What Beats Bobby Flay? 5 Dishes That Cost Him The Win

It’s a pivotal moment in each episode of Beat Bobby Flay. The chef, having bested their rival in the preliminary round, faces Bobby Flay and declares the dish that they’ve decided will bring him down. There’s a lot of strategy involved in that one moment; the dish has to be innovative enough to impress the judges but not stray too far from tradition (a classic rookie mistake). In addition, there’s the calculation to make of what – or what doesn’t – fall within Bobby’s considerable wheelhouse.

What many competitors forget about Bobby Flay is that he has French Culinary Institute credentials, which means he’s got a grounding in the classics. Although his claim to fame is through the Southwestern flavours that have defined most of his career, Bobby can cook in a variety of styles and if he hasn’t made something before, he can reverse engineer a recipe with the best of them.

What, then, have aspiring hopefuls brought to the Flay arena to challenge this master in his own domain? Throughout a whopping 28 seasons, veterans with kitchen chops and newly-minted beginners have hoped to beat Bobby at his own game with their own specialty dishes. Savvy competitors generally follow one of two strategies: whipping out a highly regional secret or adapting a technique-heavy recipe to the time specifications of the competition. The following are some of the dishes that have taken Bobby Flay out on his own grounds, and some recipes in case you want to compete in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Tacos

Some challengers go gunning for Bobby’s specialties, wanting to prove they can top a famous chef for bragging rights (and probably some advertising advantages). It’s no surprise, then, that contestants have taken on Bobby in tacos on four separate occasions – what’s a bit of a mystery is that three out of the four went home victorious (Bobby won the shrimp taco challenge handily).

Whether the fillings were meat, fried fish or marinated fish, Bobby lost on three occasions to chefs Brian Tsao, Johnny Zone and Andrew Bent, respectively.

Try it yourself with this Canadian fish tacos recipe.

Soufflé

It’s become de rigueur for chefs on cooking competitions to proclaim that they aren’t bakers in order to set expectations for their poor pastry skills. On this show, however, the guests often aim right for Bobby’s weak spot in baking, and a standard soufflé turned out to be his double downfall. Soufflés are often avoided in competition due to the need to keep all fat away from the egg whites. This is difficult in an open kitchen with contestants and ingredients whirling around and the split-second timing required risks the soufflé sinking from glorious puffiness to deflated sadness.

Bobby lost the battle for both savoury and sweet soufflés to chefs Lauren Brown and Olivier Palazzo, both of whom whipped up a win.

Try it yourself with this chocolate soufflé recipe.

Empanadas

Another dish that varies widely by region of origin (they can come from countries from the Philippines to Argentina), empanadas were also a source of consternation for Bobby. He’s lost three times here as well, as different chefs went home with the victory in their pocket.

Beef empanadas were especially challenging, causing him to lose to chefs Rosana Rivera and Aaron Rivera (no relation). Bobby’s lack of prowess with making the rich, fat-based pastry – an integral part of a successful empanada –ultimately led him to lose.

Try it yourself with this Argentinian beef empanadas recipe.

Napoleon

When it comes to the world of baking, François Payard is a fearsome competitor. The pastry chef has worked at the Parisian temple of gastronomy, La Tour D’Argent, as well as New York’s Le Bernadin and Restaurant Daniel. It’s no wonder that his Napoleon conquered Bobby’s attempt at the complex, multi-levelled puff pastry and custard/almond paste creation.

François’ secret weapon – a praline puffed rice – added extra crunch and texture in contrast to the softness of the creamy filling and the flaky puff pastry and scored him the win.

Try it yourself with this chocolate napoleon recipe.

Gnocchi

Pasta has long been a nemesis for Bobby (he once got a knife stuck in a pasta roller, much to judge Sunny Anderson’s delight), and it turns out that gnocchi is no different. He has lost two gnocchi battles (and won a third version where he turned to potato gnocchi instead) to Kristine Kittrell and Toronto’s own Ivana Raca.

Ivana has cooked around the world, has previously worked for Top Chef Canada judge Mark McEwan and beat Bobby with her truffle gnocchi. 

Try it yourself with this ricotta gnocchi recipe.

Tune into Beat Bobby Flay Fridays at 9Pm ET/PT. Watch and stream your favourite Food Network Canada shows anytime, live or on demand on STACKTV and the Global TV App. Visit the Where to Watch page for more information.