Nicknamed The Szechuan Sage, he wore a yellow outfit and rose into Kitchen Stadium holding a large Chinese chef's knife in his hand.

Chen originally accepted his position on Iron Chef out of the need for a challenge, although the format of the show intrigued him.

[citation needed] 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.

Arguably, his win over Japanese-Italian-French "fusion"-style chef Juinichi Itoh in the yogurt battle exemplifies this.

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.

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.