Wednesday, August 21, 2013

'Beat Bobby Flay' Pilot Airs Saturday Night On Food Network

Photo - Food Network
Beat Bobby Flay, which can be described as a new version of Throwdown, is scheduled to have its pilot episode air Saturday night at 9:00pm on the Food Network.  It will replay at midnight, and again on Tuesday August 27th at 11pm and 2am, but that may be it (Edit - another one Sat., Aug 31st, 4:30 ET).  So if you want to check it out, make sure to tune in at one of these times or set your DVR.  It is only a half hour long and is sandwiched between, you guessed it, countless reruns of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

The description of Beat Bobby Flay when the new series for 2013 were announced stated:
In order to beat Bobby Flay, you have to get to him first. This new series is the ultimate throwdown-showdown…. Three culinary masters, each with their own signature dish, a dish that they’d stake their reputations on, travel to New York for the chance to challenge Bobby Flay to a head-to-head cook-off of their specialty. But first, these contenders must battle it out to see who has the culinary prowess to ultimately go one-on-one against Bobby on his own turf. Produced by Rock Shrimp for Food Network


The description of the show on the Food Network site has been changed a bit, and it reveals a bit more about the show.



It looks like Jeff Mauro and Alex Guarnaschelli will be the judges on the show, and they will judge the initial battle to see who gets to face Bobby Flay.  I am not sure if they are judges only for the pilot or if they will be judges for every show (assuming the show gets picked up). Also, it looks like they went from having three chefs compete to having two chefs compete.  The description now states:

Two talented chefs go head to head for the chance to Beat Bobby Flay. To get to Bobby the chefs must first face off against each other, creating a spectacular dish with a secret ingredient of Bobby's choice. Judges Alex Guarnaschelli and Jeff Mauro know Bobby's strengths and his weaknesses. Their goal: pick the chef who has the skills to take down Bobby Flay in his own arena. The winning chef gets to challenge Bobby with their surprise signature dish. If they win, they can tell the world, "I beat Bobby Flay!"

You would think the Food Network would try it out in a better time slot.  Also, I am surprised they didn't green light a whole season and only shot a pilot episode.

25 comments:

  1. You'd think, given how many times Bobby got his butt handed to him on a platter during Throwdown, that they wouldn't go this route a second time. And Jeff Mauro as a judge of real, non-sandwich food??? Someone at FN is getting really desperate...

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  2. Every Food Network personality has a niche/comfort zone according to
    the show they host: Giada=Italian, Bobby=Grilling, Ina Garten=Stylish
    High Class Cuisine, Pioneer Woman=Southern. Jeff just happens to host a
    show about sandwiches. That doesn’t mean he can’t cook or judge on a
    different kind of show.

    I’ve read Jeff’s bio and he graduated from The Kitchen Academy in Hollywood (now part of Le Cordon Blue), worked at restaurants and co-owned delis with family members so, it doesn’t appear to me that he was just an entertainer who
    won a reality show, then thrown into the lion’s den of hosting a cooking show.

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  3. That was just his POV on Food Network Star...so he loves sandwiches...doesn't mean he doesn't know all about other food.

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  4. The ridiculous amount of these "new" fn shows is absurd.

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  5. He still comes across as a jughead. And him on yet another Flay show...I'll pass.

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  6. Grammar nazi here...Why the apostrophes in "Diners & Drive-Ins" above? An apostrophe is never used in the plural form of a noun.


    On topic - I will definitely record this pilot. It seems like a decent premise and I like Flay. FN should consider expanding it to include their other chefs as well.

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  7. Because a show associated with Guy Fieri doesn't need correct grammar ;). Fixed it for you.

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  8. I think you still need a couple of commas.

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  9. Maybe I misplaced the commas as apostrophes... Official show title has one comma.


    Remember, this isn't the New York Times or anything...

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  10. It could be The Washington Post. It doesn't believe in the Oxford comma.

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  11. But it will provide a short Saturday night respite from triple-D.

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  12. And sadly, FN pushed him into a sandwich corner and doesn't seem to want to let him out. Hence his two Chopped All Stars appearances, in which he consistently made sandwiches of the basket ingredients.

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  13. Wow some people have far too much time on theri "hands" to be the appostrophe/comma patrol! LOL (bet it's not in any dictionary either!

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  14. I hate to say it but this show wasn't half bad. It's Throwdown minus the deception plus a bit of Iron Chef with the Sandwich King. Good Times!

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  15. Wonder what sandwich Jeff Mauro would have made for chicken parm or zucchini...oh, wait...I don't care!

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  16. Where does the man find time for all these? He's a winner anywhere you throw him, really.

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  17. I liked it. I hope they make more. It's sort of an Iron Chef Throwdown with Bobby picking the secret ingredient for the two competing chefs, then Bobby having to make the winning chef's signature dish for the final throwdown. Nice twist. And I'm cool with Alex and Jeff. I like them both and it's fun seeing them trying to take Bobby down. This plays on Bobby's strengths well. I'm thinking it's a keeper.

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  18. Jeff may host a sandwich show, but he's proven time and again that he's a trained chef with a full skill set. I thoroughly enjoyed Beat Bobby Flay and hope to see it again.

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  19. So—did we all recognize Sara from Top Chef: Texas? She's the one who wasn't Heather. She's lost a lot of weight and lightened her hair, and she seems to have gone for a personality makeover as well, but she still brought back some very unpleasant memories for me.

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  20. I get the impression that Jeff is there in an effort to allow him to break the Sandwich King mold and expand his culinary expertise and the public's perception of it. He seems to be Food Network's most marketable personality since Guy Fieri, and he comes across as far less obnoxious.

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  21. I'm a copyeditor. Fixing grammar, spelling, punctuation, and usage is what I get the big bucks for.

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  22. No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call "grammar" is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.

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  23. Don't get me wrong ok, I'm a big Bobby fan, no doubt. And yes I get that y'all have ratings....BUT we as the real human race know that he wins rarely!!!!(to say it nicely)
    I get it, he wants us to watch....but we aren't dumb. I watched yet another episode tonight. Rigged. I'm very disappointed as a fan Really. No, won't stop watching but very, I know better. BoB is an iron chef for a reason. Duh. He can win sometimes. Don't b unrealistic. I'm loose all respect. Js

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  24. Don't loose to let ppl THINK their better, what good is that

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  25. U rock, don't let them take away ur shine...you've earned it

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