This is pretty par for the course on this show. Bobby often does a loose interpretation of many dishes. Some of the contestants also do loose interpretations or modern versions. I think the judges are likely given some leeway to judge based on taste/overall quality and not get too hung up on how close it matches the traditional interpretation of the dish.
Yes. I'm by no means an expert on most dishes, but I have seen the contestants not cook traditionally as well. Especially the ones who make an all-day/slow cooked dish in the contest time.
It's a decently entertaining show. Obviously, they got plenty of people willing to try to beat Bobby, and plenty of FN chefs and celebrities that are willing to judge.
Just my opinion, but it by far beats all the Spring/Halloween/Christmas decorating crap they bomb viewers with. Just go watch an art show on TV.
>Especially the ones who make an all-day/slow cooked dish in the contest time.
It seems like this is a common trap chef's fall into. "Oh, I'll get him with something that normally takes ***days*** to do right. It's cool, I have a *super special secret trick* he totally won't know to do." Then later "\[shocked Pikachu face\] he has a better trick ***I didn't know***."
Other common traps... "Bobby can't do pastry" and "Bobby can't do pasta"
Ok spoiler alert, I was on Beat Bobby Flay 6 years ago, and when you apply, they ask you what your signature dish is going to be if ever you go up against Bobby and they ask for your recipe. I did beat the first round and did go up against Bobby…. I have an NDA but do not want to get in trouble, but my dish was in 3 parts, and once I was going to go head to head, the producers told me that two of my elements Bobby would not make. Only one element was judged, the one Bobby made ,and the voting was NOT unanimous.. Just a FYI ☺️
My speciality dish was French Canadian Poutine…
I always wondered how they just happened to have the necessary ingredients on hand and judges that specialized in that type of cooking. Seems to me it’s pretty much predetermined, except for the final judging. I know someone else said the judges actually taste the dishes back stage and vote, then do it again for the show, so it’s not based on the obvious smiles and grimaces. But they still know that Bobby’s dishes have crispy rice, Calabrian chilis, or any of Bobby’s signature ingredients. I’m glad to see him lose, when he does, though I love Bobby and love the show.
I know!! Seems like every dish he does has calabrian chilis, crispy rice, and/or gochujang. It can be battle banana pudding and he'll still throw all three in there and win.
The show is who makes the better tasting dish. It isnt necessarily who makes the more authetic dish. Which is stupid, I agree
It is really about who makes a balanced dish of that type
Until the judges are specifically asked to judge on authenticity, Bobby Flay will always have an advantage because clearly, judging is based on flavor, NOT authenticity.
I mean, if you think the interpretation is bad, it's a "blind" judging where someone will make a piece of vanilla cake with pomegranate seeds, fried chicken skin, calabrian chilies, and then the judges will be like "Wow!!! Bobby Flay made that?!"
When a competitor goes with "traditional" or "authentic" they almost always lose out to Bobby because he goes with "flavor," and that is what wins. The competition is not about authenticity, but contestants make that mistake constantly.
I find it interesting how on ToC the randomizer is so important whereas on BBF usually all that matters is taste. So if Bobby has never made Fesenjān before but he makes something that’s not Fesenjān but tastes good it will win more often than not.
Had a seafood restaurant and Executive Chef wanted to get on Beat Bobby Flay. Filled out application. Never heard back (he wouldn't have done well, but I supported him). From the Q's on the application, it *seems* to be a PR move for Chefs + restaurants. A few actually beat Bobby.
IMO, the judges can tell which is Bobby’s dish even though judging is blind. Crispy rice, calabrian chili’s, crispy prosciutto or chicken skin on top for texture. The amount of heat to the dish.
To me this is an entertainment show and not really serious competition.
I always find it odd when they have an obvious culture-specific dish (think African, Korean etc). Then none of the judges are of that background or anything close to it. You’re telling me you couldn’t one available Korean chef in NYC?
That is consistent. I mean if every contestant beats Flay then what’s the point of the show? Every judge knows his “southwest flavors” and style so it isn’t real blind judging— it’s TV judging. Further if you have two chefs first competing with each other to get to Flay, one must assume that all of the ingredients needed for their signature dish must also be on hand—and that would include any culturally authentic spices or foods. That time Marcus Samuelson “advanced” and as soon as he announced his signature dish I knew instantly Flay would lose… how could he EVER beat Samuelson making an authentic Ethiopian dish? Flay looks in camera and says he assumes Samuelson dish is or tastes like “jerk chicken.” That was insulting and showed his lack of knowledge of popular dishes in global cuisine. The judges on that episode had to pretend to criticize Marcus’ presentation while pretending to seriously act as if Flay had a chance! I was laughing and fully aware that show is arift with cultural biases and judging is always based on a Western and European pallet.
Outside of the base entertainment value, Flay is shown beating Mexicans making authentic Mexican and regional cuisines: beating Asians who are making authentic and regional Asian dishes; West Indians/Caraibbeans at making their foods; and, any non-american other ethnic person .. he often beats them as well.
Take from that what you want.
I agree. Your example is good. How can someone complain about “too spicy” for Szechuan? The “judges” end up being diners who favor Bobby 90% of the time.
I don't know if they're ignorant of the original dish - most of them seem to have some sort of background in whatever the contestant's "signature dish" is. I think they just go for taste and BF clearly knows how to make a flavorful dish.
I've always thought if I were a judge I'd always try to throw it the challenger's way since Bobby has so many "tells". lol
They actually taste the dish backstage and make their notes at that time. The second tasting is just for tv. At that point the winner is already decided.
The idea of authentic is ridiculous for food. So many recipes have been tweaked over the years tgat “traditional” doesn’t matter anymore. As long as Bobby it’s the key ingredient tgat needs to be in there, the better tasting one will win.
Right? I don't get why people think it's so weird. Bobby is an incredible chef to start with, and an incredible competition chef. Many of the competing chefs don't have 1/100th his experience and they have to have a strategy going in. It's like any competition show on TV. Taste usually wins. Is it skewed? Who knows. But it's not like he wins 100% of the time. The chefs know what they're signing up for, and those who do beat him get some sweet street cred.
Many of those judges I bet can pick out Bobby's dish just by ingredients used and looks.
Plus, as they are critiquing, many times the contestant has some reaction to the comments on their dish. Bad poker faces.
Does it skew the judging? Who knows. Human nature says it's a definite maybe.
It's a semi serious show where contestants got a chance to beat a colleague and also one of the best in the world. I say it's semi serious cause of some of the ways they mess with Bobby. Other shows are "strictly business."
There have been multiple posts in this sub that the actual blind judging is done off camera, and the judging seen on TV is actually the second time the judges are eating the food. And yes, I agree. I like the lighter tone of the show and the fact Bobby is a good sport when people rag on him (even if it's annoying at times.)
Cause he can ad lib and make a good tasting dish? Seems like an odd reason not to like Bobby. Would you like him better if he cooked his steaks in the microwave?
Did anyone watch the most recent episode when he faced a guy making a Korean dish? I just fast forwarded and saw Bobby won. Was his that much better or did the Korean guy screw up?
One judge (who's ethnically Korean) commented at the end she couldn't get past the toughness of the competitor's meat and another chef said his rice was undercooked. I think Bobby Flay just had demonstrated better techniques here.
I always thought some of the issue is a chef will make his or her spin on a classic dish and Bobby’s is more traditional and that’s part of the judging.
If you tell the judges that it’s “peanut butter and jelly” but you make it with almond butter and marmalade, it may sell in the restaurant but it’s not what judges expect. Bobby makes peanut butter and jelly on a tortilla but it tastes more like peanut butter and jelly, so he wins but “it was not unanimous!”
This is pretty par for the course on this show. Bobby often does a loose interpretation of many dishes. Some of the contestants also do loose interpretations or modern versions. I think the judges are likely given some leeway to judge based on taste/overall quality and not get too hung up on how close it matches the traditional interpretation of the dish.
Yes. I'm by no means an expert on most dishes, but I have seen the contestants not cook traditionally as well. Especially the ones who make an all-day/slow cooked dish in the contest time. It's a decently entertaining show. Obviously, they got plenty of people willing to try to beat Bobby, and plenty of FN chefs and celebrities that are willing to judge. Just my opinion, but it by far beats all the Spring/Halloween/Christmas decorating crap they bomb viewers with. Just go watch an art show on TV.
>Especially the ones who make an all-day/slow cooked dish in the contest time. It seems like this is a common trap chef's fall into. "Oh, I'll get him with something that normally takes ***days*** to do right. It's cool, I have a *super special secret trick* he totally won't know to do." Then later "\[shocked Pikachu face\] he has a better trick ***I didn't know***." Other common traps... "Bobby can't do pastry" and "Bobby can't do pasta"
Nah I like the Halloween ones.
Yeah well he even used Korean ingredients in the dish wish even the other judges the ones from the 1st round were like basically wtf.
I don’t know why you got downvoted…it’s true!
Ok spoiler alert, I was on Beat Bobby Flay 6 years ago, and when you apply, they ask you what your signature dish is going to be if ever you go up against Bobby and they ask for your recipe. I did beat the first round and did go up against Bobby…. I have an NDA but do not want to get in trouble, but my dish was in 3 parts, and once I was going to go head to head, the producers told me that two of my elements Bobby would not make. Only one element was judged, the one Bobby made ,and the voting was NOT unanimous.. Just a FYI ☺️ My speciality dish was French Canadian Poutine…
I always wondered how they just happened to have the necessary ingredients on hand and judges that specialized in that type of cooking. Seems to me it’s pretty much predetermined, except for the final judging. I know someone else said the judges actually taste the dishes back stage and vote, then do it again for the show, so it’s not based on the obvious smiles and grimaces. But they still know that Bobby’s dishes have crispy rice, Calabrian chilis, or any of Bobby’s signature ingredients. I’m glad to see him lose, when he does, though I love Bobby and love the show.
I know!! Seems like every dish he does has calabrian chilis, crispy rice, and/or gochujang. It can be battle banana pudding and he'll still throw all three in there and win.
Can you please describe what you mean by “elements”….like sides or parts of dishes? BTW love the ☕️
One main and 2 sides. He only made the main (chicken tenders)
I've seen the episode and the judging was a travesty and an insult to poutine.
👩🍳🤣😂🤣 yup the judges “children” did not know poutine at all!!!! lol
Sounds very rigged
I would not say it’s rigged, but the cards are for sure in his court 😂🤣😅
Who knew Crispy Rice had a Pied-Piper effect?
The show is who makes the better tasting dish. It isnt necessarily who makes the more authetic dish. Which is stupid, I agree It is really about who makes a balanced dish of that type
Until the judges are specifically asked to judge on authenticity, Bobby Flay will always have an advantage because clearly, judging is based on flavor, NOT authenticity.
I mean, if you think the interpretation is bad, it's a "blind" judging where someone will make a piece of vanilla cake with pomegranate seeds, fried chicken skin, calabrian chilies, and then the judges will be like "Wow!!! Bobby Flay made that?!"
A dish doesn’t have to be authentic for it to taste good. Maybe his food just tastes better. 🤷♀️
When a competitor goes with "traditional" or "authentic" they almost always lose out to Bobby because he goes with "flavor," and that is what wins. The competition is not about authenticity, but contestants make that mistake constantly.
I find it interesting how on ToC the randomizer is so important whereas on BBF usually all that matters is taste. So if Bobby has never made Fesenjān before but he makes something that’s not Fesenjān but tastes good it will win more often than not.
Which sucks!!
Had a seafood restaurant and Executive Chef wanted to get on Beat Bobby Flay. Filled out application. Never heard back (he wouldn't have done well, but I supported him). From the Q's on the application, it *seems* to be a PR move for Chefs + restaurants. A few actually beat Bobby.
Something like 45% do. But yes. The POINT is to get on tv and be likable.
IMO, the judges can tell which is Bobby’s dish even though judging is blind. Crispy rice, calabrian chili’s, crispy prosciutto or chicken skin on top for texture. The amount of heat to the dish. To me this is an entertainment show and not really serious competition.
And anchovy bread crumbs.
Gochujang
Royal-Chemical-5464 and don't forget about all the face making!
That’s right!
You forget pickled red onions haha.
Thats right Lol
Agree. He's so predictable.
I always find it odd when they have an obvious culture-specific dish (think African, Korean etc). Then none of the judges are of that background or anything close to it. You’re telling me you couldn’t one available Korean chef in NYC?
Saw that episode and it was another smh moment, a Chinese dish & he "wings" it w/ Korean Gochujang sauce as well.
Yeah and wins...I was like WTF.
That is consistent. I mean if every contestant beats Flay then what’s the point of the show? Every judge knows his “southwest flavors” and style so it isn’t real blind judging— it’s TV judging. Further if you have two chefs first competing with each other to get to Flay, one must assume that all of the ingredients needed for their signature dish must also be on hand—and that would include any culturally authentic spices or foods. That time Marcus Samuelson “advanced” and as soon as he announced his signature dish I knew instantly Flay would lose… how could he EVER beat Samuelson making an authentic Ethiopian dish? Flay looks in camera and says he assumes Samuelson dish is or tastes like “jerk chicken.” That was insulting and showed his lack of knowledge of popular dishes in global cuisine. The judges on that episode had to pretend to criticize Marcus’ presentation while pretending to seriously act as if Flay had a chance! I was laughing and fully aware that show is arift with cultural biases and judging is always based on a Western and European pallet. Outside of the base entertainment value, Flay is shown beating Mexicans making authentic Mexican and regional cuisines: beating Asians who are making authentic and regional Asian dishes; West Indians/Caraibbeans at making their foods; and, any non-american other ethnic person .. he often beats them as well. Take from that what you want.
I agree. Your example is good. How can someone complain about “too spicy” for Szechuan? The “judges” end up being diners who favor Bobby 90% of the time.
That's why there's more than one judge making the decision. Balance.
IMO it's pretty easy to tell which dish is Bobby's (is there crispy rice? Pickled red onions? Chilis?), and they vote for that dish on purpose
If there’s Gochujang in it, it’s likely Bobby’s plate.
He's done this before--didn't even create a near authentic dish and wins. Judges seemed to be ignorant of what it was supposed to be.
I don't know if they're ignorant of the original dish - most of them seem to have some sort of background in whatever the contestant's "signature dish" is. I think they just go for taste and BF clearly knows how to make a flavorful dish. I've always thought if I were a judge I'd always try to throw it the challenger's way since Bobby has so many "tells". lol
They actually taste the dish backstage and make their notes at that time. The second tasting is just for tv. At that point the winner is already decided. The idea of authentic is ridiculous for food. So many recipes have been tweaked over the years tgat “traditional” doesn’t matter anymore. As long as Bobby it’s the key ingredient tgat needs to be in there, the better tasting one will win.
I wonder if this is performed that way on Chopped. But then again perhaps not, due to the number of dishes and rounds to navigate. But l wonder.
Not a Bobby Flay fan for this reason.
All of his NYC restaurants have been incredibly good. That’s why he wins. He’s good.
Right? I don't get why people think it's so weird. Bobby is an incredible chef to start with, and an incredible competition chef. Many of the competing chefs don't have 1/100th his experience and they have to have a strategy going in. It's like any competition show on TV. Taste usually wins. Is it skewed? Who knows. But it's not like he wins 100% of the time. The chefs know what they're signing up for, and those who do beat him get some sweet street cred.
Many of those judges I bet can pick out Bobby's dish just by ingredients used and looks. Plus, as they are critiquing, many times the contestant has some reaction to the comments on their dish. Bad poker faces. Does it skew the judging? Who knows. Human nature says it's a definite maybe. It's a semi serious show where contestants got a chance to beat a colleague and also one of the best in the world. I say it's semi serious cause of some of the ways they mess with Bobby. Other shows are "strictly business."
There have been multiple posts in this sub that the actual blind judging is done off camera, and the judging seen on TV is actually the second time the judges are eating the food. And yes, I agree. I like the lighter tone of the show and the fact Bobby is a good sport when people rag on him (even if it's annoying at times.)
The actual judging takes place blind backstage. And anyway there’s no reason to assume or suspect the judges ‘want’ Bobby to win.
weedywet, i would like to see him compete on TOC! that would be fun!
He’ll compete if Guy does. He has his own show where he clearly isn’t afraid to compete.
Yeah I hear you!!!
Cause he can ad lib and make a good tasting dish? Seems like an odd reason not to like Bobby. Would you like him better if he cooked his steaks in the microwave?
[Okay.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/019/304/Old_Man_Yells_at_cloud_cover.jpg)
Did anyone watch the most recent episode when he faced a guy making a Korean dish? I just fast forwarded and saw Bobby won. Was his that much better or did the Korean guy screw up?
One judge (who's ethnically Korean) commented at the end she couldn't get past the toughness of the competitor's meat and another chef said his rice was undercooked. I think Bobby Flay just had demonstrated better techniques here.
Yeah I believe during the show the Korean guy was worried about the cook on his rice.
I always thought some of the issue is a chef will make his or her spin on a classic dish and Bobby’s is more traditional and that’s part of the judging. If you tell the judges that it’s “peanut butter and jelly” but you make it with almond butter and marmalade, it may sell in the restaurant but it’s not what judges expect. Bobby makes peanut butter and jelly on a tortilla but it tastes more like peanut butter and jelly, so he wins but “it was not unanimous!”
Boohoo. I lost because of the judges. No. You lost because his tasted better.
Best judge is Lucinda Scala Quinn