Mark Dacascos

Mark Alan Dacascos (born February 26, 1964) is an American actor and martial artist. He won numerous karate and various styles of kung fu championships between the ages of 7 and 18. Dacascos is perhaps best known for his roles as Toby Wong in the 1997 film Drive, and Ling in the 2003 film Cradle 2 the Grave.

Beginning in January 2005, Dacascos has portrayed the Chairman on Food Network's television series Iron Chef America. This role was previously played by Takeshi Kaga in the original Japanese Iron Chef, and Dacascos' character is presented as Kaga's nephew, though the actors are not related. Some of his other roles include the recurring character of Wo Fat on the CBS series Hawaii Five-0; Kung Lao in the web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy; Eric Draven in The Crow: Stairway to Heaven; Eubulon, the Advent Master in Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight; the role of Mani in the French film Brotherhood of the Wolf, and the lead role of Crying Freeman in the film of the same name.

Dacascos competed in season 9 of Dancing with the Stars.

Kevin Brauch

Kevin Jeffery Brauch (born January 18, 1968 in Toronto), "celebrity bartender," is host of the show The Thirsty Traveler on the Fine Living Network (originally on the Food Network), MegaWorld on Discovery Channel Canada, and Superstar Chef Challenge on Food Network Canada. He also serves as the floor reporter for Iron Chef America (on both the American and Canadian Food Networks). He will host the upcoming Food Network Canada program CheF*Off. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Brauch worked as a bartender for seven years early in his career while working his way through the radio and television program at Ryerson University.

Brauch worked for CFNY radio in Toronto (FM102) from 1988 to 1990. He began his television career on TVOKids in 1994. He received the Canadian Gemini award in 1998 for "Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series" (Stuff "Triathon"), in 1999 for "Best Host in a Lifestyle or Performing Arts Program or Series" (Canadian Gardening III) and also in 2005 for "Best Host in a Lifestyle/Practical Information or Performing Arts Program or Series" (The Thirsty Traveler). Brauch appeared as a guest on NBC's Tonight Show hosted by Jay Leno, taped on the afternoon of Friday, March 17, 2006.

Iron Chef America

Iron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the original Japanese program, the program is a culinary game show. In each episode, a new challenger chef competes against one of the resident "Iron Chefs" in a one-hour cooking competition based on a secret ingredient or ingredients, and sometimes theme.

The show is presented as a successor to the original Iron Chef, as opposed to being a remake. The Chairman is portrayed by actor and martial artist Mark Dacascos, who is introduced as the nephew of the original Japanese chairman Takeshi Kaga. The commentary is provided solely by Alton Brown, & Kevin Brauch is the floor reporter. The music is written by composer Craig Marks, who released the soundtrack titled "Iron Chef America & The Next Iron Chef" by the end of 2010. In addition, regular ICA judge and Chopped host Ted Allen provided additional floor commentary for two special battles: Battle First Thanksgiving (Symon/Flay v. Cora/Morimoto) and Battle White House Produce (Batali/Lagasse v. Flay/Comerford).

Alton Brown

Alton Crawford Brown (born July 30, 1962) is an American television personality, food show presenter, author, actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats (14 seasons), host of the mini-series Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves, and host and main commentator on Iron Chef America, Cutthroat Kitchen and Camp Cutthroat. Brown is also the author of several books on food and cooking.

Early life

Brown was born July 30, 1962 in Los Angeles, California and spent his youth in Georgia. Brown's father, Alton Brown, Sr., was a media executive in Cleveland, Georgia, owner of radio station WRWH and publisher of the newspaper White County News.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Brown was the cinematographer for several music videos, including "The One I Love" by R.E.M..

Career

Brown notes that he was dissatisfied with the quality of cooking shows airing on American television, so he set out to produce his own show. In preparation, he enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute, graduating in 1997. Brown says that he was a poor science student in high school and college, but he focused on the subject to understand the underlying processes of cooking. He is outspoken in his shows about his dislike of single-purpose kitchen utensils and equipment ("unitaskers"), such as garlic presses and margarita machines, although he adapts a few traditionally single-purpose devices, such as rice cookers and melon ballers, into multi-purpose tools.