On a sunny morning last week, the closed doors of Sazon, a Puerto Rican restaurant in New York City, had signs up saying the restaurant was closed for a Food Network taping. Inside, about 60 people stood around a makeshift kitchen set up in the restaurant’s dining room under bright lights and the roaming lenses of video cameras. Chef Frank Maldonado told the audience—largely made up of his friends and restaurant staff—about his love of empanadas, and that he was excited to be showing them (as well as the Food Network cameras) how to make his specialty: empanadas with a guava and Puerto Rican rum sauce. He then joined a musical trio in the corner of the room, and took a turn playing the bongo drums. “Empanadas!” he sang, getting the crowd to join in. After a minute or two of pulsing beats, rigorous clapping, and cries of “Empanadas!” a man strode across the stage toward the musicians, and tapped Maldonado on the shoulder. The man was Bobby Flay.
Flay, star of the Food Network show Throwdown with Bobby Flay, seemed confident as he said to chef Frank, “You’re awesome on the bongos—so I’m glad this isn’t a bongo throwdown. But how about an empanada throwdown?” The crowd went wild. A woman in the audience turned to the man next to her and said, “You shoulda told me!” He smiled, saying, “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
The question of is it or isn’t it a surprise when Bobby Flay shows up to restaurants to challenge the chef, who is renowned for a particular dish or cuisine, to a cook-off is a hot topic among fans of the show. But although it probably won’t be officially answered anytime soon, the show continues to surge in popularity. It is in its eighth season and Clarkson Potter just released Bobby Flay’s Throwdown! More Than 100 Recipes from Food Network’s Ultimate Cooking Challenge by Flay and his assistants, Stephanie Banyas and Miriam Garron. It is Flay’s 10th cookbook but the first one directly associated with this show.
As Flay and Maldonado got to work on their empanadas, the audience shouted out, “Let’s see whatcha got, Bobby!” and “Bring it!” Flay responded, “That’s why I’m here—I’m bringin’ it!” The two chefs traded friendly barbs while Flay whacked his empanada dough with a rolling pin and Maldonado, egged on by the crowd, poured more and more rum into his sauce.
Food Network execs made everyone promise not to reveal the winner before the episode airs. Flay’s record on the show isn’t great, though, and that’s mirrored in the book: out of the 50 challenges it features, from breakfast to lasagna to fried chicken and waffles, the contenders won 34 throwdowns, Flay won 14, and two were ties. Back at Sazon, although the crowd was welcoming to Bobby, it was clear they were rooting for Chef Frank.
