It’s simple and easy to host your own Iron Chef-style party at home. With a little planning and preparation, you’ll have guests boasting they’re the next Bobby Flay or Mario Batalli (minus the ugly red clogs). Best of all, an Iron Chef dinner party means your guests do the cooking, leaving you ample time to relax and enjoy their company.

We’ve channeled our inner Chairman Kaga to develop these five easy steps to hosting your own Iron Chef party:

1) Invite guests. Aim for an even number of guests that can easily be split into two teams (make sure everyone will fit in your kitchen). Think about separating couples who usually cook together, or try a theme like guys vs. gals. Not everyone loves to cook, so it’s best to alert guests ahead of time if dinner involves cooking. Tell guests to dress casually.

2) Choose secret ingredients. Pick a protein, starch, and vegetable that the teams will use to create a complete meal. Think about what fits within your budget: 6 oz. portions of chicken breast for 10 people will be more affordable than 6 oz. portions of wild Alaskan halibut. Chose vegetables that are in-season and abundant (this month: Asparagus). Try non-mainstream starches like polenta, quinoa, or couscous. Stock your pantry with staples like milk, flour, eggs, oils, vinegars, fresh herbs, cheeses, and spices. Put all the pantry ingredients in an easy-to-access spot that is centrally located to both teams.

3) Prepare your “Kitchen Stadium.” Designate areas in your kitchen for each team. Lay out knives, cutting boards, prep bowls, pots and pans, cook’s tools, aprons and towels. Specify burners and shelves in the oven for each team to use. If counter space is an issue, set up additional work stations on the dining room table for chopping or prep work.

4) Setting rules of engagement. Once guests arrive, divide them into their teams. Unveil the secret ingredients (red cloth and dry ice presentation optional) and reveal the “Kitchen Stadium” work stations where they’ll prepare the meal. Start a countdown timer for 1 hour and shout, “Allez Cuisine!” (French for “Go and cook!”).

5) Judgment. Whose cuisine reigns supreme? Ask two guests to join you to form a judgment panel. Have each team plate up their meals, with an extra serving for the judges to “Rate the Plate.” While guests dine on their creations, have judges score each team’s meal based on categories such as: taste, plate presentation, and originality. Announce the winning Iron Chef team, and reward them with a bottle of bubbly, homemade trophy (think tinfoil wrapped GI-Joe), or gourmand prizes like a tapas cookbook or chef toque.

Still sounds like too much work? Book the cooking party experts at Parties That Cook to throw their Iron Chef-inspired Kitchen Challenge party in the convenience of your home. Their friendly and knowledgeable chefs will do cooking demos, offer culinary advice, and best of all, they’ll bring everything with them: ingredients, aprons, kitchen equipment, dishware, and even music!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 6:17 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.