Sep 28, 2009 09:48
Am I alone in thinking that Bobby Flay is an asshole?
He's got this show on Food Network called Throwdown, in which people are told they'll be starring in a Food Network special. In this special, they'll showing how they make their signature dish. Naturally, as a chef, they get very excited that Food Network has recognized their dish as so awesome that it should be broadcast on the Food Network. Then along comes Bobby Flay who challenges them to a cookoff, in which he attempts to remake their signature dish in his own way, and then gets judges to swing by and perform a blind taste test to decide which one is better.
Just yesterday I was watching an episode of throwdown in which Bobby Flay's challenge is to remake a German Chocolate Cake which is made special by a woman who owns a bakery in Harlem. The woman's recipe is one that is passed down from her own mother. She goes on the show, all excited that Food Network is paying attention to her, and then in walks Bobby Flay to a cheering crowd (which strikes me as odd that the whole crowd knew who he was). He challenges her, she naturally accepts, and during the whole baking process she mentions that she's had 20 years of experience and a recipe that's survived for 2 generations. How much experience with baking has Bobby had? He wryly mentions "about 6 months now."
So in walks the judges (both of which are black, and I'm SURE that was intentional but I digress), both accomplished bakers and culinary professors, and which one do they choose? Bobby Flay's cake. They cheer, Flay does the whole "wow how did that happen I thought for sure you would win" bullshit, they accept defeat graciously and in an almost humbled tone say "Well we didn't win, but I hope people will come visit us and try my family's german chocolate cake." Then Bobby flay goes home to his multi-million dollar mansion where he'll make southwestern tex-mex food in his ultra-modern kitchen with his $2000 knife block set while his combatants must fade into the background and NEVER GET MENTIONED ON FOOD NETWORK AGAIN.
Now...does that sound just the slightest bit shitty? Even if you win you're just a fleeting memory on food network. Thanks Bobby Flay, you won again. Thanks for letting me know you're better than me. That's like, say you're a guitar player and you play so well your entire neighborhood knows you as "that guy that can play a mean guitar" or something, and then say MTV or whatever shows up at your door and says "We think you're awesome, can you play something you just wrote for us and we'll put it on national television?" Obviously you'd say fuck yes because woohoo you're finally getting recognized! Then just as you're playing it Steve Vai walks in and goes "I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU" and he re-makes the song you wrote into this incredible work of art and two musical judges have to judge whether or not the song you didn't even know you were going to use to compete against Steve Vai with can even compare to Vai's work. Then you lose, Vai says "hey good try though man keep on playing" and you never hear from MTV again. ever.
I imagine the feeling slightly similar to date rape. Just y'know, less crying in the shower.
Wow I haven't touched this in a while.