female chef to appear on the show and the youngest chef to be victorious after beating Chen with scallops as the theme. Four years later, after experiencing a midlife crisis, she challenged Chen again. This time, with veal as the theme, Chen won by 19-17 on Kishi's scorecard and 20-19 on the others. An interesting side note is that the second female challenger, cooking show host Katsuyo Kobayashi, also faced Chen. Kobayashi indirectly picked Chen because she allowed Kaga to pick for her. Chen lost both battles, and purportedly caught some flak from chef-friends of his. Chen fought another two female challengers in separate battles and won. Cho Chiyo: An okonomiyaki turned Cantonese chef from Kobe who helped feed those suffering hardship after the city was devastated by the Great Hanshin Earthquake. Kaga invited her to battle in recognition of her bravery and so that she could cook to her heart's content, and she challenged Chen, who prevailed with tofu as the theme. Toshiro Kandagawa (three wins out of six battles): Regular challenger who aligned himself with the Ōta Faction, a group of hardline traditionalists in Japanese cuisine, and often led his army of fellow chefs and protegés into Kitchen Stadium during challenges. Kandagawa has taken part in several battles wherein he supported apprentices to battle an Iron Chef (only one out of the ten won). Kandagawa also participated in several "battle special" episodes, including the 21st Century Battle. Rokusaburo Michiba was his main rival until Michiba's retirement as Iron Chef Japanese; he has recorded victories over Chen, Nakamura and Sakai. Pierre Gagnaire: The owner and head chef of the eponymous Michelin 3-star Pierre Gagnaire in Paris, Gagnaire represented France in the 1995 Iron Chef World Cup at Ariake Coliseum but lost to eventual runner-up Gianfranco Vissani with tuna as the theme ingredient. He was later under financial pressure as the French economic downturn threatened to close the restaurant, and Kaga was moved to organize the France Battle Special to rekindle Gagnaire's spirit. He then proceeded to defeat Sakai with lobster as the theme. Gagnaire has since opened another restaurant bearing his name in Tokyo as part of his ventures, operating since 2005. Rory Kennedy: The head chef of Rules in Covent Garden, London and the lone British challenger on the show. He and Sakai battled to a draw with rabbit as the theme, with Sakai prevailing in overtime with