What does it take for a Canadian to win Iron Chef America? Apparently, a little bit of Canada’s national food doesn’t hurt. With a menu that included lobster poutine, Quebec chef Chuck Hughes won an Iron Chef battle against Bobby Flay in an episode that aired last night, making Hughes the youngest chef – and the second Canadian ever – to have won the title.
Other Canadians had failed to topple Flay in the past: in 2006, Toronto’s own Susur Lee had to settle for a tie, while chef Michael Smith was trounced, essentially, last year. That particular battle was not without a bit of controversy, as the secret ingredient was avocado — suspiciously convenient, some said, for a Southwestern chef like Flay. This time around, the secret ingredient was Canadian lobster.
Hughes told the Canadian Press that he simply couldn’t go on the show and not cook up some poutine. Still, he had to rely on the only cheese curds he could find, which ended up being from New York (not nearly as good – or as squeaky – as the curds from Quebec, apparently).
The first Canadian chef to have won the distinction was Vancouver’s Rob Feenie in 2005, but Hughes is playing it cool. “I am not special,” he told CBC. “I worked in restaurants. I cut an unbelievable amount of potatoes."