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Most chefs are very proud of what they do. They are used to working under a lot of pressure and the best chefs are the ones who thrive under it. Pressure and pride make a fiercely competitive person, whether they're competing to prove to themselves that they can do better or they're trying to prove it to others. We've seen aspects of this on Top Chef, but these elements are what make the Food Network's new show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, work.
The premise is this: Bobby Flay goes around and finds someone who is the best (or one of the best) at what they do. He challenges them to "throw down" and compete in a one-on-one culinary competition to see who can make the best product. The competitions are judged by different "experts" in each show.
In all honesty, I didn't expect the show to be any good. But it was.
There have been two episodes so far, one on chowder and one on wedding cakes. Not being a big fan of chowder myself, I found the variations that the chefs came up with to be interesting, but not gripping. The chowders were sampled by lots of local chowder fans and judged by a pro, the chef from Pearl Oyster Bar. Bobby won.
The more interesting episode was the wedding cake show because Bobby Flay is no exception to the widely held belief that savory chefs cannot bake. He had to get some quick tutoring on how to bake, stack, frost and decorate a wedding cake and, after only a few days of work, actually challenged a professional cake baker/designer. Since this wasn't a skill that Bobby Flay already had, it was much more interesting to watch him try to master this completely unfamiliar skill set. For the record, he lost, but even though the decorations really couldn't hold a candle to the pro's cake, he did a very respectable job and was a good sport through the whole show.
The next two episodes are Steak (July 20th, 10PM) and Chili (July 27th, 10PM). Both are foods that Bobby has worked with extensively before, so there will be less of Bobby trying to get his bearings, but he's entertaining enough to watch that I'll probably be tuning in.
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7-17-2006 @6:29PM frodo said... Shouldn't this show be called "I'm Bobby Flay, I'm Amazing, You Guys Are Jerks And I Am Gonna Kick Your Ass"?
Does anyone else find it completely obnoxious that Bobby Flay is going around challenging people like this? Makes him look like some sort of culinary bully. "Oh yeah? You think you're awesome? WELL YOU'RE NOT AS AWESOME AS THE FLAY!! OHH YEAHHHHH!" Then he flexes for the rest of the half hour.
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7-17-2006 @6:32PM calamari said... It sounds like yet another attempt to Americanize "Iron Chef." Instead of a mysterious leader who assigns one of three samurai chefs to a death match with pickled squid, a lone chef rides into town and salad-shoots it out with the sheriff.
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7-17-2006 @6:32PM cybele said... I found it a little odd that he just blindsided the chowder guy (I haven't seen any other episodes). I mean, isn't it an unfair advantage to KNOW that you're going into a competition that day and the other guy is just going about his business?
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7-17-2006 @6:43PM Dr. Electro said... The Bobby is a cool dude. I have seen him perform magical wonders on (I forgot which TV network's morning show) Chef on a Shoestring. The hosts of the show hand him twenty bucks and tell him to prepare a feast. Bobby scores big every time. Other chefs lack Bobby's flair and ingenuity. Their efforts just don't compare to Bobby's.
I need to tune in his new show. I would have enjoyed watching his wedding cake efforts.
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7-17-2006 @6:55PM Nicole Weston said... Frodo - I suspect that if there was a show with Bobby Flay flexing for 30 minutes, people would tune in. Not sure it would end up on the food network, but you never know...
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7-17-2006 @6:57PM Kate said... I'm completely tired of him and I've decided he's probably really mean and snarky. At least I don't notice his speech impediment as often. When he had a show with that awful sidekick Jackie, he used to swallow every few words, like his mouth couldn't contain it's own saliva. Really annoying. Not quite as annoying as Rachael Ray, but the pair of them really shouldn't breed.
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7-17-2006 @7:05PM Flayophobe said... Does Flay stand on his cutting board when he wins?
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7-17-2006 @8:34PM RisingSunofNihon said... I happened to see one episode of this show, and I agree with the commenters who find Bobby Flay to be completely obnoxious. I don't know anything about the guy, so I don't know if this is how he is in real life or if he's just ratcheting things up for the sake of the show. Either way, it's annoying.
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7-18-2006 @10:49AM Meri said... I saw the chowder one and even though he definantly surprised the other guy, they both looked like they were having fun. I found it interesting and would tune in for another episode if it was on when I was flipping through channels.
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7-18-2006 @2:20PM Tina M said... My problem with this show is; it is not one on one; he has those two women helping him. If it is supposed to be be BF against the unsuspecting challenger, he needs to go into it without the pre-training and half prepped product as he has done in the last two episodes. Don't get me wrong, I totally love him, but it seems to me that he has an unfair advantage by having those two side kicks.
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7-21-2006 @1:42AM Troy Kaspar said... I just watched the episode where Bobby went up against the Marine Captain in the Steak Throwdown. I came to the site hoping to get the recipe for the Captain's marinade. My hats off to the Captain for treating his troops so well with G.I. ingredients! URAHHHH!
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7-22-2006 @12:00AM Scott Digs said... Throwdown changes my feeling about "Iron Chef Flay". He gives off the air of a know-it-all in most of his shows, but in this one he bows down and receives both istruction and DEFEAT! I mean, look at the wedding cake he made. He tried as hard as he could, but it still looked like something from a church bake-sale. It was like something my grandmother would make. Then there was the steak how against the marine. This time he strolled in with spare-rib and fillet but h was still beaten by the marines army ration skirt-steak. UNBELIEVABLE!! This "Iron Chef/ Cock" not only accepted defeat by a recent grad from his alma matter, but he also graciously accepted defeat by a grillmaster from, of all places with "good" ingredients, the millitary. He was gracious in both cases and gave a heart-felt congratulations to the marine who beat him. Is this the action of an ass? Maybe "Iron Chef Bobby Flay" is actually a down-to-earth guy. WHO'D-A-THUNK!!!
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7-28-2006 @12:07PM kady said... I love Bobby's show! I think that its great how he dose not get mad when he loses and dose not get cocky when he wins. He's a great chef.
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6-08-2007 @9:32AM Susie said... I adore Bobby ,And would love to have him do a throw down with my boss Lougi who is also a chef ,owns his own rest same place for 20 yrs ,Italian cooking in south Hackensack N.J.He's up for it how about you Bobby ? I Watch all ur shows and ur my favorite ,you throw down with my boss lougi and I 'll make you the best coco Martini ever !!
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8-10-2006 @10:36PM Frank McGrath said... Ok, Bobby is the king of BBQ, but can he cook ethnic. I challenge Mr Flay to a Sauerbraten Throwdown with my Wife, Joan. She make the world's best Sauerbraten hands down. Even better than her mother's. Come on Bobby, battle with the best. I have not discussed this with my wife.
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9-17-2006 @7:52PM Louise Springer said... I feel that some of the comments about Bobby Flay being obnoxious, annoying and cocky are unfair. I have seen many Throwdown epsiodes and have never found him to be anything but gracious and a good sport. All of the cooks he challenges are experts at the particular dish being challanged and in many cases he is not. Good examples of this would be the wedding cake challange and the jambalia challange. I enjoy the his shows and I hope the Throwdown continues.
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