A totally re-imagined “Iron Chef” premieres tonight, and here’s why it’s almost impossible to win

Food Network just jazzed out one of its greatest competitions after a three year hiatus. Remember Iron Chef? Well, its big brother, Iron Chef Gauntlet, is premiering tonight at 9 p.m., and it sounds more challenging than ever. We’ve certainly missed watching some of the most talented chefs in the world duke it out in the kitchen. And according to the show’s creator Alton Brown, its upgrade will make it almost impossible to crown a winner.

One of its upgrades places Brown as a “chairman” for the comp. We’re used to having him host the competition. But, this time around, Brown will judge one challenge per episode and introduce ingredients to the cast.

Oh, and speaking of challenges, Brown is also introducing a whole new format. Seven chefs will compete in the first half, including a Secret Ingredient Challenge and a Chairman’s Challenge. The winner from this half will go on to the “gauntlet” round where things really heat up!

In order to get the ultimate title, the competitor has to take down O.G.’s Masaharu Morimoto, Michael Symon, and Bobby Flay in this round. That’s right. All three of them.

Which means that actually producing a new Iron Chef, however, may not happen. And Brown is OK with this.

In an interview with Fast Company, he explained:

"I told Food Network my involvement in this project is completely dependent upon accepting that potential outcome because nothing else is authentic — and they went for it.

But, the changes don’t just stop there. As for the angle of the new competition, Brown also told Fast Company that he wanted it to be less about kitchen drama and more about the food.

"I always wanted to find new Iron Chefs, and we did the show The Next Iron Chef, but it was like a big-arc reality show...I wanted to finally be able to take the series into a place that I thought it ought to go, which is that it’s all about the food, and it’s all about finding the absolute best chefs that do the absolute best work.

Sounds like it’s going to be one heck of a competition, but will anyone actually win?? We can’t wait to find out!