Japan is obsessed with food – at least one TV show on any given night is about food. The much-acclaimed cooking show Iron Chef allegedly spent a whopping ¥843 million (A$7.5million) on gourmet products during its six years of filming.

Although the show finished regular programming in Japan in 1999, the drama and flair of the food-battle show lives on. When an Iron Chef Special (aired in 2002) played a joke by telling the audience that flamboyant host Chairman Kaga had died from eating poisonous fugu fish, it caused national uproar. Don’t mess with a Japanese foodie icon!

After Iron Chef led the way, introducing food ingredients like balsamic vinegar and cooking styles such as flambé to the Japanese household, similar over-the-top food shows soon followed suit.

Docchi no Ryoryi Show (‘Which Cuisine?’) (1997–present) features two chefs competing to win the hearts of eleven Japanese talk-show celebs. While the chefs turn everyday dishes into mouth-watering sensations, the panel of celebs ooh! and aah! at the sight of gourmet ingredients being combined in spectacular ways. The nation loves it.

Less extravagant cooking shows also abound. Today’s Japanese women want quick and easy recipes that suit their busy lifestyles. Although more women have entered the workforce in recent decades, the pressure is still on to whip up great dishes for the family. Since grandmothers are unlikely to be around to teach them kitchen wisdom, they regard food authorities in the media as surrogate mothers, such as Harumi Kurihara.

A recipe author and the face of national cooking shows, she is Japan’s answer to Donna Hay. She even promotes Aussie beef and lamb. Ripper Harumi!