‘The Next Iron Chef’: Bringing in the big gun

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Spit take!

That’s Ming Tsai competing in Season 3 of ‘The Next Iron Chef’ debuting Sunday night on Food Network.

The superstar chef seemingly has everything -- his Blue Ginger restaurant ranks as one of Boston’s best, and he’s published plenty of cookbooks, including the upcoming One-Pot Meals. He won an Emmy for his ‘East Meets West’ Food Network show, which helped introduce Asian fusion cuisine to the masses, and his ‘Simply Ming’ is currently on PBS.

So why risk it on ‘The Next Iron Chef’? Not knocking the show, where competitors vie for an opportunity to become an Iron Chef and do battle in Kitchen Stadium on ‘Iron Chef America.’ But wouldn’t it, you know, be embarrassing if he doesn’t go the distance?

It all speaks to the type of competitor Tsai is -- and the allure of joining the pantheon of Iron Chef greats such as Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Read more here, including why the inimitable Alton Brown says he almost passed on Season 3 hosting duties.

And what do you think? Are you planning to watch?

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter.com / renelynch