Fortified by Iron

I had a pleasant surprise this morning when I looked at the front page of the Food section (Oct. 14). “Iron Chef!” I’ve been an avid watcher of this program for the last three years. I favor it over “60 Minutes.” That’s how much I love this show. Martha Stewart pales next to “Iron Chef”!

LUCINDA LEONG, Westwood

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Thank you so very much for the wonderful article on “Ryori No Tetsujin,” a.k.a. “Iron Chef.” I almost screamed when I opened the Food section and saw my beloved chefs all lined up in a row. This is an incredibly imaginative and highly amusing show, and deserves our attention and support. We need this kind of exposure to get our subtitles back, if nothing else!

I object to the idea of English voice-overs! The show would instantly lose much of its appeal if the likes of the ever-objective main announcer, Fukui Kenji, and the uber animated sidelines announcer, Ota Shinichi, were to be dubbed! Let’s hope we get the option to choose.

SUSANNA MODJALLAL, Glendale

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I read with delight your article on the Japanese “Iron Chef” show. As a student of Japanese language for four years and a cooking show fanatic, I love watching this show. But please do not encourage them to dub this in English, as it would not be nearly as effective without their wonderful verbiage as a soundtrack. Bring the subtitles back instead.

CARLA OLSON, Studio City

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This issue of the Food section climaxes a continuing disintegration of a section of The Times that I have enjoyed very much over many years. As for the “Iron Chef,” how ludicrous. I am all for ethnic cuisines of the world, but let’s use some discretion when the program is so limited to cable TV, plus is in a language not widely understood by the majority of your readers.

RUTH MUGNAINI, Altadena

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Thank you for the great article on Japan’s “Iron Chef.” I saw a video of one show in San Francisco earlier this year and was totally swept away by the excitement, the skill of the chefs and the beauty of their dishes, Takeshi’s weird costume (why?), the sort of phoniness of the judges, and the inborn politeness of the loser toward the winner. Everything about it was intriguing and outrageous at the same time. Your article answered all my burning questions. Now the million-dollar question: Do you know if any San Diego stations are showing it? Your clue about KSCI is great for the Los Angeles area, but I don’t see it on our TV guide. Help, help!

PAT MYERS, San Diego