Last night, after some hardcore solo tailgating with Morningstar spinach-artichoke nuggets and copious amounts of Crystal Light Green Tea, I sat down for the most anticipated Sunday night sporting event of the century: The finale of The Next Iron Chef.

Promotional consideration was brought to you by awesome, the arena was Kitchen Stadium, and the “secret ingredient” was swordfish. 

I have never been able to get pumped up for anything like the Super Bowl or World series, but watching the final challenge, “Achieve Greatness,” gave me a taste of what it must be like for most red-blooded Americans who paint their faces and watch their two favorite teams go  head to head in a final sports competition.

The Iron Chef competitions, both the Japanese and the American versions, are in my opinion perfect examples of good TV, and the Next Iron Chef series is what a good reality show should be.  The Next Iron chef lacks all the whining, whoring and idiocy of most of your standard reality TV and in place of these most tiresome of ingredients has incorporated something very novel: substance.

So, last night, our two culinary heroes, Michael Symon and John Besh, went mano-a-mano, trying to prepare five swordfish-inspired dishes in a one hour period for the three main judges, Michael Ruhlman, Bon Appétit restaurant editor Andrew Knowlton, and restaurateur Donatella Arpaia along with the resident Iron Chefs, Cat Kora, Bobby Flay and Masaharu Morimoto (Mario Batali was not present, and I think his possible departure may have been the reason for the Next Iron Chef series).

    John Besh                   Michael Symon

While I would have been happy with either of the two finalists winning, I had been rooting for Symon.  There was something about Mike Symon which really captivated me through the entire series.  I think it was Mike’s down-to-Earth personality, charm and sense of humor which won me over from the beginning.   Besh certainly had a great personality, but there was an air of “regular American dudeness” that nobody except Mike had.

I cannot honestly comment on either of the two finalists from a serious culinary standpoint because in my world, putting Munster cheese on my sandwich or adding meat sauce to my spaghetti are culinary feats in themselves.  Certainly, all the contestants were excellent chefs, but Besh and Symon just seemed to consistently have it down pat when cooking.  They never seemed to buckle under pressure. 

Indeed, I was a hardcore Michael Symon fan because he seemed to truly play to his strengths.  He kept his cool under pressure and maintained an awesome sense of humor through thick and thin.  He also had a craving for competition which was unrivaled by any of the other contestants.  I think this is what ultimately gave him the winning edge.

While I may be totally gay for Symon, I must be honest - Besh was probably a better chef.  Michael Symon enjoyed the thrill of a challenge, but Besh seemed to place more challenges in front of himself when cooking.  He continually strived to go above and beyond.  Unfortunately, I think this was his downfall.  In challenges five and six, Besh seemed to spite himself by “going that extra mile” while totally time-limited.  I think if he had focused more on the primary objective, he would be joining the ranks of Cat Cora, Bobby Flay and Morimoto.

In closing, I leave you all with the the immortal words of Michael Symon, “I almost went down on a tomato.”

- David C. Garcia