Bobby Flay's Throwdown! (2 page)

Throwdown…It sounds like a brutal death match between two wrestlers or an Ultimate Fighting Championship cage fight. But in fact, a Throwdown is a friendly surprise competition and the best part about it is the ending, when we all get to eat some seriously delicious food.

The genesis for
Throwdown!
was pretty simple. When I had taped close to one hundred episodes of a show called
Food Nation
for Food Network a few years ago, I realized that by traveling around the country I had been privileged to meet so many wonderful people who were cooking, smoking, deep-frying, steaming, and baking these amazing regional dishes. Filming the show across America had really opened my eyes to how incredibly rich our country is when it comes to our food and the people who cook it.

Couple that with the fact that I have always felt that good cooks are at their best when they are not overthinking what they’re doing—but instead making their particular specialties—and the germ of the idea for
Throwdown!
was born. What if I assembled a group of covert researchers to find the best cooks in America—those so known for a single dish that they have become celebrities in their own community, local heroes who have won their neighbors’ hearts with the dishes they are passionate about?

And that’s how it all started. The setup, which does involve a few white lies so we can keep our cover, goes something like this: We find someone terrific and tell them that Food Network wants to shoot a special with them. We tell them that over the next few days we want to see what they do in terms of shopping and prepping the food, and that we’d like to meet their friends and family because we want to hear great things about them that they can’t say about themselves. While all of this is going on, I’m practicing and strategizing with my two trusted assistants, Stephanie and Miriam, to make a version of what our guest chef is making. At some point the production team asks the star to create a small party to celebrate their special on Food Network.

Then comes the moment of truth. Just when everything is going along swimmingly, I crash the party and politely challenge our star to a Throwdown, right then and there. For me, this is both the most exciting and the most nerve-racking moment of the show. The same questions run through my mind every time: Will they accept the Throwdown and be into it or will they show me the door? Do they know what the show is or am I going to have to explain it to them in the heat of excitement? And do they even know who I am? (Trust me, several people have not.)

So far, I have to say we have had wonderful success with people being incredibly gracious and receptive, despite our little white lie—OK, big fat lie. It’s always a good time and a win-win situation for everyone. I get to meet some of the nicest people, travel to some of the best places in this country, and, most important, eat absolutely great food. Also, I can honestly say that I learn something valuable at every Throwdown, including how to make the perfect puffy taco shell with Diana Barrios Treviño in San Antonio; award-winning Texas chili with Cindy Reed Wilkins in Houston; truly crispy fish and chips with Mat Arnfeld, a British national who now resides in New York City; the most delicious, rich, gooey sticky buns with Joanne Chang in Boston; and how to become a certified pitmaster cranking out perfectly barbecued and smoked pulled pork sandwiches with Lee Ann Whippen in Virginia.

And the competitors? They get national exposure for themselves and their food on one of the top-rated shows on Food Network, where they will be seen by millions of people over and over again. Food Network fans are loyal and curious and I’m thrilled that they’ve been so supportive of the small businesses that we’ve featured on
Throwdown!

In the end, it’s not about who wins or loses. In fact—a little behind-the-scenes info—when I initially pitched the show idea to Food Network, I specifically spelled out that there would
not
be a formal panel of judges. My idea was to just have a bunch of clips of people eating both dishes and giving their
comments
so that viewers could decide for themselves who “won.” Then we’d fade to black, almost like at the end of a good movie that doesn’t quite wrap everything up and leaves you thinking about what might have happened—or what happens next. In the end it was decided that there would be a formal judging at each Throwdown to determine a winner. My record is not very good in terms of wins, but that is OK with me.
Throwdown!
is much more than just a show to me. Ultimately, it’s about the people we meet and the food they teach us to love.

Ironically, I get challenged a couple dozen times a day: on the subway, in my restaurants, on the street, on an airplane…everywhere. But it doesn’t work that way. We have to find you. If you challenge me, you’ll know I’m coming and that ruins part of the fun.

If you want my best advice on how to become a competitor on
Throwdown!
here it is: Be the best at what you do, do it with passion, and do it with a smile. I have three full-time researchers constantly on the lookout for amazing food and the people who make it. They have their ears to the ground and are listening to what people are saying about folks cooking around the country. If you are good, we will find you.

So to all of you awesome cooks out there, keep doing what you do, but ask yourself this: Are you ready for a Throwdown?

            
Bobby Flay

“I was completely and utterly surprised when Bobby showed up in my yard. I didn’t know what to do, so I gave him a big bear hug. Bobby spent his Sunday afternoon talking to my friends as if he had known us all of his life. What a great guy.”

—BUTCH LUPINETTI