The final three chefs undergo a test of Integrity, and how they can honor both personal integrity and integrity of ingredients. At the most famous fish market in the world, Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market, the chefs race to gather ingredients to prepare their version of the most revered and traditional Japanese meal known as kaiseki. This kaiseki meal is filtered through each chef’s unique culinary personality. This traditional Japanese cooking style consists of an elaborately choreographed tasting menu with extreme attention focused on the beauty of each plate and the seasonality of the ingredients. One chef is eliminated, and the last two standing prepare for the final battle in Kitchen Stadium.
The remaining two chefs walk into the hallowed halls of Kitchen Stadium to complete their final test: Imagination. With the Chairman looking on and host Alton Brown (Iron Chef America) commentating from the side, the two finalists compete in a head-to-head battle. Using everything they have learned, they must take the secret ingredient and create a five course meal that reflects the melting pot that is the American culinary experience. One of the chefs will then be selected as the winner and become the new Iron Chef!
An Iron Chef must adapt to a secret ingredient that is revealed just moments before cooking. For their next test, host Alton Brown asks the remaining seven chefs endure a tough test of Adaptability. The chefs have 90 minutes to prepare a savory and sweet duo of Mexican-inspired dishes and a creative beverage that successfully utilizes a secret ingredient flown in from Mexico on American Airlines. At the iconic Grand Central Market, the chefs shop for additional indigenous ingredients to effectively capture the heart and soul of Mexican cooking. They are judged on how well they adapt the secret ingredient to their culinary creations. One chef is eliminated.
Host Alton Brown gives the nine remaining chefs their next two challenges: Simplicity and Interpretation. In the first challenge, the chefs are asked to use a variety of one-pot cooking devices from around the world to make a family-style dish. The chefs judge one another and reveal who cooked both the most successful and the least successful creations using the ethnic cooking vessels. Next, the chefs are asked to reinvent classic "international" dishes to see who can create an Iron Chef-worthy interpretation of some of the best-known dishes in the world. The next chef is eliminated.
Chef RJ Cooper of Vidalia Restaurant in Washington, DC enters Kitchen Stadium to face Marc Forgione in his first battle as an Iron Chef. Will Chef Cooper take advantage of first-time jitters, or will he help the new Iron Chef kick off a reign of domination? Tune in to see whose cuisine reigns supreme!