Season 5 Rival Chefs

Get to know the 10 chefs competing for the ultimate culinary title.

Chef Mehta's Photos

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Jehangir Mehta

Jehangir Mehta is the chef and owner of Graffiti and Mehtaphor restaurants in New York City. After falling to Iron Chef Jose Garces in the finale of The Next Iron Chef Season 2, it was his goal to finally earn the coveted title this season, but ultimately he was eliminated in the sixth episode.

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Thoughts From Chef Mehta

Each rival was given a journal to use during the competition, and Chef Mehta filled his with recipe ideas, notes about the challenges and to-do lists to follow while cooking.

Buffalo 2.0

In the season premiere, Chef Mehta was given a final opportunity to redeem himself with buffalo, the ingredient that cost him the finale win in Season 2. He wrote to himself, "I deserve to win," and although his duo of buffalo offerings wasn't the best dish of the day, he did achieve redemption.

Week-Two Win

This is the standout falafel-inspired dish that earned Chef Mehta his first win of the competition. Simon Majumdar called the plate "pretty glorious," and Iron Chef Zakarian added that he was "very impressed" with it.

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Advantage: Jehangir

Thanks to his stellar falafel in week two, Chef Mehta earned the advantage of pairing his fellow chefs in the Chairman's Challenge of Simplicity. He strategically matched chefs with opposing personalities and cooking styles to give himself the best chance for success.

Photo By: Eddy Chen/Creel Films ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Breakfast On the Brain

An unsuccessful attempt at representing Chef Spike Mendelsohn on a plate forced Chef Mehta to compete in a four-way cereal Showdown. Lucky for him, his Indian-inspired offering with Kellogg's Rice Krispies and Raisin Bran was strong enough to keep him in the competition for another week.

Photo By: Eddy Chen/Creel Films ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Canned Chicken Meets Curry

Challenged to transform everyday canned chicken into an Iron Chef-worthy dish, Chef Mehta paired this preserved meat with green curry and spiced rice, and it was well received by the judges' panel. Donatella complimented him on "extremely juicy and transformative chicken," and Iron Chef Zakarian added that this dish boasts "sheer genius."

Photo By: Eddy Chen/Creel Films ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Inner Cobra

While at the ingredient auction, Chef Mehta reflected on his place in the competition and how he's viewed by other rivals. He admitted, "I hear they call me the sleeping cobra."

Late Start

Chef Mehta penned a quick reminder that he wouldn't start cooking in the Chairman's test of risk until after almost all of the other chefs. "Must remember I will come in only 20 minutes before the end, and the others could use up the other ingredients," he wrote.

Potential Plates

Having acknowledged that he'd never before worked with his risky ingredient, ostrich eggs, Chef Mehta took a few minutes to jot down possible egg-based dishes, like egg drop soup and a soufflé, to prepare with the mere 25 minutes he has to cook.

Risky Maneuver

Not wanting to sacrifice time for safety, Chef Mehta removed his hot ostrich egg soufflé with his bare hands and ultimately burned a few fingertips in the process.

Photo By: Eddy Chen/Creel Films ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Color-Coded Candies

Instead of working with many different-flavored fruit candies at once in a culinary marriage with bone marrow, Chef Mehta devised a plan to separate them and cook with only a single color at a time, so as to take advantage of their distinct tastes. He would "simmer orange [candies] in oil" and "grate green" ones to feature in a vinaigrette and salad, respectively.

Japanese-Style Shrimp

Despite beautifully roasted bone marrow, Chef Mehta's plate was deemed too fatty, and he was sent to the Secret Ingredient Showdown to face off against Chef Nate Appleman in Battle Shrimp. Both rivals had to cook on Japanese teppanyaki grills — metal flattops — instead of traditional stovetops, but Chef Mehta was nevertheless confident. "You have to just face it, just go very strong. Full force," he said.

Photo By: Eddy Chen/Creel Films ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

End of the Journey

The judges weren't wowed by either chef's dish, but it was ultimately Chef Mehta's overuse of spices that did him in. Disappointed to be leaving just two weeks shy of the finale, Chef Mehta responded after the Showdown, "I did this to win."

Photo By: Eddy Chen/Creel Films ©2012, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved