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.
More throwdowns:
What Can I Get You Folks? - Server Revenge
Reality-Show Celebrities Serve Up Chef Curtis Stone's 'Hundred-Dollar Burger'
Foods Celebrity Chefs Hate
