I'm Bobby Flay, each week,
one brave chef will try to take me down in my house.
This is my show.
Today it is, tomorrow, who knows?
-[audience] Ooh! -Trash talking.
This culinary battle is gonna shake down in two rounds.
-[bell dings] -Round one, to get to me, two contenders have to go
through each other using an ingredient of my choice.
It's do or die, Bobby.
[Bobby] Two people that know me well will decide
who's got the skills to beat me. -Yeah!
-[bell dings] -[Bobby] Round two, I go head-to-head
with the winning contender. -Let's go!
[Bobby] It's their turn to surprise me with their signature dish.
-What? -Ah!
Don't try this at home.
I know you did it, Bobby!
[Bobby] Bottom line?
You're gonna run out of time!
Everyone's out to beat me.
[snaps]
[bell dings]
[Bobby] We've got some heavy hitters in the house tonight,
and they are teaming up to take me down.
Food Network's Antonia Lofaso and culinary legend,
the one and only, Wolfgang Puck.
[audience cheering and clapping]
-OK. -All right, what's up Wolf?
-I'm like... -[audience cheering]
[audience clapping]
All right, quiet please, we have work to do.
We have work to do. Thanks so much for coming back.
-Thank you. -[Bobby] It's always great to see you.
You revolutionized food in this country and you gave people
like me and Antonia a job. -[Wolfgang] You know what?
It's a pleasure to see young people like you doing even
better than me. -Are you talking to me?
-[Wolfgang] Yeah. -Young?
[all laughing]
So the crazy part is that you worked for Wolfgang.
[Antonia] Actually, right out of culinary school.
Every time you came in, you tested me and you gave me,
like, such a huge tutorial and I have dreams about it still. -[Bobby] Sure.
But still to this day, I make the best omelet because of you.
-Absolutely. -I just absolutely love that.
All right, so let's start cooking.
Let's get this thing going.
I know, we got so excited, like, the legend's in the house
were like, "We wanna hobnob all day." -I know.
But the truth of the matter is, we're here for a very specific job, Chef.
We're gonna see you go down.
The bad news is you always do your job.
-[all laughing] -He does, he does.
Oh, let's bring in some chefs.
Our first contender has three restaurant concepts.
-From Brooklyn... -[audience cheering]
[Antonia]...Chef Fany Gerson.
[audience cheering]
[upbeat music plays]
Our next contender is actually Fany's husband.
-[audience] Ohh! -Interesting.
[Wolfgang] It's Chef Danny Ortiz de Montellano.
[audience cheering]
Aww!
[all laughing]
♪♪
Cold as ice.
[all laughing]
[Bobby] Good evening, Fany, Danny.
Are you sure you wanna do this?
-100%. -[audience laughing]
My son says I'm the better chef, so...
-[Antonia gasps] -[Bobby] Ooh!
-[audience] Ohh! -What?
No, no, no, no, no.
I clearly am the better chef.
How long have you been married for?
-Six years, seven years. -Uh...six, seven years.
[all laughing]
This round is gonna be way better than the second round.
That I -- that I can see for sure.
Here's the way it's gonna work, I'm gonna give you
an ingredient of my choice, and you must make that
ingredient the star of your dish.
And that ingredient is...
[tense music plays]
...pumpkin seeds.
[audience clapping] Ohh!
Uh, I'm worried. She's good with pepitas.
Fany's gonna beat me.
She makes one of the best pipián, which is a mole
that's made with pepitas.
The first time I ever did anything for her was
with pepitas. -What'd you make?
I made a pumpkin pie,
which she never tried, by the way.
[all laughing]
Uh, this is amazing.
All right, so, uh, Mr. Wolfgang Puck,
Antonia Lofaso, and they will decide which one of you goes up
against me in the second round.
No pressure at all, just Wolfgang Puck.
-I'm easy. -[Bobby] Yeah.
[all laughing]
OK, guys, 20 minutes on the clock.
Best pepita wishes for the Mr. and Mrs.
-[bell dings] -[audience clapping] Whoo!
[upbeat music plays]
[Antonia] I love pepitas.
[Bobby] In Mexican cuisine, they make pumpkin seed sauces.
-[Antonia] Oh, yeah. -You know, I like the pepitas
roasted with a little salt and spices on it
and the tequila.
[all laughing]
-Fany, what are you making? -Um, I'm not sure yet.
[all laughing]
Danny thinks I'm gonna make the pipián, so I pivot.
I am making a pepita parfait with sweet mascarpone
and the pepita caramel.
First, I am doing candied pepitas with some egg whites,
sugar, cinnamon, and ginger.
Then I'm also roasting some pepitas before adding them
to a caramel. -And what about Danny?
I'm gonna make some sikil pak shrimp,
and I'm gonna put some little tostadas on the side.
I'm gonna do a sikil pak, which is a spicy habanero
pepita paste.
It's a perfect vehicle for a protein like shrimp.
Chefs, we're coming up on 15 minutes and 30 seconds.
[audience clapping]
All right, Fany, I feel like you have to figure out what you're making.
[Fany laughs] So I'm making whipped mascarpone
with a pepita caramel and candied pepita.
[Danny] She did throw a curveball right now.
What was the curveball?
Because I thought she was gonna do her pipián,
so now I'm like, "I should have done pipián."
Was that a strategy? Did you know?
-Yeah, 100% it was a strategy. -Mommy's gotta win.
I have worked in some really amazing restaurants
in New York City.
Eventually, I got my first job as a pastry chef.
My first cookbook was nominated for a James Beard Award.
And then my husband and I opened Fan-Fan Doughnuts,
La Newyorkina, and Mijo, which is inspired by our son.
I need to prove to him that I am the better chef.
And not only I'm not gonna beat Danny, but I'm gonna beat Bobby.
All right, Danny, what are we doing with the shrimp?
[Danny] So we're gonna poach the shrimp.
Is this something that you've made before?
-Yes, it is. -Yeah? In restaurant or for family?
-For restaurant and family. -OK, good luck to you.
Yeah, thank you.
When I got out of culinary school,
I was working as a line cook. Then at age 25,
I created my own food facility management company,
and I would create menus for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.
I met Fany when I moved to New York from Mexico City in 2014,
and our son, Gael, was born in 2018.
The one that actually cooks the meals at home
is yours truly.
I just wanna prove to Gael that his dad can beat Mom,
and I'm gonna do so. -[Wolfgang] Coming up on eight minutes.
Fany, what are you gonna do with that?
[Fany] I'm gonna caramelize the apples.
[Wolfgang] And let's see in here.
-And you think you're gonna be ready in eight minutes or less? -Uh...
You know, I have a plane to catch, so I won't be here all night.
[all laughing]
I think Danny is really nervous over there.
I can see he's sweating.
You think he gonna sleep in a doghouse tonight?
[all laughing]
Danny, you know there's no way you can win this thing.
If you win, you lose. If you lose, you lose.
-So, what are you still doing? -[Danny] I'm poaching shrimps.
-You cooked them perfectly. -Oh, thank you.
Let's hear it for Fany and Danny, everyone.
-[audience cheering] -[Wolfgang] Yeah!
This is the best.
[Antonia] We got four minutes on the clock.
[Danny] I grab the vegetables from the salamander,
put them in the food processor with the pepitas,
but while I'm blitzing, I remember --
"Oh, my God, I forgot to toast the pepitas."
But it's too late.
I grab my tostadas, I smear a little bit of the sikil pak
on top of them, a little bit of the shrimp.
Only two minutes left.
Fany, you gotta get stuff on the plate.
[Fany] I just put the mascarpone in each plate,
then I grab some the apples,
grab some of the candied pepitas,
and I put them all over, but the caramel hasn't finished.
It's not as dark as I'd like it to be,
so we're down to the wire. -Danny, you got 60 seconds.
I'm just like a chicken without a head.
I can't have my son thinking that Danny's the better chef,
but it's not looking good.
OK, OK.
[Bobby] Fifteen seconds.
You got it, Fany, let's go!
[Fany] I'm trying to finish the caramel.
[Antonia] Come on, come on!
I put some heavy cream so it's saucy,
and I add some pepitas. -You gotta plate, gotta plate!
[Fany] As I'm pouring, I realize that it's too thick.
Go, go, go! Pour, pour, pour!
[audience] ...three, two, one, whoo!
-[bell dings] -All right.
-Oh, my God! -[all clapping]
[Fany] It is a mess on the plate.
I haven't even looked at what Danny's done,
but hoping that he screwed up somehow as well.
Fany and Danny, what's more important, beating each other
or beating this one right in the middle?
-I think beating... -Beating Bobby.
I'm really glad that everybody has their priorities straight.
Chef Danny, tell us what you made.
I made a sikil pak tostada, poached shrimp on top.
The shrimp is cooked perfectly,
and the sikil pak feels very fresh and bright,
but I think to really get the full flavor of the pepita,
it needed to toast.
[Wolfgang] I love the crunch of the pepitas.
The shrimps are good, but I thought the presentation
was a little messy.
Chef Fany, what did you make?
I made a pepita caramel parfait.
This is the most brilliant way to incorporate the pepita,
like a pepita caramel.
The caramel, unfortunately, has really seized up.
I love the pepitas with the sugar, with the cinnamon,
but the caramel could have been darker.
Work a little bit on the presentation,
and you beat Bobby easy.
Give Wolfgang and I just a second to discuss.
[Fany] Danny and my presentation needed work,
so I'm hoping the flavors are enough
to be able to make it to the next round.
The chef moving forward tonight is...
[tense music plays]
...Chef Danny.
-[audience cheering] -[indistinct]
Even though I didn't prove to Gael that Mommy
-Good job. -[Fany]...is a better chef than Papi,
I still think that he's gonna be proud.
Danny, do you think your wife will ever forgive you?
I don't know. I think I have to cook tonight.
I don't think you have to cook.
You better go and buy her a nice piece
of jewelry or something. -[Antonia] Exactly.
[all laughing]
[upbeat music plays]
All right, Danny, congratulations, uh,
on beating your wife. -Thank you, Chef.
-[all laughing] -Good luck.
All right, so what are we cooking tonight?
-What is your signature dish? -My signature dish is...
♪♪
...steak torta.
Steak torta?
-Ahh. -Ohh.
[Bobby] I like that.
A little Mexican steak sandwich, yes.
All right, 45 minutes on the clock.
-Let's go! -[audience cheering]
So let's talk about a steak torta.
It's essentially a Mexican-inspired steak sandwich.
I would sear the meat really well.
And I think the bread has to be really tender
to soak up all the juices of the meat.
Danny, did you make it for your wife also?
I have made it for my wife, yes.
-It's amazing. -Thank you, my love.
So a classic steak torta has to have a refried bean base,
good cut of meat, and pickled vegetables.
Danny, what kind of meat are you using?
[Danny] A cut called teres major, it has a texture of
a filet mignon, but the taste of a skirt steak.
Bobby, what kind of meat you are having?
[Bobby] Spice-rubbed skirt steak.
I'm making spice-rubbed skirt steak torta with avocado
and charred jalapeno relish, and some red chili fries.
-I got some American cheese. -[Antonia] No!
[all laughing]
Chefs, 36 minutes to go.
All right, Danny, teres major, you're making
your own sort of, like, wet seasoning for it?
Yeah, exactly.
The marinade, it's soy sauce, lime and rice vinegar.
And then I see chicharrón.
The chicharrón is just to give it a little crunch at the end,
to give it a little texture. -So it's almost like putting,
like, potato chips inside your sandwich. -Yeah, exactly.
-[Antonia] Right? But instead we're gonna -- -That's the same idea.
All right, Fany, you're, like, cheering him on
right now. -Oh, my God, I'm so excited!
-So you're not mad anymore? -No, no, no.
-[Antonia] OK, good. -Bobby, he doesn't know what's coming.
[audience] Ooh!
Is this, like, the sandwich, though, that'll, like, keep you married?
-Yeah. -You heard that?
-Yeah, I heard that. -OK, take note.
OK, good.
[Bobby] I'm making a smoked chili sauce.
It's chipotle chilies, some mayonnaise,
some Dijon mustard, some honey.
This is gonna bring heat, acidity, and some sweetness.
Well, that's not very good.
It's actually really good.
[all laughing]
I'm using some white American cheese.
-I know, you mentioned it. -Yeah, did I?
-[Antonia] Yeah. -I'm really excited about that.
[Antonia] Um, is white American cheese,
like, really good on steak tortas?
-No, it's not. -[all laughing]
[Bobby] American cheese is good on everything.
[Danny] Oh, I love American cheese.
It just doesn't go with a torta.
What's making me very nervous
is that Bobby's not breaking a sweat.
And I can't lose today because beating Bobby
will prove to Gael that Papi is a great chef.
[tense music plays]
[Wolfgang] We got 30 minutes to go.
[audience clapping] Whoo!
Everything on Chef Danny's station
sounds so delicious.
The textures, he's talking about, like, chicharrón that
are going in with the steak.
He's doing a black bean paste that's going at the bottom.
Then I go over to Bobby's station.
He's being very, very specific.
It's like a sauce, a cheese, steak,
and I tasted a sauce, and it's really good.
[Danny] So the next thing I start working on is
pickled vegetables.
So I grab some cauliflower, jalapenos, and carrots.
I want to get them really tiny.
[Fany speaking Spanish]
[Danny] But I hear Fany's voice.
[Fany speaking Spanish]
[Danny] Having Fany in the audience is great, but at the same time,
don't backseat cook. [laughs]
[Bobby] It's time to fry my french fries.
I blanch them in oil at 300 degrees,
and then the 375-degree fry at the end
makes them golden-brown and crispy.
[Danny] I have to finish my beans.
[Wolfgang] Are the beans cooked?
-[Danny] Yes, they are cooked. -OK.
[Danny] Put it on the pan with a little bit of onion,
start mashing them, and then add a little bit
of chorizo. -Only 21 minutes left.
[Danny] Next, I'm gonna put my steaks on the plancha,
let them cook off.
So it's interesting, Danny can cook his steak rare
or medium rare the way he wants. His skirt steak is very thin.
Bobby has to be really careful of not overcooking it.
I just love the flavor of skirt steak.
I'm gonna put a spice rub on it.
There's paprika, ancho chiles, there's New Mexico chiles,
and I sear 'em in a cast-iron pan very hot,
so that the spice rub becomes a crust.
While that's happening, I'm making an avocado
and charred jalapeno relish, and then for the bread,
it's kind of like a Cuban roll. It's very soft and pillowy.
I'm just gonna toast 'em
[Danny] For my bread,
I just need to get a little color on it.
It looks like Danny spread a big nugget of butter onto
his bread, doing like a quick little toast.
I mean, here's the thing, though, it's like so annoying
is that Bobby's been down to the wire so many times. -Yeah.
[Antonia] And he always ends up pulling it off.
So, Chef, you've been
the chef of the Oscars for what? -30 years.
I think to mess with Bobby, like, host your own award show.
You mean The Bobbys?
[all laughing]
[triumphant fanfare plays]
In Hollywood, you get an Oscar.
At this show, we call it the Bobbys.
I like it.
Well, the biggest Food Network star is...
[drum roll intensifies]
...Antonio Lofaso.
It's me?
Are you serious? Oh, my goodness.
I just wanna say thank you so much, specifically...
-You're so welcome. -...to Chef Wolfgang.
I wanna say thank you to Fany. I wanna say thank you to Danny.
And I don't wanna say thank you to Bobby.
-[Wolfgang] No? -[Bobby] Thank you.
OK, I'm gonna go back to my seat now.
-[Wolfgang] OK, good. -[audience clapping]
And the best chef in the "Beat Bobby Flay" arena is...
he's an Iron Chef... -Iron Chef?
...he's a winner of James Beard Award.
-Wolfgang Puck? -Me, Wolfgang Puck, yes.
[all laughing]
-I'll thank my mother and Bobby. -Thank you very much.
See you next year at the Bobbys.
OK, see you later.
I guess I got left out of the Bobbys this year.
That's OK, I have a lot to do.
[Wolfgang] What else do you have to make?
[Bobby] I have to make the avocado.
Oh, I got to put jalapenos in there.
-It's bland, right? -Ah, yeah, you're right.
[Fany speaking Spanish]
[Wolfgang] All right, Danny.
-What are you doing here? -[Danny] Cooking my meat.
[Wolfgang] How are you going to cook it, medium rare or...?
[Danny] Medium rare.
You know, I -- I like my beef pretty rare,
so I have a little bite. -[Danny] Oh, OK.
Sounds good.
-Mmm, I love the lime on it. -Thank you.
[Wolfgang] But it needs a little more, you can see.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, my God, it's raw.
If I don't get the steak cooked,
I won't be able to serve this.
[Antonia] Only four minutes left.
[Danny] My steak still needs to be cooked.
That needed to be started way earlier.
[Danny] The fastest way is just to slice it up,
put it back on the plancha, and I hope for the best.
[Bobby] I slather some smoked chili sauce,
a couple pieces of American cheese.
There's your American cheese. You're so happy about it.
[Bobby] I'm choosing American cheese
because it's the perfect melting cheese.
But I'm also gonna add some Mexican cheese,
a Cotija cheese, because it actually gives it some texture
and tons of flavor.
[Antonia] Chefs, three minutes.
[Danny] I'm putting beans all over my slices of bread.
My steak, it's a little bit charred,
but I think it should be fine. And then I add the chicharrón.
[Bobby] I put one layer of steak, then I add the avocado relish,
Cotija cheese. -[Antonia] Thirty seconds.
[Fany speaking Spanish]
The fries, I take 'em out. They look nice and golden brown,
and I'm gonna hit 'em with the seasoning mix.
[audience] Nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four,
three, two, one.
[all cheering]
Oh, my God!
That was harder than I thought it was gonna be.
[Danny & Fany speaking Spanish]
[Danny] Hey, I love french fries, but french fries and a torta,
I have never had before in my life.
All right, now we'd like to introduce you to your judges.
First up, the owner of Katz's Deli, Jake Dell.
Next, the creator and host of Mama Tanya's Kitchen,
Mama Tanya.
[Antonia] And Chef Emilio Cerra.
All right, judges, please start with what's in front of you.
[tense music plays]
First off, as someone who enjoys a good meat-to-bread ratio,
this was it. The cheese was wonderful.
There was a good amount of heat.
I wish the beef had been cut maybe thicker,
so it was more present.
And then I love fries with sandwiches, so that's a win.
[Mama Tanya] The steak was beautifully charred.
I really enjoyed the smokiness and the sauce.
But if we're gonna do cilantro, let's do cilantro.
Like, girl, either give me a bouquet or a salad
or give me nothing at all. -[all laughing]
Judges, please try the second sandwich.
♪♪
I was really excited to see chicharrón inside of this.
They gave it some nice crunch, but I wanted more meat,
or more lettuce, or more tomato, or more something.
[Emilio] Agree with the garnishes.
I wish there was more of the beans,
more of the lettuce, more of the tomato,
but the beef itself, great flavor, great char.
Some pieces were a little overcooked,
and I gotta say, I really love these veggies here.
I thought they were bright.
Judges, if you could take a card and vote.
[Danny] I really think I brought the flavor,
but at the same time, they really like
the American cheese and the Cotija.
I think it's a complete toss-up.
And the winner is...
♪♪
...Chef Bobby Flay.
-[audience cheering] -Ohh.
This experience was amazing, and it's just part of my growth
as a chef, father, and as a husband.
I mean, who gets to cook against his wife
and have bragging rights that he's a better cook?
We gotta pick the dish that has the most yeow,
and Chef Bobby, your dish was the yeow dish today.
Bobby, at your age, how many more prizes you wanna win?
Let the young people come up like me.
Maybe next time you put me on the show.
I would pay so much money to see all of this.
I'm staking my claim in the torta-making game.
[audience cheering]