Whose cuisine will reign supreme? Two Chicago celebrity chefs, Sarah Grueneberg (Monteverde) and Stephanie Izard (Girl & the Goat, Duck Duck Goat and Little Goat Diner) will be facing off with five other chefs for a new version of the Food Network's Iron Chef, called Iron Chef Gauntlet, the Chicago Tribune reported today.
The show will premiere on April 16 and is being hosted by Alton Brown. It won't follow the traditional model we're used to with Iron Chef—instead, the seven chefs will compete and eliminate each other in a series of weekly challenges. In the show's last three weeks, the remaining chefs will battle against current Iron Chefs Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto and Michael Symon in the titular Gauntlet. Food Network will also release a behind-the-scenes companion series on its website once Iron Chef Guantlet begins.
Grueneberg and Izard are Food Network veterans, having both appeared on Top Chef. Grueneberg was the runner-up in the show's ninth season, while Izard was the winner of the show's fourth season. Both chefs have parlayed their notoriety into popular Chicago restaurants—Izard has even launched her own magazine, entitled Goatfish.
If either celebrity chef manages to conquer Iron Chef Guantlet, you can expect it to get even more difficult to lock down a reservation at Monteverde or Duck Duck Goat.
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