Apron of Love Cup - Part One

Air Date:

Contestants:
A Team: Sugita Kaoru (杉田かおる), Matsuzaki Shigeru (松崎しげる), Sugimoto Aya (杉本彩), Kaai Gamon (河相我聞), Matsubara Nobue (松原のぶえ)

B Team: Mie (未唯), Aoki Sayaka (青木さやか), Yinling (インリン), Umezawa Tomio (梅沢富美男), Takahashi Keiko (高橋恵子)

Guest Judges: Yumi Kaoru (由美かおる), Nakao Akira (中尾彬), Higashino Kouji (東野幸治)

Theme Ingredient/Recipes:
A Team: Beef / Croquette and Ground Beef Cutlet

B Team: Squid / Seafood Fried Rice

Recap: In honor of the World Cup, the Ai no Apron staff decided to host an Ai no Apron Cup. Bringing together some of the best and worst Ai-Epu chefs in first an elimination match, then a final cooking battle. It was a bit confusing at first for me to figure out how this was going to work, but it ended up being very simple.

There are 10 chefs, who by random selection were put into two teams of five. Each team (A Team and B Team - I'm using that rather than Block which is used on the show, as I did with the earlier special like this), would have different theme ingredients and dishes to cook. From the 10 chefs, four would be chosen to fight it out in the final battle. The four chefs would be decided upon by points awarded by the four judges (three special judges and Kentaro), with each judge being able to award up to 25 points for each dish. So a perfect score would be 100. They had four spots set aside in the studio, where the current top four scorers would sit. Then, as the judging continued, chefs would be 'eliminated'.

Yes, it's confusing. The easiest way to view it is the same as the regular ranking board. The four with the highest ranking (or highest score) out of the ten, will be in the final battle.

They setup a light board that would randomly choose the teams, and Joushima quickly got things under way. It was interested that aside from Yinling, the B team had the strongest line-up. The battle was also to be extremely short, only 30 minutes allowed for cooking.

Cooking Time was a bit of a jumble, as they had 10 chefs to keep track of during the battle. In fact, many responses were very brief as everyone seemed to feel the time crunch. Yinling's rice looked a bit odd, as she had mixed egg in with her rice before frying it. But what was really odd is that was the correct thing to do. Meanwhile Umezawa was doing everything with a big flourish, being the highest ranked Apron Boy and known as the 'King of the Apron'. They barely checked in with most of them and Cooking Time was as short as usual (and with 10 chefs, that was way too short).

A Team was up first for judging, and started with Kaoru. She gave it her all, and hoped that it would be enough. Her dish looked very odd with a lot of garnish, she also used pieces of whole white bread when making her cutlet. Yumi had problems determining what was up with her croquette. The cutlet had huge chunks of bread and egg still in it. Things aren't going to go well if you can't tell the croquette apart from the cutlet. After judging, she only scored 23 out of 100 possible points. But it was still enough to put her in the lead (since she was the first one judged). It was amusing because made a big deal of her being in the top spot.

Next up was Kaai Gamon, who is a singer/actor and I think may own a ramen restaurant. Either that or he was in a drama that featured one. They kept calling him a Pro, so I presume he probably owns one. But can he do fried foods? Obviously not, as neither dish really lived up to expectations. He scored 28 points out of 100, taking over the lead.

Matsubara was up next, and to be honest, I'm really sick and tired of her constant crying while being judged. Her dish wasn't perfect, but she started bawling which started Yumi cry, which started others crying. I don't think I've seen anyone cry so much on this show, whether she is being critiqued or complimented. Which is what happened here, with her croquette not being good but her cutlet being fine. But we wasted over five minutes with the crocodile tears. She scored 40 out of 100, moving into first.

Matsuzaki did well with both of his dishes, though he could have done a bit better. Overall they were good, which gave him a score of 68 out of 100. So far, everyone judged was moving into first knocking Kaoru further and further down. She was on the verge of being eliminated, and if the next person scored 24 points, Kaoru would be eliminated.

Which pretty much was a given, seeing that Sugimoto Aya was the last person on the A Team to be judged. Her croquette was perfect, and the sauce that she made to go with it was fantastic. Her cutlet could use a little work. It also appears that there may be a bit of rivalry between her and Mie. They really wanted Kaoru to understand how good it was, so they had her try it. Then, with a score of 86, Kaoru was eliminated. She was not happy about giving up the chair.

Then, with the A Team having been scored, it was time for the B Team. First up, Yinling. Who they referred to as the Typhoon of Ai Epu.

Before even revealing her dish, they asked her what position she was aiming for. She wanted the top seat. Everyone kind of chuckled at her boldness, then she revealed her dish and everyone was shocked. They then flashed back to cooking time where she was making fried rice to perfection. It turns out that she used to watch her mother cook this all the time. Kouji was really amused and in a bit of disbelief that she actually cooked that. Then came time to pour the seafood over the rice and it really came out as a gelatinous mess. She got chastised a bit for just dumping it over the rice rather than making it look nice. Yumi took a spoon and tasted it.

Then the impossible happened...

It was delicious. The reaction around the studio was amusing, as both Kaai and Kaoru were stunned. But it wasn't a mistake, it was really delicious. Nakao also found it extremely good. Joushima and Kiriko were floored. Kouji, her harshest critic in the past was also extremely happy to pronounce it was a fine dish. Kentaro explained that it was done exactly right. Mie and Umezawa asked to try it, and both also said it was perfect.

Now to really understand what was happening, you have to keep in mind that there were three Special Epu's yet to be judged. Aoki, Umezawa, and Mie. You can do the math in your head, Umezawa and Mie were pretty much a lock for the final four, as was Sugimoto. Aoki should have the final spot, but if Yinling scored really well Aoki would be in trouble. When Aoki was asked about it, she never though that Yinling would be her rival for the final four. If Yinling beat Sugimoto, Aoki probably would not make it.

The judges entered their scores, and Yinling received a total of 84 points, only 2 less than Sugimoto. Kiriko got extremely emotional congratulating her, even bursting into tears. It seems that everyone was really happy with her success. Which is one of the reasons I like this show, because even if you are a bad cook, everyone wants you to do well. Which is why there has been such a focus on getting Aoki a Special Epu ranking. But in terms of the Ai no Apron Cup, Kaai was eliminated, and Aoki looked very concerned. But with only four more dishes to judge, the episode ended.

Normally, I'm used to three-hour specials, so I was surprised to find that they did not continue the judging of the last four chefs. If this had been intended, you would have figured they would have stopped after judging the A Team. I think that what happened with Yinling was so surprising, that they decided to use the week to promote the conclusion.

Next week: Will Yinling make it to the final four battle? Will Aoki?

Mie - The Other Pink Returns

Air Date: 06/21/2006

Contestants: Mie (未唯), Mori Kumiko (森公美子), Nakazawa Yuuko (中澤裕子), Miss Debbie (デヴィ夫人), Aoki Sayaka (青木さやか), Yinling (インリン)

Guest Judges: Ootomo Kouhei (大友康平), Maino Umi (舞の海), Sekine Tsutomu (関根勤)

Theme Ingredient/Recipes:
Shrimp / Mixed Tempura Bowl and Egg Custard

Recap: This week, the episode revolved around the return of Mie (of Pink Lady fame) to the show. While she has been a regular on many of the specials, her appearances as a normal contestant have been rare. However, the few times that she has been on, she has always had the number one ranking. But since it's been quite some time since she had been on, she has slowly slipped down the ranking board to 8th. Which may have been acceptable, if not for the fact that Aoki is now ranked above her in 7th place. She was quite amazed. Also present was Mori Kumiko, who while a celebrity, had a good reputation for her cooking (even writing a cookbook). It was setup as the battle of these three versus the demon cooks (which was a bit mean to call Nakazawa that, because she was new to the show).

As expected by now, Cooking Time flew by, with most of the focus on the three top chefs. Which was nice, because it's fun watching the 'pros' go at it. They started talking rivalry, and Miss Debbie was asked who her chief rival was. She presumed that it was Yinling. Interesting was the new camera angle they had on Yinling, basically a 'down epu' shot.

Tasting Time as it has lately, had Aoki up first and just as before everything went smoothly. Aoki is steadily improving across the board, and it's really paying off. She did fine with both dishes, and once again Emi-chan had to throw in that one little comment that really irritated Aoki. Nakazawa was next, and although her custard was a bit soupy, it still tasted good. She appeared to have the same problem with her tempura, as it was a bit soggy.

Miss Debbie was next on the block, they were going to get through all the poor cooks before the final showdown between Mie and Mori. I always feel a bit sorry for her, as she tries and just can't get it right. They actually tried training her on how to cook a bit late last year and early this year, without much luck. Her custard was doomed from the start, as she forgot to turn on the oven. Which meant that it was raw and not going to pass. Her tempura was extremely salty, and resulted runs to the bucket. It turns out she made her sauce using nothing but wrong ingredients. To follow up that disaster, it was Yinling's turn. When everyone saw her custard they shouted out 'shiroi' (white). She used the entire egg rather than the yolks, so it was like fried egg custard. When it came time for Joushima and his reaction, Sekine suggested that he just imagine Yinling in one of her 'cheesecake' photos. Joushima responded that it didn't work. I don't think I even need to describe how bad her tempura was, it as a huge mass of ingredients and a complete mess. Bucket runs began anew.

Mori was next up, and having some experience as a chef, everyone was looking forward to her dishes. Before the tasting, they played a 'good luck' video from Shimatani Hitomi (島谷ひとみ). Hitomi is a well-known pop-singer with several hits (Perseus, Falco, Angelus, etc). I couldn't pick up the connection, but I would presume that they are good friends. Her custard was a big hit, in fact both of her dishes were. Even Aoki and Mie agreed that both were very good.

Before they started judging on Mie, they gave a brief background of her history. She has been appearing on the show almost since the beginning. Back in December of 2000, she hit the Special Ranking (and may have been the first to ever reach that mark). I'm still not clear how she fell out of the Special Epu ranking, but there may be a rule that there can only be a certain number of Special Epu's. Looking over the history, I don't see anytime that she wasn't scored as the Number One Epu after competing. I would presume that as people are ranked above you, you can eventually be pushed out.

Her custard was perfection, nobody had anything but good things to say about it. The thing that really clinched her dishes came with the tempura, where she had the sauce on the side with what I believe was sesame seeds to dip the portion in as well. Everyone was also impressed with the 'crunch' that went with eating it. It was so good, the last two judges didn't want to pass it down.

Judgement Time was a relatively easy decision. Nakazawa actually ended up in the Bottom Epu ranking, not bad for a first timer. Meanwhile, Debbie and Yinling ended up far outside in the rain. They are now on the street corner outside the studio. Oddly, there are a couple even further away. As for the three best cooks, Mie easily regained her #1 Special Epu ranking, tied with Pinko and Peter. Aoki now is placed halfway into the Special Epu category (She did lose a spot, but it was only because Mie moved ahead). Mori is right in the middle of the Top Epu ranking.

Next Up: The Apron of Love Cup Special

Ranking ( out of 118 ):
Mie: 1
Aoki Sayaka: 8
Mori Kumiko: 18
Nakazawa Yuuko: 60 (New Entry)
Miss Debbie: 114
Yinling: 114

The Return of Pinko and Yuuko

Air Date: 06/14/2006

Contestants: Nami Etsuko (奈美悦子), Asagi Kuniko (麻木久仁子), Izumi Pinko (泉ピン子), Ogura Yuuko (小倉優子), Aoki Sayaka (青木さやか)

Guest Judges: Kusakari Masao (草刈正雄), Oowada Baku (大和田獏), Katsumata Kunikazu (勝俣州和)

Theme Ingredient/Recipes:
Pork / Mabo Tofu and Fried Gyouza

Recap: This episode features not only the return of Izumi Pinko (who has consistently been a Special Epu and in the #1 Epu ranking), but Ogura Yuuko as well (who I've recently posted a number of her previous episodes, having been over a year since the last time she was on the show). Pinko was going to be in for a surprise tonight however, since she made the fatal mistake of mentioning that she was terrible when it came to cooking Chinese. So it should be no surprise that tonight's theme ingredient was pork and featured two Chinese dishes. Pinko was not amused. Aoki figured this could be her chance to advance to the Special Epu ranking.

Cooking Time started and with a surprise from Pinko, as she brought her own knife. Pinko is a bit of a curmudgeon, so it didn't take long for her to start snapping at the other cooks. This attitude would work to her advantage as we will see later. Yuuko was promising a 'miracle' in that she would get a Top Epu ranking. For all her complaining, neither Pinko or the other cooks appeared to have much trouble with these dishes. As it has been recently, Cooking Time was fairly short.

As it has been lately, Aoki was first up when it came to Tasting Time. Just like the prior week, they pretty much flew through tasting her dishes. Though again, Emi had to make at least one sly comment about the overall taste. Pinko nudged Aoki a bit not to take it. After Aoki, Yuuko-chan was next up for the tasting, once again promising a 'miracle'. Her gyouza looked a bit white (not extremely fried) and they tasted good, but then Kusakari got a very strange look on his face. It tasted okay, but something wasn't quite right. Oowada tried them next and found them a bit dry. They still couldn't figure out what was bothering them about the taste, when Emi pointed out that Yuuko had used beef instead of pork as the main ingredient. Then they went to the replay, which showed Yuuko with pork in one hand and beef in the other, trying to ask Pinko which was which, and the response she got was to 'shut up'. Pinko's attitude when pressed was that she wasn't responsible if Yuuko can't tell beef from pork. That left the 'miracle' to occur with her Mabo, which wasn't going to happen since aside from her strange flavoring of baking powder and alum, it also had beef in it. Then the judges decided that Pinko needed to taste her creation, which had an amusing reaction. Then Pinko figured that Yuuko should taste it herself, which resulted in a very humble apology to Pinko.

But the fun was not going to stop there.

Asagi was up next, who managed to injure herself trying to keep up with Pinko. Her gyouza looked very good, with an asparagus garnish. Everyone was impressed with that, though Pinko pointed out that they were being judged on the gyouza and not the garnish. However, the gyouza tasted delicious, but there was one small problem. She used ground beef in both of her dishes as well. So even though both were good, they didn't use the theme ingredient. Nami did a great job on both of her dishes, they really liked the taste of her tofu dish.

Finally, it was Pinko's turn to be judged. From what I can tell, I guess in a drama that she has done, her role was the cook in a Chinese-style cafe. Which is why they find her dislike of this cooking style so amusing. Her gyouza were perfect and her tofu dish was even more amazing. When asked to compare Pinko's and Aoki's, Kusakari couldn't really compare. They were both good in different ways.

Ranking Time really hurt both Yuuko and Asagi, because they failed to use the theme ingredient more than anything else. The other three did very well. Nami dropped a little, but remained in the Top Epu ranking. Aoki found herself in between the Top and Special Epu ranking. While Pinko continues to reign as the Number One Epu (third time in a row).

Ranking ( out of 113 ):
Izumi Pinko: 1
Aoki Sayaka: 7
Nami Etsuko: 11
Asagi Kuniko: 85
Ogura Yuuko: 103

Updates Ahead

A major project came and went at work which has kept me from doing any recent updates. I'm actually behind several episodes myself, only having had a chance to watch the first of two Apron Boys episodes that aired in May. I really want to get to the second because Hard Gay is one of the contestants.

This week we had both Nori-chan and Kaoru-chan competing, and next week marks the return of Ogura Yuuko (who puts chocolate in everything, and I mean everything). With any luck there should be a rash of updates shortly.

Kinpachi Sensei - Class 3B Battle

Air Date: 06/07/2006

Contestants: Kondo Haruna (近藤春菜), Mihara Junko (三原じゅん子), Kawakami Maiko (川上麻衣子), Sugita Kaoru (杉田かおる), Aoki Sayaka (青木さやか), Horikoshi Nori (堀越のり)

Guest Judges: Takeda Tetsuya (武田鉄矢), Ijuuin Hikaru (伊集院光), Hori (ホリ)

Theme Ingredient/Recipes:
Onions / Hayashi Rice and Onion Gratin Soup

Recap: This episode centered around the TBS Drama Series 'Kinpachi Sensei'. One of the judges was none other than Takeda Tetsuya, who played the role of Kinpachi Sensei. In addition to rounding up two actresses who appeared in the Drama (Mihara and Kawakami), it turns out that Kaoru-chan also was a former classmate. Facing off against them was Aoki, Nori-chan, and Kondo Haruna. It must be the time of year for these types of specials, I seem to recall last year there was one for 'Sukeban Deka'. The intro was amusing when Kaoru recalled who had a crush on Takeda back then. With the theme ingredient and recipes, you would presume that things would go rather smoothly. But I was semi-surprised by the looks of dismay from the regulars. As for the newcomers, Mihara apologized before they even got started.

Cooking time was a bit extended, to talk about the low ranks of both Kaoru and Nori. Also some chat about hairstyles, and Aoki was asked if she intended to keep striving for the Special Epu ranking. They then focused on how each of the former students were preparing their hayashi rice.

When it came to Tasting Time, Aoki was up first. They literally flew through her presentation. Both dishes were extremely good, though she still received some pointers from Hattori. I also discovered that Hori is apparently an impersonator, as he did the first of many impressions during this judging. The sparks also appeared to fly again between Aoki and Emi, I still feel there is another grudge match in their future.

After tasting some of the best that the Ai Epu's had to offer, Takeda now faced Nori-chan's creations. Which started off with Onion Gratin soup that had penne pasta as a major ingredient. Luckily, since she boiled everything together, there really was no taste to her dish. As Hattori pointed out, it really wasn't soup. Unluckily, she didn't have the same luck with her hayashi rice. Once again, she focused more on her rice presentation than the dish. Which meant that everyone watched with terror (again) as she poured her concoction over the rice. If that wasn't bad enough, she packed the rice so hard it was impossible to get a spoon into it. And I've run out of descriptive phrases to explain how it could get any worse and did. Curry powder apparently was her secret ingredient. Success would not find Nori-chan tonight.

Next up was the first of Kinpachi Sensei's class, Mihara Junko. Much like Nori's, there wasn't much taste to her soup. She actually did a good job with the hayashi rice. Though more amusing was Hori's impression of Joushima. Up next was Kaoru, who should have gotten the hang of this by now. Her soup looked more like udon, and by now both myself and the other judges had caught onto something. If Takeda didn't like something, he would just pass it down the table without commenting. So Ijuuin forced him to comment this time. It wasn't that good, but in comparison better than her hayashi rice, which like Nori's featured an odd ingredient... extract of plum. It was amusing because Takeda was holding back his reactions the entire night, so Ijuuin got caught out again. Emi's wrinkle-meter went off, and then as a clincher they had one of Kaoru's 'classmates' (Mihara) try it.

The rest was academic (pardon the pun). Kawakami did very well on both of her dishes, impressing everyone. Hori and Joushima did synchronized judging. Last up was Kondo, who didn't even have her soup judged on the air. Her hayashi rice looked really good, but was hiding an ingredient that proved hard to identify. They finally determined it was chocolate (guess they decided to get ready for Ogura Yuuko's visit early).

When it came time to judge, Hori dressed up like Kinpachi Sensei and ran outside to find Kaoru and Nori's nameplates. He ended up placing both of them on the outer wall of the studio. Meanwhile, Aoki stayed right where she had been, while Kawakami won the trophy for the evening.

Ranking ( out of 116 ):
Kawakami Maiko: 11
Aoki Sayaka: 16
Mihara Junko: 52
Kondo Haruna: 95
Sugita Kaoru: 112
Horikoshi Nori: 112