ICA: Flay vs. Christensen
After nearly two months off it is good to see the king of TV cooking shows back. Raleigh-based Chef Ashley Christensen jumps into the pressure cooker of Kitchen Stadium to battle Iron Chef Bobby Flay. Will she rise to the occasion or explode under the pressure?
Ashley Christensen, the chef-owner of Raleigh’s Poole’s Diner is in town tonight and she brings with her the traditions of Carolina cooking. She makes just the third chef from the Triangle area to battle on Iron Chef. Chef Ashley is considered one of the top chefs in the Raleigh area. Last September she was included in Bon Apatit’s article “Women Chefs: The Next Generation,” where she was thrown into good company along side Kelly Liken, Naomi Pomeroy and Allison Vines-Rushing.
The questions is whether Chef Ashley is ready for the heat of Kitchen Stadium where Iron Chef Bobby Flay awaits along with his sexy sous Rene Forsberg and Christine Sanchez. Also waiting is the secret ingredient Chum Salmon and the judges Ben Sargent, Cady Huffman and Jeffrey Steingarten.
Check below for the outcome.
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Flay Christensen
Taste: 20 Taste: 14
Plating: 12 Plating: 11
Originality: 13 Originality: 10
Total: 45 Total: 35
ICA: Flay vs. Hughes
A special Iron Chef America pits Food Network against the Cooking Channel as Chuck Hughes (Chuck’s Day Off) is the first star from the kid sister network to enter Kitchen Stadium. Waiting for him will be Iron Chef Bobby Flay, a veteran of 46 battles. Will experience win out?
Chuck Hughes is a veteran of the Montreal food scene. He’s been working in “The City of Saints” since he left culinary school culminating in Garde Manger – an Old Town Montreal restaurant he opened with two friends in 2006.
Then came Chuck’s Day Off (read my review HERE) one of those outsourced Food Canada shows that make up a large part of the Cooking Channel’s initial line-up. Here’s what they have to say about their star, “Chuck was on the fast track to a career in advertising, but somewhere along the way, fell in love with the restaurant business. He enrolled in culinary school, started working in the city’s hottest kitchens and hasn’t looked back since.”
Judges for Battle: Canadian Lobster were John T. Edge, Karine Bakhoum and Stefan Gates. Chef Flay was once again assisted by Sous Chef Renee Forsberg (who I believe oversees Flay’s Mesa Grill outpost in the Bahamas). Chef Renee was sporting her signature Pocahontas ponytails. Also adding heat to Flay’s kitchen was the adorable Christine Sanchez, Culinary Director of the Iron Chef’s company, Bold Food.
If you haven’t already be sure to check out my exclusive interview with Iron Chef Bobby Flay (HERE).
Click HERE for the outcome.
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ICA: Flay vs. Stone
Epic. That is the only word to describe the last Iron Chef America of May 2010. Perhaps this should be called Battle: Celebrity Chef? Bobby Flay is a master of Kitchen Stadium and he welcomes Cheflebrity Curtis Stone for the second of four consecutive new episodes.
If, for some strange reason, you are not familiar with Curtis Stone check out his IMdb profile which documents his more than 100 TV appearances. The fact that he has a profile at IMdb should tell you he’s a pretty big deal. Most known for appearances on NBC’s two popular reality series The Biggest Loser and Celebrity Apprentice, Stone has also hosted over 70 episodes of his own shows Take Home Chef (TLC) and My Restaurant Rules (Seven Network, Australia).
But Stone is as much chef as he is celebrity. He began cooking professionally at the age of 18 at the five-star Savoy Hotel in London. As a young chef he worked alongside Marco Pierre White at The Café Royal and at Mirabelle. From there he moved on to the exclusive Restaurant 301. Stone has also been a part of four top selling cookbooks including Surfing the Menu the companion book to the eight-part mini series Stone filmed with fellow Aussie chef Ben O’Donoghue. The guy’s got chops.
This episode is tailor-made for the ladies as it pits two of the sexiest chefs in the country. Flay’s curly red mop and Cheshire grin have long made him eye candy for Food Network viewers while Stone was named one of the sexiest men alive by People in 2006. Chef Curtis greatly resembles actor Owen Wilson only without the fugly nose.
How cool would it be if Brett Michaels, Summer Sanders and Holly Robinson Peete were the judges? Well they weren’t. Judges for Battle: Skipjack Tuna were John T. Edge, Cady Huffman and Jeffrey Steingarten. A special condition was that each course had to feature a grilled item. Chef Flay was once again assisted by blond bombshell Sous Chef Rene Forsberg (who I believe oversees Flay’s Mesa Grill outpost in the Bahamas). Chef Rene was sporting her signature Pocahontas ponytails. Also adding heat to Flay’s kitchen was the adorable Christine Sanchez, Culinary Director of the Iron Chef’s company, Bold Food.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my exclusive interview with Iron Chef Bobby Flay.
Flay and Stone have now teamed up for NBC’s new reality competition America’s Next Great Restaurant.
Click HERE for the outcome.
Surfing the Menu
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