Food Network Used Ringer Vegetables in White House Garden ‘Iron Chef’ ChiTrib

The Food Network took liberties when editing its "Iron Chef America" White House garden showdown to make it appear the vegetables—the show’s “secret ingredient”-- came from the garden itself, when in fact they didn’t, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The heavily promoted Jan. 3 episode was the show’s most-viewed ever, with 7.6 million viewers.

The chefs were shown in the Washington D.C. garden picking vegetables and then walking into the New York stadium carrying vegetables. Those veggies were replacements, a Food Network spokeswoman said.

--Elizabeth Jensen