought to Japan. People often compared Chen Kenichi to his father. Some even said that the Iron Chef show helped him become even better than his father.

His Time on Iron Chef

Chen Kenichi joined Iron Chef because he wanted a new challenge. He also found the show's idea very interesting. He was the longest-serving Iron Chef, staying for all six years of the show. However, he thought about leaving many times. He wanted to focus on his restaurants, which became very popular after the show started. He also felt sad after his mother passed away. His friend and fellow Iron Chef, Hiroyuki Sakai, convinced him to stay. They agreed that if one left, the other would too.

Because he stayed on the show for so long, Chen Kenichi competed in more battles than any other Iron Chef. He fought 92 battles in total. He won 67, lost 22, and tied 3. He also had an amazing winning streak of 14 battles in a row. This was the longest winning streak of any Iron Chef. His most famous dish was chili prawns.

Even with his great record, Chen Kenichi often looked surprised and happy when he won. For example, when he beat chef Juinichi Itoh in the yogurt battle, he seemed truly amazed. He was also known for tasting his food often. He would dip his ladle into his dishes to taste them. The show's commentators often joked about Chen's "eating."

Memorable Battles

One of his most memorable battles was against Dominique Corby. The main battle, using foie gras, ended in a tie. Then, the overtime battle, with asparagus, also ended in a tie. This was the only time this happened on the show! Instead of another overtime battle, Chairman Kaga, the show's host, declared both chefs winners.

Chen Kenichi also had rivalries with other chefs. He battled against chefs from the Heichinrou restaurant in Yokohama. He beat two of their chefs. But he finally lost to their head chef in an overtime battle.

• Takashi Saito was a top student of Chen Kenmin, Chen Kenichi's father. He also coached Chen Kenichi. Chen Kenichi beat his own tutor in a prawn battle. Saito made his father's original chili prawns. Chen Kenichi made a modern version of the dish, served like a small snack with ketchup.
• Junichi Itoh had a very unique cooking style. He learned French cooking at 18, then went to France and Italy. He also trained at a top Japanese restaurant. He opened his own restaurant in Tokyo. Takeshi Kaga asked him to be a challenger because of his French-Italian-Japanese fusion style. Itoh chose Chen Kenichi as his opponent. He said he was interested in Chinese food but had never trained in it. Kaga chose a difficult main ingredient: plain yoghurt. Itoh seemed confident, but Chen was under a lot of pressure. In the end, Itoh's dishes used yogurt as a side ingredient, not the main focus. All four judges voted for Chen. Chen was very surprised by his win.
• Katsuyo Kobayashi was the second female challenger on the show. She was a popular TV chef. Chairman Kaga chose Chen Kenichi for her to battle. Chen had lost to the first female challenger before. During the battle, where potatoes were the main ingredient, Kobayashi briefly watched Chen cook. He didn't seem very happy about it. Chen eventually lost to Kobayashi. The judges said his potatoes were either not cooked enough or not important enough in his dishes.

Outside Iron Chef

Chen Kenichi loved baseball. He said he would have liked to become a professional baseball player. But he chose not to.

Outside of Iron Chef, Chen also ran the Shisen Hanten (四川飯店, meaning "Sichuan restaurant") group. These restaurants are in Akasaka, Ikebukuro, and Roppongi in Tokyo. They are also in Tokushima city, Kure, Hiroshima, Matsuyama, Ehime, and Hakata-ku, Fukuoka. He took over the restaurant business from his father. He was the third person in his family to run it, after his mother.

His son, Chen Kentaro (陳建太郎, Chin Kentaro), runs a branch of the restaurant in Singapore. This restaurant has received two Michelin stars since 2016. It is located in the Hilton Singapore hotel.

His Passing

Chen Kenichi passed away on March 11, 2023. He was 67 years old. The company he founded, Minken Kigyo, announced that he died from interstitial lung disease.