Casting is understood to be well underway for contestants in the new Iron Chef Australia television series that will go to air later this year.

The Seven Network has confirmed the three ‘Iron Chef’s’ who will be pitting their much celebrated skills against challengers are Neil Perry, Guillaume Brahimi and Guy Grossi, with production due to begin next month.

The ‘Iron Chefs’ will compete against young aspiring professional cooks and chefs who think they have the skills to take on the champions. Their task will be to create in one hour the best four-dish menu, as judged by a series of food critics.

Those critics have been confirmed as The Age's chief restaurant reviewer, Larissa Dubecki, The Daily Telegraph food writer Simon Thomsen and Leo Schofield, Gourmet Traveller magazine contributor and former restaurant reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald.

Described by Seven as a cooking competition of “Olympic proportions”, the series is being produced by Shine Australia, the same company behind MasterChef Australia.

The action will take place in front of a live audience in a “kitchen stadium”.

The format, originally devised and owned by the Fuji Creative Corporation, has had huge success in Japan and America, achieving a cult status in both countries. Airing on the Food Network, it is one of the channel’s highest rating programs, continuing to grow after nine seasons and in its sixth year.