pigeon as the theme. Bobby Flay: Flay entered into a bit of a rivalry with Iron Chef Japanese Morimoto during the show's special New York Battle. Flay complained that his side of the kitchen was poorly laid out (it was noted in an Iron Chef America "Behind the Scenes" episode that the kitchen was hastily set up in the provided forum). At one point Flay received an electric shock, transmitted by a wet floor and faulty wiring, when he grabbed a metal pan on the range. When Flay stood on his cutting board at the end of the battle, Morimoto declared that Flay was "not a chef" for disregarding the cleanliness of one's cutting board. Morimoto won, but Flay was offered a rematch. He accepted, and got his revenge, in the 21st Century Battle in Japan, where, at battle's end, he tossed the cutting board off the counter before climbing on it, so as not to offend Morimoto again. Flay then became an Iron Chef alongside Morimoto on Iron Chef America. This rivalry was revisited for a third time with Morimoto defeating Flay during the Holiday Ice Battle (Iron Chef America, November 2009) Ron Siegel: A French/California cuisine chef who was head chef of Charles Nob Hill in San Francisco when he bested Sakai with lobster as the theme to become the first American challenger to win in Kitchen Stadium. Mayor Willie Brown had personally recommended Siegel to be on the show. Michael Noble: The lone Canadian challenger and an award winner in the Bocuse d'Or, who was head chef at the Metropolitan Hotel in Vancouver when he challenged Morimoto in Battle Potato in 1999 with Morimoto winning 3-1. Wayne Nish: A Japanese-American chef (his grandfather is from Yamaguchi Prefecture), New York native and the head chef at March, a highly-rated restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Sakai bested him with apples as the theme, with the battle also being notable because it was the only one that regular color commentator Yukio Hattori judged. : A group of Italian chefs working in Japan who took their name from the top flight of Italian football and frequently challenged Iron Chef Italian Kobe: Mario Frittoli, Constantino Gemmoli, and Franco Canzoniere. No group member ever defeated Kobe, although one member did defeat Morimoto. Marco Paolo Molinari: A member of Serie A and a world pasta champion who prevailed over Morimoto with porcini mushrooms