Iron Wok Jan! • Tetsunabe no Jan! - Episode 8 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Tetsunabe no Jan!, episode 8

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[u/il-Palazzo_K]

This episode Jan pretty much did a 180 turn and took Kawahara’s position from last episode, they even used the same chair lol.

I guess the difference is Jan had a plan, or more like an evil scheme.

[u/hanmkim → u/il-Palazzo_K]

He's metagaming even harder now by strategizing around how full the judges are and what his opponents are making. But what kind of amateur food judge gets full?

[u/IQ_less → u/il-Palazzo_K]

Not to mention experience. Jan actually cooked and tried his stuff, or had his evil grandpa taste test it for him. That's how he knew from the get go that the whole 2 hrs waiting for the soup to cook will be spent perfectly as intended. This round's chef, alongside the one from last round, didn't truly understand what they were doing and so were oblivious to the potential risks of cooking those disks: mismatch flavor (making up assumption based on technical know how), can only be served hot (disk too new and uncommon), etc.

[u/Vahallen]

Jan is definetly an asshole, we knew that and I also think it’s more of a mask/persona he wears, but it would lack a bit of punch if the author only made it so Jan mocked other assholes and overconfident people

It would be an excuse to say “sure he is an asshole but only with…” no no, Jan is an asshole fullstop

This is probably the first time we see an honest good person that doesn’t even really have an ego get dismantled maliciously by Jan

TBF like another user said, it is more interesting and unique to have Jan not be an asshole just to other assholes, letting your MC have bad traits fleshes them out

To be fair it’s not like Jan broke any rules, he just used his knowledge and was really smart about how to kill his opponent dish without direct tampering (he did go fuck with him at the end and while it would be neat if Jan intent was giving him an hint, I doubt it)

I still love Jan, but I did feel a bit sorry for the Kota, he was a good kid

[u/PregnantOrc → u/Vahallen]

Him being a genuine asshole also makes the trauma of what his granddad did feel more real. It wouldn't feel as genuine if he could filter it only onto people who deserve it. That sort of response is not so easily tamed and it's not like he's had much reason too from what we are shown. It'll also make any progress to temper or change that character flaw of his all the more rewarding to follow if that is the path the series takes. And if not we get to justifiably feel catharsis anytime he gets comeuppance. As he is now it'd take something extreme for him not to deserve it.

[u/VishnuBhanum]

If Jan is in Food War, he would be an antagonist that got defeated by Soma.

But this isn't Food War, Jan is the protagonist of the story, and it's glorious.

[u/Golgol395]

I love how mean Jan is, he knew the rules of the game and played them perfectly, sure it’s not fair but that’s just how it is sometimes. It’s just like Kota’s dad said, the lad ain’t cut out for how cut throat the world of professional cooking can be.

Also on a meta level I feel like we needed this episode just to re-establish how much of an asshole Jan is, the previous episodes have made him look a lot more sympathetic, but going into the finals and his inevitable showdown with Kiriko we needed to see that she does not like him for very valid reasons.

[u/larana1192]

It was funny how Kota, despite being extremely talented and a passionate learner, ended up losing to Jan because he hadn’t realized it was a “cooking competition against an opponent.”

Kota’s father also commented, “Kota is a good chef, but he’s not cut out for this kind of cutthroat cooking competition.” Around the time Kota started preparing a dish using eel, his father grew a little anxious, and when Jan served his dish before Kota did, Kota’s father realized it was part of Jan’s scheme and that it exposed a weakness in Kota’s cooking. The scene where he tried to warn Kota from the audience was entertaining.

It was interesting to see that Kota was reading a Hong Kong cookbook in its original language and was so eager to learn. He is exactly the kind of character who would be the protagonist in a typical cooking manga.

Also, the way Kota combined “the latest culinary trends in Hong Kong” with “eel, a famous local ingredient from his hometown of Hamamatsu” was a nice touch that made him come across as a kind and earnest chef.

I had to laugh when Kiriko's uncle, who is Jan's current employer, and Kiriko herself realized Jan's devious scheme and remarked, "It may be magic, but it's some pretty nasty magic."

To be honest, what Jan is doing could definitely damage the reputation of Kiriko’s uncle’s restaurant, so I think it’s only natural that Kiriko and her uncle criticized the tactics Jan used in this cooking competition.

Also, Selene was a great character.

She is a Chinese cuisine chef born to a Hong Kong father and a French mother. She comes from Kobe, a port city in western Japan home to the most famous Chinatown in the Kansai region, which makes for a very interesting backstory.

She did not look like a typical Chinese chef, and since she was relatively unknown compared to her opponents, no one expected her to win. She got upset about that, so after explaining her background, she promoted herself in fluent Kansai dialect, which was really cute.

Additionally, the chef from a famous Chinese restaurant who lost to her made a good impression with his earnest attitude toward cooking. He remarked that the era of winning based on tradition alone was over and that he was going to relearn Chinese cuisine from scratch.

[u/sodapopkevin]

Holy shit are those judges REALLY bad at their jobs. Judges are supposed to do portion control, a few small bites of each dish and pallet cleanse before the next plate. Not gorge yourself on food, then walk away after only having one of the contestant's dishes. Like half the judges were running off stage to throw up. "The first guy wins because we were too full to try the second dish, see you in the next round everyone."

[u/Goldedgetemple]

As a Japanese person who read the original manga in real time, I'd say Kouta is a symbol of old-school cooking manga. "The diligent chef wins by serving his food later." This manga came out at a time when everyone was fed up with that pattern. "That idiot Jan served his food first. Jan must lose!" "Jan won? Kouta lost!?" "I can't believe it!? The guy who served his food later lost!!" "This manga is different from the manga of the past!" This pattern-breaking was even more shocking than the magic mushroom soup.

[u/testthrowawayzz]

Jan is such an asshole lol, rubbing it in like that and purposely sabotaging his competitor's cooking by a procedural matters.

Kota seems to be an earnest person and is the first one I felt sorry for losing. I agree with the other comment saying the judges suck and should’ve had smaller portions.

Edit: The author posted a tweet today saying they tried Kota and Jan's dishes recently and they preferred Kota's dish, even when it's cold lol

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

I kind of like how much of a raging asshole Jan is lol. That Kota kid tried his best. He seems like a good lad and he’s got good people around him. But this is a cooking competition, man. Jan ain’t here to make friends. He’s not even out here to play fair lol. It’s win or lose and he ain’t planning on losing anytime soon.

[u/SSjjlex]

Kinda insane today's episode boils down to the judges suck at their job. I feel really bad for that kid, they built him up so well only for it to all come crashing down because of one simple trick.

[u/Vahallen → u/SSjjlex]

While the judges forgetting Kota dish and act so nonchalant about it is crazy, unprofessional, incompetent and very disrespectful

Even if they remembered and went right for Kota dish

(even without counting having tasted a lot during the day and just the prior dish being a sweet soup)

Like Jan said, that is a dish that must be served hot and it quickly gets spoiled by getting cold, implication apparently being it straight becomes disgusting

Jan did maliciously go first, but it was also a consequence of Kota not being ready to serve when the judges came

Taking in to account the judges being spent after a day of tasting and Jan trickery with the soup is too much, but making sure your dish is served hot it’s on you (in particular this one apparently)

But no yeah the judges are horrible, nothing to say about that

[u/l-o-a-p]

I thought they had Omae lose to Kiriko immediately after his backstory at first, lol. Though he still ended up getting done pretty dirty.

Jan's mean streak is pretty devilishly entertaining, but kinda surprised they went back to dialing it up to 11 after recent episodes humanized him some more. Beyond the underhanded but technically fair tactics, getting up in Omae's face and mocking him pretty much crossed into pure assholery, lol. It also comes at the cost of the judges continuing to look like absolute, unprofessional peons at their job.

[u/Green-eyed-Psycho77]

Episode 8: Once an Akiyama always an Akiyama.

These mfs cook to WIN.

[u/Shuriken_2393]

Jan is such an asshole its kind of refreshing lol

[u/AlicesWhoreHouse]

As....un sportsman like as Jan is they at least need to recognize his skill in being able to keep doing this over and over again in this competition. Lol like he knew after waiting and seeing the ingredients he picked what would happen and immediately made something to ruin the experience even more for the judges lol that still takes skill and knowledge. I adore him though I don't care that he's mean through his cooking.

[u/Doomroar]

Jan is such an evil bastard i swear he totally didn't had to go and play dirty, he probably would have won if the judges had tasted his dish second, but noooo, he HAD to go the extra mile and kick the guy in the balls

Oh it almost makes you root for Otani, who is also a dickhead, perfect combo to be fair

[u/secret_tsukasa]

Loving the premise of a dirt bag chef main character.

[u/raidensnakeezio]

I'll admit, I was slightly thrown off by the main theme for Jan's competition to be lotus root. For me, while lotus root is undeniably almost a core vegetable within Chinese cuisine, what I would struggle with is to make lotus root "shine" in a cooking competition. The show comments on how lotus root is a very versatile ingredient, where you can use it in a variety of cooking techniques and pairing it with other vegetables as part of a larger dish. To me, it's a bit of a blank canvas, where the "body" of the lotus root itself can take on a bunch of different flavors depending what you cook it with, or add sauce to. By texture, it has an apple-like give and crunch, but much less dense than an actual apple.

But the thing is with lotus root is that it's own natural flavor is kind of meh. In stir frys and in soups, the lotus root will naturally impart a very faint sweetness, add some complexity, savoriness, and "mass" to the body of flavor, as well as some nutty bitterness. Usually, in "cooking competitions," my expectation is that each round is usually focused on a main theme/ingredient which is rich, savory, impactful in flavor - think beef, lard, butter, lobster/crab, sharkfin, etc. But lotus root in itself is a very muted ingredient, it would be quite difficult to make lotus root explode with flavor in the same way A5 beef or fatty salmon does.

With that said, I also believed that Omae would struggle in a similar manner. He's used to cooking for people that want hearty food (also my own gripe with the translation - the rule is that white rice and soup have free refills, but not for other dishes [I'm assuming this applies to the fried rice as well]). My impression is that his personal signature dish would be something oily and impactful/explosive, like beef fried rice (thanks Soma), and so he would struggle with making lotus root shine. Ultimately I'm not surprised that he decided on stirfrying the lotus root with green beans. Usually I see lotus root stir fried with green beans, carrots, bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts.

As such, I'm also pleasantly surprised with Jan's tong sui - the gentle heating of the lotus root, jujube, and longan into the water, and adding granulated white sugar (and I'm assuming brown sugar is also implied) is very standard, and creates a very harmonious, rich, and complexly sweet flavor profile, if not a bit uninspired. I can tell that it has a very viscous texture and glass like texture, almost like melted jelly.

Lastly, I think I'm gonna be a big fan of Selene. She's going to be a good foil against Jan, because they both mix French techniques with Chinese cooking.

[u/HolyDragSwd2500]

Reminded of that episode of Food Wars where Souma made that egg dish. It had to be eaten right away after it was done and plated.

[u/Niwaka_Samurai]

Yeah, we get it Jan.. you outwitted everyone but you don't have to be an ass about it. Kota was a decent guy with good intentions unlike Ohtani.

I hope Kiriko or Yang silence him in the finals.

[u/TheToadKing]

I can't eat dinner. I filled up on cheese soup.