Throwdown with Bobby Flay

I am not a big fan of Bobby Flay. Well, actually not at all. He is my least favorite Iron Chef. I find him too arrogant. I do not really find his masterpieces that amazing. If you regularly watch Iron Chef America, you might have observed that he is fond of using green and red sauces, both of which were extracted from chili. Somehow that leads me to a very undue conclusion that he is not that creative. Yes, I may be that cruel.

When my Saturday afternoons are free as I go straight home from school, I usually enjoy the time relaxing – just lying in bed and browsing through different channels. Usually I would just be flipping between Lifestyle Network or the Asian Food Channel, with an occasional dose of HBO or Star Movies if there is a good picture showing. Once I came upon Bobby Flay challenging the very nice-looking Michelle Doll in the creation and design of a wedding cake. Doll is well-known for her cake designs and a regular for hip New Yorker brides. As I later realized the format of the show is like this: The crew would search for the best ‘food’ being sold – it may be cake, ice cream, bbq, pizza and many others. The creators of these best foods would then be asked to feature their talent and creation in a food show sponsored by the Lifestyle Network. What they do not know is halfway through the show – Bobby Flay barges in proposing a throw down. In this case, Flay challenges Doll that he can make the better tasting and looking cake. Of course, Flay does not come unprepared in every challenge. After all, he is aiming to win. Backed by a team of culinary experts, he practices and alters recipe good enough to face up to the connoisseur.

I have only seen four episodes – cake, doughnut, pizza and fried chicken – all of which Bobby Flay did not win the challenge (perhaps the reason why I like the show LOL). He came close though to winning the pizza and cake challenges.

I enjoy watching the show because it showcases food experts who sometimes are not at all chefs with formal training. They just happen to love food and had the passion to experiment and come up with the best tasting type of food that one can taste. The best doughnut maker worked in the basement of his home for five years perfecting the recipe of his now best-sellers doughnut. If only I live in the States, I’d want to try the restaurants and stores of these food enthusiasts. It makes me wonder who cooks the best Filipino food. Who bakes the tastiest chocolate cake in the Philippines? Who cooks the best sinigang? Where are the not so well-known restaurants whose food are home-cooked and simply the best? Hmm, sometimes I just have to go blog-hopping and perhaps I’d find the answer already. Perhaps it will be another throwdown, if I’m home this Saturday.

Here is the cake Michelle Doll created for the challenge.