Chen beat Kentaro in the new potatoes battle. Shinya Tasaki: The winner of the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale's Meilleur Sommelier du Monde (World's Best Sommelier) in Tokyo in 1995, the first (and as of 2020, still only) Asian national to win the competition. Also president of the Association . Tasaki is also the only non-professional chef to have won in Kitchen Stadium after defeating Kobe with fatty tuna as the theme. Though it was not a stipulation of the battle, by virtue of his being a sommelier, both he and Kobe chose wines to pair with their dishes. Also invited to perform sommelier duties during the series finale. Sotetsu Fujii: The high priest of the Fushikian Temple in Kamakura and a Shojin vegetarian chef, who Sakai bested with yams as the theme. Hiroshi Furusho: A French chef (including a specialty in Cajun cuisine) and a favorite of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, including manager Katsuya Nomura, a recurring judge who recommended him for the show. Nomura and a number of players attended his appearance, where Michiba prevailed with turkey as the theme. Jun'ichi Itō: The first challenger not classified as a chef specializing in any specific cuisine, he started French cooking at age 18 and left for France at age 28. He left for Italy three years later and joined Enoteca Pinchiorri, where Kobe had also trained. When he was 35, he opened his restaurant Herle Quin in Tokyo. Food critic Asako Kishi, the show's most frequent judge by dishes tasted, recommended him as a challenger before Chen won with yogurt as the theme. Kensuke Sakai: An Italian chef, but most notable because his restaurant "Nigiro" was (at time of taping in 1998) really a food stand that he brings in by hand to a monastery's yard each night – he had been cited 30 times by Tokyo police before coming to the arrangement with the monastery. At his introduction, Sakai brought the food cart into Kitchen Stadium. Kobe bested him with pumpkin as the theme. Chihiro Otsuki: One of just two Spanish cuisine challengers in the show's history, who had won awards for her cooking in Spain. Chen won by just a single point with tomatoes as the theme. Yosei Watanabe: The lone Mexican cuisine chef to be a challenger on the show and the chef who opened the first authentic Mexican restaurant in Tokyo, who Kobe bested with