<P> As the tasting and judgment take upwards of 45 minutes to complete (although it is edited down in post-production), the chef serving second is allowed to reheat his or her dishes, which was allowed on Iron Chef . </P> <P> Several of the secrets to how the show is taped were revealed in an episode of Unwrapped entitled "Food Network Unwrapped 2 ." It was stated that the chefs find out what the secret ingredient is about 15 minutes before the battle begins because the opening sequence is recorded many times . It is only the final taping of this sequence where the words "Allez cuisine!" are said and the battle begins . Moreover, at the end of the one - hour battle, the chefs must still prepare 4 plates of each of their 5 dishes for the judges and the Chairman . This is done during a 45 - minute period after the battle ends and before tasting begins . They consider this to be part of the competition, and it is timed, but it is not recorded or shown to the viewers . The plates which the audience sees prepared during the one - hour battle are the plates used to obtain close - up footage of the dish for use in the final episode . Usually, on taping days, two different battles will be taped, one beginning at about 10 a.m. and the second at about 4 p.m. A Food Network crew has about 90 minutes between each show to clean the set and prepare for the second show . </P> <P> Chefs provide the producers with shopping lists for each of the possible secret ingredients . Consequently, they can surmise what the secret ingredient will be just before it is officially revealed, based on which of their items were purchased . </P> <P> ICA will occasionally stage special themed battles, generally during the holiday period . The first of these was held on November 12, 2006 . A special 90 - minute episode of Iron Chef America pitted two guest Food Network personalities, Giada De Laurentiis and Rachael Ray, the latter of whom does not consider herself a chef due to lack of formal training, against each other after they each received tips and training from Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Mario Batali, respectively . While the early part of the episode made it appear as though it would be a head - to - head battle, the Chairman announced just prior to the secret ingredient reveal that it would in fact be a tag - team battle, with each of the women joined by the Iron Chef who trained her . The secret ingredient for the special was cranberries . The expanded timeframe allowed for longer cuts of the competition hour and the tasting segments to be presented, and the show as a whole had a more laid - back feel than regular ICA episodes . Plenty of joking and good - natured ribbing took place on both sides of the kitchen, such as Batali's effort to "bribe" the judges with cranberry bellini cocktails . The battle was won by Iron Chef Batali and guest chef Ray . </P>

Who has gotten perfect scores on iron chef