The program has an eccentric flavor even for a game show. Its host is the flamboyant Takeshi Kaga, known on the show as . Its production values are highlighted with extensive commentary made by two regular commentators and one to two guest commentators (who also serve as judges). The commentary presents thorough background information (e.g., ingredients, past history of contenders) to give a viewer context for what is happening in the kitchen; it also serves as entertainment, as friendly banter is shared among the four commentators.

The supposed "story" behind Iron Chef is recounted at the beginning of every episode. It is said that Kaga had "realised his dream in a form never seen before" and specially constructed a cooking arena called "Kitchen Stadium" in his castle. There, visiting chefs from "around the world" would compete against his Gourmet Academy, led by his three (later four) Iron Chefs. Chairman Kaga himself is a showpiece, dressed in outlandish examples of men's formal attire.

The English name Iron Chef comes from the show itself: Kaga would use this translation of the Japanese title when summoning his chefs at the beginning of the battle. Kaga famously and theatrically announced the start of each battle with the grammatically-incorrect French phrase Allez Cuisine!, which roughly translates to "go and cook".

While always a success in Japan, Iron Chef became a surprise cult favorite in the United States when it was picked up by the Food Network and dubbed in English. Much of the U.S. appeal was due to the dubbing, which gave the show a campy charm that evoked English-dubbed Chinese kung fu movies of the 1970s. Audiences also found amusing some of the over-the-top culinary concoctions regularly featured on the show.

Format

On each show, a challenger, typically a famous chef from Japan or elsewhere, is pitted against one of the Iron Chefs (with each Iron Chef specializing in a different kind of cuisine—Japanese, Chinese, French, and later Italian). Although challengers appear to choose an opponent on the spot, the matchups are determined well beforehand, as sometimes the challengers, especially those from Japan, are asked to participate because of a rivalry with one of the Iron Chefs.

These are the Iron Chefs who have appeared on the show (some have retired and have been replaced by successor Iron Chefs) along with their records (win–loss–tie) 1:

• Iron Chef Chinese
• Iron Chef French (I)
• Iron Chef French (II)
• Iron Chef Italian
• Iron Chef Japanese (I)
• Iron Chef Japanese (II)
• Iron Chef Japanese (III)

Originally, challengers vied with each other in preliminary "battles" to earn the right to face an Iron Chef in a 90-minute competition, and should a challenger win twice against Iron Chefs, the challenger would be given the title of "Honorary Iron Chef". However, this format proved unpopular, the preliminary round was scrapped and the main contest was reduced to the now familiar 60 minutes. The awarding of honorary Iron Chef titles was also discontinued (although this was largely a moot point as few challengers ever defeated two Iron Chefs in separate contests), except as an emeritus title for a retiring Iron Chef. Once honorary titles were no longer issued, challengers who beat an Iron Chef had to settle for, according to the English version's introduction, "the people's ovation and fame forever".