Photo: Food Network
It'd be like giving Morimoto seaweed or Mario Batali basil. Luckily, while the ingredient the producers chose wasn't much of a threat, their opposing chef was something of a curve ball: Floppy haired, unshaven Canuck Michael Smith, seen in the intro hiking around a field in a sun hat, plucking fruits from the vine like some sort of former draft-dodging hippie who decided he liked Prince Edward Island too much to leave.
Smith's casual demeanor belies his Beard-award-winning skills. We knew we liked him from the start, when he cut through the usual overwrought "Iron Chef" choosing-ceremony b.s. by goofily bulging his eyes and gesturing in the direction of Flay like a madman. Finally, we have someone to combat the imported histrionics of The Chairman with a healthy dose of irony!
We also liked the way he and his sous-chefs worked together, flinging around orbs of Haas goodness like they were Nerf balls. Throughout, Smith's plates were filled with fun little ideas, near-jokes, almost: A potato-dill wafer shaped to look like an anchor, an avocado-enriched strawberry shortcake on a down-home platter, an oyster fritter sitting in a halved avocado as if it were a pit.
Meanwhile, Flay barked commands and furrowed his brow as usual, and turned out the kind of polished, thought-out food we expected of him: tomato and avocado soups sitting side-by-side in the same bowl, oysters with avocado relishes, and a deep-fried avocado and edamame patty that sounded good in theory, but failed in practice (and looked like a big pile of mush, to boot).
But the battle between Flay's overly serious classicism and Smith's Mad Hatter-style interpretations of North American food was met by a surprisingly indifferent, humorless jury -- and this was without Jeffrey Steingarten around to poo-poo everything. Taking his still-warm seat this week was monosyllabic super-stud Antonio Sabato, Jr., who's about as qualified to judge food as he is to act -- which is to say, looks will get you everywhere.
If it wasn't one thing with Antonio, it was another: "I'm not really a big fan of avocado ... I don't eat oysters that much," he complained, like a 5-year-old listing his dislikes to his mom (who, incidentally, was a fixture on his last reality show). Even if he wasn't a gourmand, a part of us still hoped he would sloppily slurp up his food -- let it dangle from his lips and spill on his shirt -- the way our dear Jeffrey does. (Come back from "Worst Cooks in America"! We miss your incessant bile and vitriol!)
Alas, possibly because their sparring partner Jeffrey was gone, co-judges Donatella Arpaia and Anya Fernald weren't in a "defend the underdog" kind of mood, and dismissed Smith's food almost as harshly as our guest philistine Antonio. Certainly, we weren't there to taste Smith's softshell-crab, bacon and avocado club, but Anya's assessment of it as messy and unruly made us think she's not the person to listen to when judging a great sandwich. You got the feeling Smith didn't pay much mind to their criticism: His response was always a demure, "That's fair, thanks."
By a long shot, it was his unconventional flavors -- avocado and white chocolate, anyone? -- that got Smith the boot and cemented Flay's dominance over all things creamy and green. It's a shame -- while Smith might be a fixture on food shows up north, we could use a little of his relaxed good humor to thaw us out down here.
2-01-2010 @11:26AM Ryan said... You guys have Michael pegged. Up here in Canada he's a foody hero. I've had the pleasure of meeting him in Halifax multiple times and he's as friendly and down-to-earth (and gigantic) as he seemed on TV.
His two current shows on Food Network Canada (Chef at Home and Chef Abroad) are some of best. He doesn't take himself or food too seriously, and, as indicated on last night's iron chef, he doesn't really believe in making unobtainable pinnacles of food. He wants you to eat like you're at your home. Anyways, I was glad to see him on Iron Chef America, but sad to see the result.
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2-01-2010 @11:48AM Jimmy V said... I thought he was totally out of his depth to be honest, I don't think avacado is an easy thing for Flay just because he cooks with a southwestern style -- it's about creativity and the challenger was seriously lacking when it came down to it and the margin he lost by was testament to this. Presenting a trio of guacamole a shining example of his lack of food knowledge as well as that ridiculous sandwich with a soft shell crab that looked doomed from the start. On a side note I do wish they would pick judges that ALL have some kind of culinary background/experience/expertise - not some clueless actor in the vague hope that he'll add some sprinkling of personality to the show.
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2-01-2010 @1:16PM odandy said... Worst judging I've ever seen. I am not biased towards any competitor. Extremely weak Sauce!
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2-01-2010 @2:07PM Dennis Forbes said... I was rooting for Smith, him being an adopted Canadian (sort of surprised to learn that he was born, raised, and then trained in NY State, given that he is held as pure Canadiana), however his creations did seem incredibly odd. I often feel that about his cooking shows as well, and he seems to be a visual stylist more than a taste stylist. And what was with the shaking? Either he has MS or ALS or Parkinsons, or he was surprisingly nervous for someone with his CV.
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2-01-2010 @5:59PM Emily said... I was really disappointed with the episode. I didn't think Flay's dishes deserved to win on creativity and plating. Smith's dishes looked far superior for both these categories. Flay just turned the avocado into sauces or just left it raw in cubes like the lamb dish. I think Smith was more creative with the avocado (biscuits, mousse... etc). I can't say who should have won because we weren't there to taste it but I don't think he deserved that score. Don't get me wrong, I love Bobby Flay, but he didn't really impress me this time.
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2-09-2010 @12:29PM Keith said... The judges seemed pretty dumbstruck this episode. I really thought that Smith would have won even though it was with a food that I would doubt he would be as comfortable as Flay would and should be. And what was with Sabato being a judge. Even Batista seemed to actually have some knowledge about food and overlooked/overcame prejudices about the food that was on that episode. Smith's dished just looked better so the overall marks made no sense.
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2-02-2010 @12:46AM jojo said... Just watched this show for the first time and i must say the judges are absolutely embarrassing , to themselves, then I realized what i was watching and rushed here to tell you people to turn off this stupid, brain damaging show. Really? You find any merit in this garbage? OK i have done my good deed for the day.Got to go save some American Idol idiots!
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2-02-2010 @12:56PM ladyb said... The judges were brutal. Antonio Sabato, jr, should never, ever be allowed on the show again. Ever. Smith's best dish was the avacados on the 1/2 shell - it fit in more with the fine dining type dishes we normally see. As good as that sandwich may have tasted, it looked like you had to unhinge your jaw to get a bite, which doesn't make for a good eating experience.
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2-08-2010 @3:37PM Yiya said... This was a hard choice for me; I like Flay in Iron Chef, but when Michael Smith entered the kitchen stadium, I knew a real challenge had arrived. It was disappointing. My husband has always teased me and suggested that the results were fixed, and this time, I think he might be quite close to the real thing. With a poor jury and an ingredient staple in Flay's dishes, what else can be concluded? I mean, Smith's presentation was WAY better than Flay's, and still scored lower... What a disappointing result!!
And for the Iron Chef production, bringing back good judges would make the program go back to the exciting competition it used to be - just because the judges DO know what they are talking about, not because they're a pretty face on TV and want to get some free promotion for their rating to go up.
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