wiki.d-addicts.com/Teppan_Shoujo_Akane!!

So cool, I love it. Seems to be playing saturday on Channel 8 over here in the East bay around 8:30

Akane Kagura runs her family's teppanyaki restaurant alone after her mother dies and her father, the chef, disappears. When the resturant's borrowed debts need to be repaid Akane sets out to find her father and bring him back. ...

Seems like she travels through Japan doing various food battles to defend local small time farms/ restaurants etc. against the evil French cooking style antagonists that follow her around, and at some point she'll meet her father at the end of the show for some huge food battle. Great humor, cute girl, food drama with some cooking super power special FX, ... I love it!