Chen Kenichi

Ken'ichi Azuma (東 建一, Azuma Ken'ichi, 5 January 1956 – 11 March 2023), known professionally as Chen Kenichi (陳建一, Chin Ken'ichi) was a Japanese chef and restaurateur, best known for his role as the Iron Chef Chinese on the television series Iron Chef (料理の鉄人).
Nicknamed The Szechuan Sage, he wore a yellow outfit and rose into Kitchen Stadium holding a large Chinese chef's knife in his hand. He was the only Iron Chef to have held his position throughout the life of the show. He was the son of Chen Kenmin, a Chinese chef from Sichuan province.
Chen was born in Tokyo in 1956. His father was Chen Kenmin, a Chinese-born chef and restaurateur, who is regarded as the father of Sichuan cuisine (四川料理) in Japan. Chen's signature dish, "prawns in chili Sauce" (Ebi Chili) (干烧明虾), was an adaptation of a dish that his father had introduced to Japan. As a result, Chen was often compared to his father on the series, with some saying that Iron Chef helped the son exceed the skills of his father.
Chen attended the Tokyo Chinese School and Tamagawa Gakuen High School, and graduated from Tamagawa University with a degree in English and American Literature.
Chen originally accepted his position on Iron Chef out of the need for a challenge, although the format of the show intrigued him. Even though he was the longest-serving Iron Chef and the only original Iron Chef, having been an Iron Chef for the series' six-year run, Chen had on several occasions considered leaving his position; among his reasons was the desire to tend to his restaurants, which had become booked every night since the show's start, as well as a bout of depression following the death of his mother. Ultimately, it was fellow Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai who convinced Chen to stay, with their agreement that should one leave the show, so would the other.
Because of his long tenure, Chen fought more battles than any of the other Iron Chefs, at 92 battles. He won 67, lost 22, and tied 3. He also enjoyed a run of 14 consecutive victories, the longest of any Iron Chef. His most memorable dish was chili prawns.
Despite his excellent record on the show, Chen often appeared endearingly surprised and relieved at victory. Arguably, his win over Japanese-Italian-French "fusion"-style chef Juinichi Itoh in the yogurt battle exemplifies this. He was also remarkable for his frequent tasting of food, frequently dipping his ladle into steaming concoctions for sampling, only to place the same ladle back in the food. The commentators to the show referred to this practice in humor as Chen's "eating".
Among Chen's more memorable matches was one with challenger Dominique Corby of the Tour d'Argent, where, after the main battle (with foie gras as the theme ingredient) was fought to a tie, the overtime battle (with asparagus as the theme) also resulted in a tie—the only time that such an outcome occurred in the series. Rather than have Chen and Corby fight a second overtime battle, Chairman Kaga, the show's host decreed that both contestants were the winners, effectively calling the battle a draw.
As with other Iron Chefs, Chen "feuded" with a warring faction that acknowledged the worthiness of his culinary caliber who were determined to take him down. In his case, he battled with the chefs of Heichinrou restaurant in Yokohama, defeating two of their members before finally losing to their head chef in an overtime battle.
Chen was an avid baseball fan and stated that it would have been his choice to go professional but opted not to.
Outside of Iron Chef, Chen was also an active restaurateur. He operated the Shisen Hanten (四川飯店, lit. "Sichuan restaurant") group of restaurants located in Akasaka, Ikebukuro and Roppongi in Tokyo, as well as Tokushima city in Tokushima Prefecture; Kure, Hiroshima; Matsuyama, Ehime; and Hakata-ku, Fukuoka. The restaurant was inherited from his father and he was the third to run it after his mother took over.
Shisen Hanten's branch in Singapore, ran by his son Chen Kentaro (陳建太郎, Chin Kentaro), has earned two Michelin stars since 2016. It is located in the newly renovated 1000+ room Hilton Singapore hotel, the largest hotel in the Asia Pacific.
According to Minken Kigyo, the company Chen established and was the former CEO, Chen died of interstitial lung disease on 11 March 2023, at age 67.