Beat Bobby Flay (2013–…): Season 3, Episode 6 - Bells Will Be Ringing - full transcript

I'm Bobby Flay.

Each week, one brave chef will
try to take me down in my house.

This culinary battle is gonna
shake down in two rounds.

Round 1 -- To get to me,

two contenders have
to go through each other first

using an ingredient
of my choice.

Let the games begin!

Two people that know me well

will decide who's got the skills
to beat me.

He's gonna smoke you.
Turn up the heat!

Round 2 -- I go head-to-head
with the winning contender.



It's their turn to surprise me
with their signature dish.

That's what
you brought here?!

I'm excited.

Bottom line --
everyone's out to beat me.

Now I'm nervous.

Happy holidays, everyone.

Who's up for some
culinary festivities tonight?

I've asked two friends of mine
to pick my rival this evening.

Please say hello to Chefs
Scott Conant and Anne Burrell.

Scott Conant and Anne Burrell

are part
of the Food Network family,

Scott from "Chopped"

and, of course, I have gone
head-to-head with Anne

on "Worst Cooks in America."



A nice holiday pair
we have here.

I'm in
the holiday spirit.

We have searched far and wide
looking for people

to give you
a holiday beatdown.

I think that Santa
is gonna bring you a loss today.

Oh, thank you, Santa.

Who do you have
for some holiday cheer, or jeer?

Our first contender is a real
Texas tornado in the kitchen.

Please welcome Blythe Beck.

Hi!

Our next contender has cooked
alongside some of the greatest,

like Thomas Keller
and Julia Child.

Meet Mark Allen.

He's the executive chef

of Towne Stove and Spirits
in Boston.

Happy holidays, guys.

I'm sure you're both here
full of spirit to beat me.

But first,
you must go through each other.

You're gonna have 20 minutes

to make an ingredient
of my choice

the star of your dish.

Since it's the holidays,
that ingredient is...

Pears.

I love pears.

You can do a lot with pears --
savory, sweet.

It's a tough ingredient.

If they're not perfectly
seasoned, they can be mealy.

Anne and Scott will taste,
and they'll decide

which one of you will take me on
in Round 2.

Make this pear a masterpiece.
Ready?

Go.

All right. Here we go.

Make sure there's lots of pears.

Lots of pears.

Pears are something
I like around the holidays

'cause you can do sort of
a cold-weather salad,

you can make a dessert
with it.

I love pears.

Great texture,
they're really versatile.

You can poach a pear,
you can roast pears.

The question is,

who is gonna make the pear
the star?

Mark has cabbage.

That's an interesting choice.
Great crunch, really fresh.

Ooh, okay.
I like cabbage and pears.

Blythe has bacon,
it looks like.

Yeah.
She's got goat cheese, too.

There's honey, there's bourbon,
there's some spices.

That's a lot of st
ertation.

Blythe, you know
there's only 20 minutes

in this whole deal,
right?

I know, I know.

I'm grabbing ingredients

that I know is gonna go well
with the pears.

Butter and the bacon fat
will really make the pears shine

because fat carries flavor.

Blythe, how we doing?

Good. I'm good.

You have challah bread.

Holla!
Holla!

You got blue cheese,
as well.

You got all kinds of stuff
going on.

I like cheese and bread
with lots of pork fat.

It's sort of the way
I do things, so...

Who doesn't like that?
Yes. Yes.

I am making a pear, bacon,
blue cheese grilled sandwich

and a little arugula
and sweet basil salad.

Pear, butter, bacon.

Nothing wrong with that.

And bourbon.

Well, that's for me.
Oh, that's --

I like your style.

I grew up in Houston, Texas.

I knew I wanted to
pursue cooking professional,

so I did everything I could
to get my foot in the door.

I begged, I pleaded.

Eventually I got a job
as the apprentice

to one of the best chefs
in Texas.

It was the hardest thing
I've ever done.

I had to fight for
every promotion, every title.

I rose up the ranks,

and I was an executive chef
by the time I was 26.

My style has gotten bigger,
bolder,

more in your face,
more fired up,

so I'm ready to prove to Bobby

why they say
"don't mess with Texas."

Chef, what's going on?

I'm gonna do a little Asian pear
salad with tempura shrimp.

Tempura shrimp.
Oh, that's a good idea.

I'm making an Asian style
slaw using pears and cabbage.

Andecided to use shrimp
to try to bring out

the sweetness of the pear.

So, what do you got
going on?

Dressing for the salad.

Little bit of mayonnaise,
soy sauce,

vinegar,
a little lemon juice.

You guys cheering him on
over here?

Cooking's been my passion
for 30 years.

My grandfather was a chef.

He was passionate and excited

about putting food together,

so I knew I wanted to be a chef.

I went on to work for
the greatest chefs in America --

Alex Stratta, Thomas Keller,
Julia Child.

I mean, just to be able
to say that is amazing.

It was a lot of work.

But, you know,
hard work pays off,

and I established myself

as being one of the top chefs
in Boston.

So I know I have enough talent
to bring down Bobby Flay.

12 minutes!

Blythe has this
ultimate grilled cheese

with a lot of stuff
going on.

Do we feel like
she's showcasing the pear enough

or is it more about
the grilled cheese sandwich?

That's gonna be
the question.

And Mark has
some tempura shrimp,

and he's making slaw out of
the pears and the cabbage.

You think raw pears just cut
is enough of a technique?

No.

Both of the chefs,
I think,

aren't necessarily
showcasing pears.

I think you need to
let these people know the deal.

Yeah.
Go get them.

The tigress.

Look out for those heels!

I hear you have
a grilled cheese going on?
I do.

- Make sure that it's pears.
- Okay.

Not just like, "Oh,
I'm, like, pears back here."

Even though I'm using
a lot of bold flavors,

I'm not really worried about
the pears being overwhelmed

by the blue cheese or the bacon.

I just have to make sure
I get my proportions right

to make the pears shine.

I got my pears going.

I add some cinnamon
and a little bit of allspice

because it instantly reminded me
of Christmas,

and it's gonna add another
dimension of flavor to my food.

Oh, she broke out the bourbon.
We have a winner.

Seven minutes!

- How are you?
- I'm great.

You have tempura shrimp.

Yeah, a little,
with a pear salad.

Remember, though,

what's going to keep you here
is the pear.

Is the pear. I agree.
So...

I'm feeling very good
about my dish

because it has
great flavor combinations.

And, you know,
the pear is gonna come out.

Feeling good.

All right.
Knock yourself out.

I got my slaw done,

and now I'm gonna work on
my tempura shrimp.

Tempura's a very traditional
Japanese frying batter.

It's rice flour,
and then I add seltzer water.

Bubbles in the soda water
make it very light,

but I have to keep
a very close eye on the fryer

'cause you don't want to
overcook them

'cause they get very rubbery.

Two minutes to go.

Look at the size
of that thing.

That's making me happy.

I'm from Texas.
Like, go big or go home.

Oh, lookit. She's got arugula.

She's putting it all over it,

so we got, like,
layers of flavor.

Let's just hope that
that pear isn't getting lost

in there somewhere.

Ah.

Mark, how's it going, dude?

I'm putting
more pears on.

One minute, you guys!

Starting to feel nervous I don't
have enough pear in this dish.

So I julienne a little more pear
to garnish the top of the salad.

I tell you,
Mark's plate looks beautiful.

15 seconds.

Mark's dish seems more composed,

but I think I've done justice
to the pear,

so they better love it.

7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Starting to feel more confident.

I think my dish is
much more refined.

There's nothing wrong
with a sandwich.

I just --
I have shown more expertise

to bring down Bobby Flay.

Scott and I are looking for
the person to beat Bobby Flay,

and it's all going to come down
to these pears.

All right, Mark,
so what did you make here?

A pear and cabbage slaw
with tempura shrimp.

I think you have some
really good flavors here.
Thank you.

Shrimp is cooked perfectly,
as well.

The challenge, I think,

is other than the julienne
of the pear in the salad,

I don't think there's
anything else in there

that really screams "pear"
to me.

I'm gonna agree with you.
This is a good dish.

Your cooking techniques
are very sound.

The problem is
that I can see pear,

but there's not enough
pear flavors.

Okay. Thank you.

I'm starting to feel nervous,
but I'm betting on my technique

and, you know,
all the flavors of this dish

is gonna help me go to
the next round.

Blythe,
what do we have here?

I did a pear
and bacon grilled cheese

with arugula and basil salad.

Oh! Wow.

It's a party in my mouth
right now.

Like, "Oh!"

So many layers of flavor
going in here.

It's like a flavor bomb.

Thank you, chefs.

I love that you added
the bitter greens

to kind of off-set the bacon
and the butter.

But I do think
that this isn't a home run.

The first note that you get
is blue cheese rather than pear.

If you cut
that blue cheese,

maybe mix it
with a little bit of mascarpone

to rein it in a little bit,

I think that would have
really helped.

No chef likes to hear criticism,

but I think my dish is good
enough to beat my competitor.

All right.

I think we concur.
Yes.

The person who is gonna compete
against Bobby Flay...

is Chef Blythe.

- Thank you, thank you.
- I'm bummed out.

I wanted to go up against
Bobby Flay.

I think I had a good chance
to beat him,

but, I mean, you win some,
you lose some.

I'll be back.

Yay me.

Blythe, your wheelhouse
of sweet and spicy

and the layers of flavor,

this is what it takes
to beat Bobby Flay.

And not just beat him
a little bit.

Like, really beat him until
he, like, weeps like a child.

You seem very confident
going into this round.

You're ready to win.

I didn't come all the way
from Texas to lose.

Oh, yeah.

That said,
what is your signature dish?

My signature dish is...

Cornish game hen.

I didn't see that coming.

I can't remember the last time
I cooked a Cornish game hen.

- Very holiday.
- I like it.

So, chefs, Anne and I will not
be the judges.

We'll bring in three experts
to do a blind taste test.

They'll taste
each of your dishes,

and they'll determine
which one they like the best.

You have 45 minutes,
and that time starts now!

All right. Here we go.

Cornish game hen.

My signature dish is

something my mom cooked
during the holidays,

so my plan is to stick with
very traditional ingredients,

but I'm taking it
to the next level.

I want to use flavors
that are rich and decadent

to make sure
that my dish takes Bobby down.

This one is gonna kill me.

I am definitely
not in my element.

I haven't cooked
Cornish game hens in awhile.

Classic Cornish game hen dish
is kind of

an individual serving bird
stuffed.

Yeah.

Like a little personal
roasted chicken.

Perfect for the holidays.

But are you gonna be able to
do that in 45 minutes?

45 minutes is tough.

He's taking the breast off.
Yeah.

He's not
cooking them whole.

I like it.
It's still
a Cornish game hen.

It's gonna take 35 to 40 minutes
to cook the whole hen,

so I'm gonna break the hens down
and cook them in a skillet.

I'm gonna pair it

with a wild mushroom
and goat cheese stuffing,

then I'm gonna do
some fried Brussels sprouts.

I see that he's cut down
his bird,

but I always served a whole bird

because the "wow" factor
is the whole bird.

I'm going to serve it
with a sage stuffing

and a cranberry jam.

She's not
opening those guys up.

I would be worried that
they wouldn't cook all the way

in this amount of time.

I'm moving
as quickly as I can.

Just stick that butter
up in the skin

because the fat from the butter
will help give me

that decadent flavor profile
I'm looking for

and keep the meat moist.

Butter underneath
the skin of it.

It's a great move.
So much flavor there.
Yeah, yeah.

Cornish game hen is a canvas
for big flavor,

so I like to use a spice rub,

you know, there's chili powder,
paprika, mustard.

It's gonna really bring a nice,
earthy flavor to the hens.

I'm gonna try to make the skin
a little bit crispy,

weigh it down
with another large pan.

Pulling out the tricks of the
trade to get these birds cooked.

I'm cooking my game hens
with carrots, onions, celery

because my game hens are gonna
add flavor to my vegetables,

which will all come together
to help make a sauce.

30 minutes, you guys.

All right, Blythe.

Your choice of Cornish game hens
in 45 minutes --

that's, like, fancy-pants.

That's me.

Tell me where we're at
with everything.

So, I got
my Cornish game hens in.

I'm getting
my stuffing working

with a little bacon fat, butter,
and onions and celery.

Like the way you roll.

I'm not going
the traditional route

of a dry stuffing mixture.

I do almost like
a custard-like base --

egg and cream in there.

It's gonna keep my stuffing
way more decadent.

And then I add in my sage, throw
in my onions and my celery.

How's it going, Bobby?
I'm a little behind.

My Cornish game hens
are still working.

Now I need to
get working on stuffing.

Some shallots,
some carrots, celery,

some wild mushrooms --
creminis and shiitakes --

'cause I want a nice,
earthy stuffing.

What are you doing
with goat cheese?

I'm gonna put some goat cheese
into the stuffing.

The goat cheese is going to add
a really nice richness.

22 minutes on the clock,
chefs.

Bobby's got a lot
of mushrooms, goat cheese.

Lot of flavors going on
in there.

On Blythe's side,
all those spices,

like, so earthy.

I love that.

How's it going, Blythe?

Ooh!

She stressing out
a little bit?

I get the stuffing in the pan
and into the oven,

but I check on my hens
and they are just --

They're not cooking.

She keeps opening
the oven,

and so the oven
keeps losing heat.

This is totally
stressing me out.

I've got to get a cooked bird
on this plate

or it's over.

19 minutes!

It's so stressful right now.

Like, time's running out

and my game hens
are just not cooking.

They are not behaving,

so I'm, like,
laser-focusing bird cookery.

Blythe, how we looking?
I'm concerned.

Need me to put an apron on?
No.

I don't want to
ruin this suit.
I got a plan.

I know
that I have to do something,

so I start cutting these birds

and get heat
inside of them faster

so I can cook my birds
all the way through.

There you go.
Keep working.

It's hot.

Like, finger-burning,
skin-searing hot.

Don't mash them up.

Just got to make sure
you make them beautiful.

I get them back in the oven.

It's like stress upon stress
upon stress.

But I look over and Bobby
is scrambling, too,

so, you know, neck and neck.

I'm feeling a little stressed
about the time.

I have my stuffing in the oven.

My Cornish game hens
are still working.

The meat is very tender.

I didn't want it
to be overcooked,

so I'm gonna put them
in the oven,

this way it will cook
really evenly

and nice and slowly.

Lookit.
Bobby is sweating.

She really put him
through his paces.

I believe
that this girl's gonna own it

as long as those chickens
are cooked.

You got 15 minutes left.

Blythe, let's go.
Let's get this stuff done.

Time is ticking down,
and I am drowning.

I still have to finish
my sauce.

I'm using all these vegetables

that I originally cut up
for the hens.

I deglaze with some wine
and then I throw in some butter.

She is not afraid
of using that fat crutch.

Butter and booze
really just enhances flavors.

Flavortown. Feel like
that's where she lives --

in Flavortown.

Well, thank you.

Well, it looks like
I'm gonna have to bring out

the big guns of flavor
if I want to win this.

So I'm gonna do
pomegranate glaze

and brush it on top of my hens.

So it's pomegranate molasses,
Dijon, lots of black pepper.

I try to hit the judges
over the head with big flavors.

How you doing, Chef?
What's up, dude?

Look at that stuff.

The master of his domain.

There's a reason
why the guy's Bobby Flay.

You know what I mean?
Look at that stuff.

What are you deep-frying?
Brussels sprouts.

I'm gonna put some
fried Brussels sprouts
on top of the hen.

That will give it a little bit
of crispiness and a good
contrast with texture.

10 minutes left, chefs.

She got cranberries.

That, to me,
just screams holidays.

But, I mean,
I don't think she has time.

My cranberry jam,
it's got butter,

we got orange jest,
a bunch of hard spices in there,

cayenne 'cause I want the heat,

brown sugar,
orange-flavored liqueur.

It's gonna be
a beautiful balance

between sweet and the boozy.

It's definitely
a rich, decadent dish.

The problem is, you have to cook
cranberries slow and low

till the sugar starts
to break down the actual fruit.

Blythe is spending
a tremendous amount of time

on those cranberries.
On the cranberries.

Oh, my God.

It's like she's gonna
give those cranberries

a nervous breakdown.

Blythe,
stop stirring your cranberries

and just do your chickens!

Anne is shouting at me
to check on my hens,

and thank God she did.

Boo.

I look at my hens
and they're quite pale,

still not cooked.

I'm nervous.

All right.
Your hens are very pale still.

Yeah.

What are you gonna do?

What are you gonna do?
Pray.

That's not good enough.
What are you gonna do?

No, I'm gonna stick them
in the fryer.

I get a hen in the fryer.

The problem is,
my birds are this big

and my fryer is this big,

and I can't wait
for one bird to cook

and then add another one.

There's not time for that.

She's not gonna get done.

So I grab some pans,
literally do anything I can

to get these birds cooked.

- Nerve-wracking stuff.
- How much time?

Less than three minutes.

Looks like Blythe is having
a little bit of a hard time

getting her whole hens cooked.

I'm glad that I actually started
by breaking down the birds.

I might be giving up
a little bit of presentation,

but, you know,
I'm just gonna bring the flavor.

Let's go, chefs!
Get it done, get it done!

I'm just kind of running
all over the place,

but I do need to start plating.

Get the stuffing,
the three pieces of the hen,

pomegranate glaze on top
of the hens,

and as a garnish,
pomegranate seeds

and then some of the crispy
Brussels sprouts at the end.

By some Christmas miracle,

I think my hens
are gonna be done in time,

but I want to keep them cooking
till the last possible second.

30 seconds!

Let's get it done, Blythe!
Let's get it done!

Look, she's got stuffing.
She's got her birds.

She's got a sauce.

She's got
a complete dish.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.

All right.

10, 9...

8, 7...

6, 5...

4, 3...

2, 1.

That killed me.

I'm impressed that Blythe
got her whole hens cooked,

but I think that I'm gonna try
to win it on flavor.

My God.

I'm taking
a really big risk here

by cooking my game hens
two different ways,

but I had to get my Cornish
game hens cooked on a plate,

and I'm not worried because
I know my flavors are huge.

Blythe, Bobby,
congratulations on finishing.

Thank you.
Thank you.

That was a nail-biter
right down to the wire.

And now we'd like to
introduce you to your judges.

First up is the chef
and cookbook author

of "Exotic Table,"
Aliya Leekong.

And next to her,
twin brothers

and hosts of Heritage Radio's
"Snacky Toons,"

Greg and Darin Bresnitz.

Judges, as you know,
this is a blind taste test,

so please start with the dish
in front of you.

I think it's a lot of fun
to get a whole bird.

It's very holiday.

That being said, as I worked
my way in from the bird,

it got juicy to drier,

and then there's definitely
some undercooked stuff here,

especially for the parts
of the breast.

You know, 45 minutes,
it's just really tough.

I would agree.

It's a little bit drier
on the fried,

but the skin is perfect.

We sort of had
different preparations.

There was
a nicely crisped fried one

in the center,
so we had to share.

I think if fried had been the
intention from the beginning,

it could have been
a really beautiful way

of preparing.

What do you think about
the cranberries?

Cranberry sauce is pretty
on point,

especially with this type
of custard stuffing.

The cranberry sauce
is nice

'cause it cuts through it
a little bit.

There's a lot of flavor
in the stuffing.

I love that pop of sage.

I'm proud of my food,

but I just don't know
if it's gonna go my way.

Judges, please try the second
plate that's in front of you.

The skin is perfect
with really juicy meat.

But I think
having three parts

takes some
of the decadence away.

And then
the pomegranate molasses

is a little sweet for me.

The stuffing
was really flavorful.

I love the goat cheese
in there.

It balanced out
some of that pomegranate,

and the bird
was perfectly cooked.

I would agree, but I wish
I had more Brussels sprouts.

It seemed almost like
a garnish or an afterthought

when it could have really added
to the overall dish.

I don't know which way
this is gonna go.

Blythe went really kind of
old-school comfort food,

which is the way
a lot of people eat at holidays.

But I just took
a more modern approach

to the Cornish game hen.

Chefs, the judges have voted,

and the winner is...

Bobby Flay.

Good job.

Chef, great job.

I just thought that Bobby's dish
was a little bit more flavorful

and just
cooked through evenly,

but I love
getting a whole hen.

It's a very decadent dish.

You did a really good job.

Thank you. Thank you.

Today I tried
to go big or go home,

and it looks like
I'm going home.

But Bobby was sweating today.

I feel like I gave him
a run for his money.

One more time.

We know. You won.
You can punch out.

I was hoping to give him, like,
a lump of coal in his stocking,

- but you know what?
- We lost.

There we go. Happy holidays.
There it is.
Happy holidays, Bobby.

Thanks.
Thanks for nothing.

Well, nothing rounds out
the holidays

like a twist on a classic,
and that's why I got the win.

Happy holidays, everybody.