Satan's Kitchen - Japan's #1 Cooking Show!

The camera pans in quickly with the logo, a stylized 'Satan's Kitchen' with little devil horns on the 'S' and a tail on the final 'N'. Simple, yet effective. Soon you find out why the logo was styled in such a way. A silver-haired woman appears on-screen, looking thoroughly ticked off; sporting a pair of horns and a thin vestigial tail protruding from her tailbone. Two sheepish-looking people in chef's outfits stand beside each other, each with a plate of food in front of them. By your estimation both look to be of good quality, or at least look presentable.

"There's a reason, boys, why I set a time limit for these challenges. You do know that right?" The two men look at each other, neither wanting to say anything, afraid of sparking her ire. "It's not just to **BEEP** with you, I promise you that." She leans over the counter, planting her hands firmly on the smooth, glassy surface. Her expression looks like she's biting something back, like she's trying not to jump across the table and tear these men limb from limb. Is she... shaking!? "Twenty minutes. I gave you twenty minutes."

She points out towards the diners, who all seem to be eating quite happily, some looking towards the open plan kitchen with amusement. The camera cuts between many different angles and close ups, showing various different diners, some known political figures or celebrities. One of the chef's finally spoke up with a shaky voice, sounding he was about to cry. "W-with all due respect ma'am... t-there's no way to-"

"Do not finish that **BEEP**ing sentence."

The man let out a small whimper, looking down at the floor like a child being disciplined. "You come into my kitchen to serve my guests and then presume to tell me what can and can't be done!? These guests want their food **BEEP**ing pronto! Stat! Right the **BEEP** now! Twenty minutes is long enough to cook any dish on the god damn menu! You don't think it's possible? Get the **BEEP** OUT OF MY KITCHEN!" After that thorough dressing down, the man just seems to stand there shaking, not sure what to do with himself. "Did you not hear me, boy? GET OUT!"



Satan's Kitchen is, fundamentally, the ultimate expression of a cooking show. Two teams compete to run a kitchen, then nominate the weakest links in the team, who compete in one final challenge. Whoever loses that challenge, leaves. It's cutthroat, brutal and emphasizes a lot of core aspects of working in and running a fine dining kitchen. Temper's flare, rivalries spark, betrayals crop up all over the place. It's no wonder that it consistently received a 5-star rating on most TV stations that ran it from it's 2nd season onward.

The most important part of the show however, what separated it from other 'cooking challenge' shows, was that it took place in a real restaurant, serving real paying customers. They enjoyed the entertainment, yes, but they were spending their money to eat their dinner and the chefs were there to improve their skills and learn from one of the greatest chefs in the country; Akuma, Otsuno-san. Her vicious temper and notorious sailor's mouth have kept people tuning in for years, if only just to see her completely lambaste a chef who did something wrong in her kitchen.

Intense pressures in the kitchen, combined with Otsuno-san's guidance and imposing presence, is designed to inform younger, less experienced cooks on the feeling of working in a 5-star restaurant. Some crack under the pressure, some don't and earn permanent positions as cooks in the Athena Green Restaurant in Shibuya, where the show is filmed. If one were to go there, they might see many former contestants working, though calling out to them or distracting them is perhaps not a great idea. Otsuno-san is more than willing to turn that withering gaze towards customers as well as staff, should they do something disrespectful.

The show itself has run for a grand total of six years, over twelve seasons. While it isn't on in every house in Tokyo, it is a show that most have at least heard of, if even in passing. With the prevalence of Utube, older clips of the show tend to resurface every once in a while as memes or examples of Otsuno-san's temper. The show has shaken up it's timeslot and format slightly over the years to stay relevant and interesting but for the most part hasn't changed much and it's viewership has stayed consistent, especially with older demographics who enjoy the drama and intensity and have time to watch in the evenings.

Many have accused the show of being 'fake' or 'scripted' in order to keep the viewers coming in. While this is true for some episodes, the episodes that are not scripted tend to see much lower ratings on average. People can complain all they want about scripting but clearly it works, or people wouldn't be watching. Often internet journalists will decry and denounce the show based on these merits but fundamentally it is a trashy TV show that people watch for a bit of catharsis in their day and also to learn cooking techniques!

One of the most popular segments in the show is Otsuno-san explaining and showing the steps in how to make a dish to the contestants, because it is formatted in such a way as to act as a mini tutorial for those at home as well. This is supplemented by a website and Utube channel that goes into more detail, often with Otsuno-san herself giving the tutorial. These have garnered quite a few views and many have called for a more tutorial focused show to either replace or supplement Satan's Kitchen.

As of currently, the show is in between seasons, though unlike before, it has given no clear date as to when the next season will air. I suppose fans of the show will just need to wait and see!

• Created by Rebecca • For True Path •