Line cooks and Titans and Bobby, oh my!

Hubs recently told an acquaintance of ours that I’m a Bobby Flay groupie. I’ll admit to being a fan. I even think he’s cute. But that’s not the same as being a groupie. I’ll also admit that I watch many of his shows. I’m especially fond of Triple Threat and Beat Bobby Flay.

If you haven’t watched the shows, you won’t know that they’re more about competition than recipes. If you win a competition cooking segment against Bobby on Beat Bobby Flay, you get to look into the camera and say, “I’m Vickie Fee, and I just beat Bobby Flay!” I’ve never seen another show where the winner gets the chance to brag like that when they win. That’s one of the things I appreciate about Bobby. He likes to win, but he’s a generous loser.

On Triple Threat, three top chefs compete as Bobby’s “titans.” Really accomplished chefs, often restaurant owners, compete. If they beat all three titans, they win $25 thousand. The money is a big deal to those with new restaurants, who are able to pay off some bills or expand their restaurant’s footprint. I’ve become fans of Bobby’s “titans,” as well. It’s their job to save the $25,000, and most of the time they do. Bobby hands the cash to the winners in a duffel bag, and they enjoy running their hands through it.

Crispy rice is a dish Bobby Flay uses often, and is sometimes teased about.

If you’ve watched other shows with Bobby, you may already be familiar with Brooke Williamson, Michael Voltaggio, and newest titan Ayesha Nurdjaja. Former titan Tiffany Derry, now has her own show, in Texas, I think.

The titans have very different personalities and styles of cooking. They play well off each other. All three of them own restaurants. Ayesha owns two popular restaurants in New York. Brooke has a west coast eatery, and Michael and his brother own a steakhouse.

For those of you who are nosey, like me, you might be interested to know that Brooke and Bobby are a couple now. They both insist the diamond ring she’s sporting is NOT an engagement ring. In fact, Bobby has said that he and Brooke would never get married. But, I have seen a couple of photos of them kissing in public. Brooke has been divorced a couple of times and Bobby has three ex-wives. It makes sense that they’re not in a hurry to rush down the aisle with anyone else.

If you’re a Bobby Flay fan, or are interested in becoming one, he has a brand new show called “The Line.” He and a team of chefs go into a restaurant and take over running the “line” for an evening. I’ve only seen it once. (I think it was the premier episode). I’m not sure I’d be willing to add another regular show to my watch schedule, even for Bobby. But, I’ll definitely watch another episode.

Do you have a favorite chef or cooking show? Or a TV show of any kind that you can’t miss? Please share in the comments.

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