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!
-[all cheer] -Trash talking.
This culinary battle is gonna shake down in two rounds.
Round 1: To get to me, two contenders have to go through each other
using an ingredient of my choice.
It's do or die, Bobby.
Two people who know me well will decide who's got the skills to beat me.
-Yeah! -Round 2:
I go head to head with the winning contender.
-Let's go. -It's their turn to surprise me with their signature dish.
What!
-Don't try this at home. -You did it, Bobby.
-Bottom line... -You're gonna run out of time!
...everyone's out to beat me.
-[all cheering] -[upbeat music playing]
All right, let's do this.
I hope I can count on you for some support tonight,
because my co-host will not be giving me any.
Chef Jet Tila, and the multi-talented actress,
Sutton Foster.
[piano music playing]
[all snapping fingers]
You are going down, Bobby Flay.
[all cheering]
Was that a West Side Story move?
You know, sharks and jets.
-Sharks and jets. -Yeah.
-We're coming after you today. -[Bobby] I like that.
-Hi, Sutton. -Hi, how's it going?
-So, you know I did a scene in your show, Younger. -I know!
-I'm the worst actor in the world. -[laughter]
-Who'd you play? -I played me.
There you go! How bad can you be?
That's how bad I am.
Maybe we'll get you to do a dialogue during his cook today.
-[Sutton] Oh, yeah. -[Jet] That's the right thing to do today, right?
So, actually, I want to talk to you about something.
I'm so actually glad you're here tonight
because I've been going through this idea for a long time.
-Beat Bobby Flay, The Musical. -Yes!
Seriously. I'm totally serious.
-Would you be in it? -No.
[all laughing]
See, Sutton, you know the right questions to ask.
No, anyway I'm gonna stick to this.
-I wanna see what you guys got for me today. -[Sutton] Okay.
All right, Bobby, tonight is all about something Sutton loves and you do not.
-Sorry. Chocolate. -Chocolate.
All about chocolate. Great.
-Let's bring out some chefs. -Okay.
Our first contender is ready to whisk away your winning streak.
Pastry chef Laura Warren.
-Yes! -Get it, Laura.
Our next contender is a former ballerina.
-It's pastry chef Kaitlin Guerin. -[Jet] Yeah!
Yeah! Whoa!
Yeah!
Bobby, higher. Higher.
[upbeat music playing]
-Laura, Kaitlin, how you guys doing? -[both] Good.
-How was my kick? -I've seen better.
[all laughing]
Okay, so you know, Sutton Foster is here tonight.
One of the things that she really loves is chocolate.
Okay, so I'm gonna give you an ingredient in that category.
-You ready? -Um-hmm.
-Gianduja. -Wow.
So, we have chocolate, hazelnuts, good flavor combinations.
Setton, Jet, will decide who goes up against me in the second round.
Twenty minutes on the clock. Don't let this Gianduja fool ya.
-Let's go. -[rings bell]
[all cheering]
[electrical buzzing]
So, I know you're a chocolate fan.
-Do you like dark chocolate, milk chocolate. What's your... -Yes.
-You like it all. -I never met a chocolate I didn't like.
So, when I think about this, I think about a Nutella flavor.
[Jet] It's not as sweet as milk chocolate,
and it's not a bitter as dark.
This is good stuff.
Laura, what are you making?
Gianduja Ricotta Zeppole.
-Oh, a Zeppole. So, she's making a donut. -[Jet] Wow.
Ooo!
[Laura] I love flavors that people are familiar with.
Maybe they haven't seen it in a donut before.
So, I'm making a Gianduja Ricotta Zeppole
with gianduja ganache.
Gianduja's naturally really smooth and licious,
so I'm able to incorporate that into my batter.
So, Laura works for a chef Brian Malarkey.
A fixture on Food Network.
-He's got three restaurants in the San Diego area. -[Sutton] Okay.
-She is the pastry chef of all three. Yeah. -Amazing.
Give it up for Laura!
[all cheering]
I started baking when I was a teenager.
I did cheerleading and would bake for players on the team.
One of those liked my baking so much that we eventually got married
and I'm still baking for him today.
[laughs]
Today, my work has been featured in
Thrillist, Eater, and The San Diego Union Tribune.
My time has come. My hard work has paid off, and I'm here to win.
Kaitlin, what are you making?
Gonna do a Gianduja Creme Anglaise...
-[all judges] Oh. -...with a little French Toast number.
Ooh.
[Kaitlin] Creme Anglaise is such a great custard based
and when you add chocolate to it, it really heightens the flavor.
-I'll take both of those. -[all laughing]
Growing up in New Orleans, I spend Sundays in the kitchen with my mom,
and after I began my formal dance career,
I started to realize that my comfort is less about dance
and more about cooking and baking.
So, I decided to start my own business, Lagniappe Baking.
My proudest moment was receiving the Rising Star's Award
for pastry chef of New Orleans.
Creole deserts are being re-invented in a fun way,
and Bobby is not ready for that.
[laughs]
[Jet] Coming up on 15 minutes, chefs.
-Laura, what's happening? -Hello, Chef.
How are you feeling overall about your competition here?
I think I've got this one.
-This is a battle! -You're right. You're right.
You're going down!
[laughs]
-[Jet] All right, pretty good. -[laughter]
I'm adding some sugar, water and corn syrup to make my ganache with the gianduja.
The gauntlet has been thrown down, Kaitlin.
I know what I'm working on right now is gonna be bomb.
That's right. Anglaise. So,
-you got the egg yoks, you got the sugar, you got cream. -I'm gonna
-whisk in the Gianduja. -All right chef, you got this.
-Thank you. -[Jet] Coming up on 12 minutes.
I start working on my French Toast dredge.
Kaitlin's adding some orange zest.
-There you go. -Nice.
[Sutton] I don't hate a chocolate-orange combination.
Oh, interesting. And, the question I have for Laura is,
is the chocolate gonna weigh down the Zeppole.
-[Sutton] I'm gonna go check things out. -[Bobby] Go get 'em.
-Hi, Kaitlin. How's it going? -Hi. Good.
-How are you? -I'm good.
-A fellow dancer. I know! -Hello, fellow dancer.
-That was a good kick coming in. -Thank you.
-What kinda of dance were you doing? -A musical theatre Broadway.
-Oh, my God, yes. -[laughter]
You have like six minutes left. Are you okay?
-Something's gonna get on the plate, you know. -[laughing]
What do you guys think? You guys think Kaitlin can do it?
-[all cheering] -Thank you.
-When in doubt, just kick it out. -Yes. Yes.
-Hello. It's going great. -How's it going?
-Oh, things are spread. You're spreading things. -Yes.
I'm doing this while I'm cooking other stuff.
How are you feeling about taking down Bobby?
Very, very confident.
We think Laura can do it? Yeah? All right, confidence.
-And she's off, and she's running. -[all cheering]
Okay, everyone, four minutes.
-Four minutes. -Ah!
Sutton. Sutton.
-Stressed. Stressed. -[laughing]
I'm worried about how much my sauce has set up.
If I had added a little bit more liquid, then I wouldn't be struggling so much with it,
and I'm hoping that torching the sauce will help bring back a little bit of that shine.
-Oh, there's fire. Fire! -Oh. Oh.
[laughter]
-[Bobby] Just less than a minute. You guys gotta plate. -[Jet] Gotta move. Gotta move.
[Sutton] This is stressing me out.
[Laura] I need to just get my Zeppole on the plate.
[Bobby] Kaitlin, plate. You gotta plate.
Let's just pour that chocolate anglaise into the bowl.
-22 seconds. -I don't have enough time to segment this orange.
Oh, wow, she's cutting supremes.
Fifteen.
Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four, three,
-two, one... -[bell rings, cheering]
-She didn't get any supremes on the plate. -Oh!
I know that it's gonna taste really good,
even if it's missing my component.
[Laura] I'm still feeling worried about my sauce,
but I'm just hoping and praying that maybe the judges won't notice.
I love me some French Toast, and I love me a donut.
So, I'm excited.
[upbeat music playing]
We all know that Bobby could not find his way out
of a pastry bag if he tried.
So, tonight should be a slam dunk.
All right, Chek Kaitlin.
I made a French Toast with a Gianduja Creme Anglaise
and a little bit of orange zest on top.
That Gianduja is the star. I get the sweetness.
The anglaise, it's on the thinner side,
so it runs vs. coats.
If the sauce was a little too thin, I defer.
I don't know. To me, I was like, Oh, chocolate soup!
-So... delicious. -[laughter]
And I was surprised at how light and airy the French Toast is.
-Thank you. -I saw you messing with supremes.
That little moment of acidity would really balance the dish out.
All right, Chef Laura.
I made classic Ricotta Zeppole
that I added some Gianduja to.
Zeppole in 20 minutes,
quite a feat.
The Zeppole themselves are airy, crispy on the outside,
but the sauce seized a little bit.
It is a plate of deliciousness,
and with the added crunch of the coco nibs on top,
I could eat the whole thing.
This is splitting hairs.
So, we're gonna need a moment to discuss.
I love the part with the napkin.
-I know. -That's cute.
-They all have their own... yeah. -Little technique.
That negative feedback about the sauce is really in my head.
And the chef that's moving forward is...
Chef Laura.
-[all cheering] -[Bobby] Thanks for being here.
[Kaitlin] This is my first competition show,
so I had a great starting point to work from,
and it's only up from here.
-Thank you, guys. -Thank you, chef.
-Good job, chef. -Thank you.
Laura, seriously, great technique here.
Bobby looks like he's shaking in his boots a little bit.
We know that you love pastries. So...
[audience laughing]
I love to eat pastry.
[upbeat music playing]
-All right, chef, congratulations. -Thank you.
We're going somewhere in the chocolate realm, I can tell,
because you wanna make Sutton very happy.
What is your signature dish?
My signature dish is...
-Chocolate Tart. -Oh!
-Chocolate tart. -[Jet] Wow.
This is good. [mimics evil laugh]
[laughing]
-Laura, are you ready to do this? -I am ready.
-Yeah, you are. -I feel it.
45 minutes on the clock, and your time starts now.
[all cheering]
Get him, Laura, get him.
So, Chocolate Tart fan?
Might not be my ultimate go to
but these chefs might prove me wrong.
-Well, at least Laura will. -Laura for sure, right.
-[laughing] -Bobby's gonna disappoint you.
I feel like now's the perfect time for me to teach Bobby a time step.
-What's a time step? -[both laughing]
-It's tap dancing. -Oh! Of course, it is.
I mean, I guess as a chef, you do a little bit of tap dancing
-as you're trying to figure things out. -Sure. All the time.
Yeah, no, I love it.
So, tarts are two components that have to come together beautifully, right.
There's a crust, then you gotta make either a custard or a ganache.
Something that's chocolate, that sets up within that crust.
So, technically, it is a real feat.
45 minutes to pull this off.
-It's gonna be pretty astonishing. -[sighs]
-[Jet] Hey, Laura. -Yes, chef.
Why did you choose Chocolate Tart today?
I have this on my menu at Herb & Wood.
And I've had it at Herb & Wood by the way, and it is fantastic.
Thank you.
My signature dish is a Chocolate Tart with a sesame crust,
dark chocolate ganache, Tahini ice cream and smoked almonds.
The addition of Tahini gives a really unique flavor
that can be reminiscent of peanut butter and chocolate.
-[Jet] She's gonna blast chill this ganache... -Okay.
-...and makes sure it forms and it stays together. -Got it.
[Bobby] Chocolate tart is one of those things that
if I have to make a dessert at home,
it's probably one of the 10 things that I can make.
So, I'm gonna go in a chocolate pistachio direction.
What's that? What's the green stuff?
-Pistachio butter. -Pistachio.
Oh!
And then, a chocolate cookie crumb crust
will be easier for me to make instead of like a pie crust.
I'm gonna make a chocolate ganache topping, and let it chill.
So, we're both kinda going the chocolate nutty route.
-You're going nutty as well? -I'm going sesame.
Sesame? Like Tahini?
-Yes, Chef. -Oh, I like that idea.
I'm making like a sweet tart dough with flower, sugar, coco powder,
and the addition of sesame seeds.
I wanna make sure that I roll this pretty thin and put it straight in the oven.
I'm gonna in and check on Laura, and I'm gonna try to
-rattle Bobby a little bit. -Good.
36 minutes.
Hey, chef, how's it going?
-It is going great. -I'm here to support you.
-I'm here to be anything you need. -Thank you.
Yeah, immersion blend this.
Once my cream mixture is nice and hot,
I can emulsify it and get it into the freezer.
Why don't you tell us why you're gonna beat Bobby.
Yeah, why are you gonna beat me?
Because I'm the better pastry chef in the room.
-Yeah! -Yeah, you are.
-Yeah! -[applauds]
Senor Flay!
Everything coming together?
-I have no idea, Jet. -[laughter]
Then I'm gonna start working on the ganache.
It's heavy cream and some semi-sweet chocolate.
-Look at that. -That looks pretty broken.
I feel bad.
I'm here for a lesson, I'm here for a masterclass in tart.
-[laughing] -[Bobby] Okay.
So, you're gonna need to come back to this side for that.
[all] Oh!
-Yes! -All right.
This is most nervous I've seen Bobby in the kitchen.
I'm very disorganized.
Thirty minutes on the clock, y'all.
We are in good shape.
-Look at how glossy and smooth that ganache is. -Yeah.
-And what does Bobby's look like? -It looks like chocolate milk.
-I don't know how it's gonna set up in time. -Oh, no.
-Uh, what am I doing? -Oh, bless his heart.
Look at... he's tried so hard.
I take my tart shell out of the blast chiller,
and I add my pistachio filling.
Bobby, what are you calling your filling?
-Green filling. -[all laughing]
I'm gonna try to make ice cream in this 45 minutes.
I'm combining cream, corn syrup, Tahini and salt.
This is ambitious, so I need you guys to cheer me on. How about it? Okay.
-[all cheering] -What is she about to do?
It looks like she's got a doer of liquid nitrogen.
-I think we're gonna get an ice cream. -That's so cool.
-[Bobby] You making ice cream? -Yes, I am.
[sighs]
[laughing]
I'm taking the tart out to add the chocolate topping,
and I need the tart to chill.
But we have one blast freezer and Laura and I are both using it,
so it's opening and closing a lot.
If my tart doesn't set, this would be a baking disaster.
[Jet] Bobby's pretty frazzled.
Should we mess with Bobby and create a scene?
-We should absolutely mess with Bobby. -[both laughing]
All right, everybody, welcome to Beat Bobby Flay, The Musical.
-Oh, fantastic. -All right,
-so directors obviously sit in director's chairs. -Hi.
Behind the line is an old, washed up,
formerly handsome, cat owning chef.
The restaurant manager, a ravishing beauty,
clearly out of this chef's league... enters the kitchen.
-Enters the kitchen. -Okay.
Chef, Table 37 sent back their desert.
I know. What can I say,
-I really suck. -[laughter]
[Jet] Suddenly, the chef breaks into song.
♪ Tonight ♪
♪ It's all about the chocolate tart and the pistachios, and the Amarena cherries ♪
[Jet hoots] Bobby Flay!
-And, scene! -And scene.
Thank you.
Beat Bobby Flay, The Musical is coming to a Broadway theatre near you.
Mark my words.
-Oh, my God. -I'm outta here.
I think Bobby should maybe stick to cooking.
Now, I'm gonna make this cheery sauce.
Amarena cherries gives it that tart sweetness.
Seven minutes left.
[Laura] I'm really proud that I pulled off all of the components
but I'm starting to get nervous about how set my ganache is.
[Jet] Laura's definitely having some issues unmolding these tarts.
Darn. Okay.
[Laura] It's not set as I would like,
but I'm just gonna have to roll with it anyways.
[dramatic music playing]
Okay, this is the moment of truth.
Will the tart set? No. No.
[both laughing]
I throw some pistachios on tops of it. That doesn't help anything.
[Jet] Will it pull apart?
It looks a little liquidy.
Ah! That's just an opinion.
[laughter]
One minute! One minute.
I scoop my Tahini ice cream and I'm topping that
with smoked almonds.
-[Jet] Oh. -Wiggly.
Do you need help, chef?
[both exclaiming]
[all] Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two one...
-[all cheering] -Good job.
Good job. Beautiful.
[Bobby] The flavors of the tart are very good.
But I'm looking over at Laura's dish, and I'm thinking this is gonna be a "L" for me.
I was hoping for the ganache to come out a lot tighter looking.
This is a little messy for my taste.
[dramatic music playing]
Bobby, Laura, we'd like to introduce you to our esteemed judge panel.
First up, chef and recipe developer,
Dan Langan.
Pastry chef of The Musket Room, and Raf's
Chmari Mick.
Pastry chef, Michael Laiskonis.
We're gonna ask you to please start with the Chocolate Tart in front of you
[dramatic music playing]
The ice cream is super thick and creamy, it feels really rich on your tongue,
but the layer of chocolate ganache is so thick,
it's a lot to get through in one bite.
That chocolate is just too much, it's too dense.
But I do love the whole interplay of sesame and chocolate.
It is kind of a nostalgic idea.
I love the Tahini and the addition of the smoked almonds.
Even though I would have loved a little more smoke in there.
Now, we're gonna ask you to switch your plates and try the next tart please.
This feels really rustic,
and the chocolate ganache, I really enjoyed
because it was chocolaty, but it was light. It didn't feel too heavy.
My only critique here would be the ganache could have set just a little bit more.
I kinda worry that maybe the chef didn't intend this kind of loose presentation.
But I'm forgiving of that because it tasted so well.
I love that combination of chocolate, pistachio and cherry.
That cherry sauce on it gives a little bit of tartness, sweetness...
but what I struggle with is, it's a little bit sloppy on the plate.
This is gonna be a really close one because these are really great Chocolate Tarts.
Now it's time to vote.
[dramatic music playing]
[Laura] The judges like his flavors, and now
I'm really thinking that it's a 50-50 chance.
[suspenseful music playing]
And the winner is...
Chef Bobby Flay.
[crowd cheering]
-Sorry, chef. -Good job.
How is that even possible!
For me, what tipped the balance was
the really clean flavor of the chocolate.
-Presentation needs a little work. -[laughter]
That's generous.
[both laugh]
Pleasure meeting you, chef. I thought you beat me.
[Laura] It has been such a journey to get here,
and I'm so proud of what I accomplished,
and everything that I got done in that 45 minutes.
-How do you do it? -Wow.
We tried to distract him with a full-on musical,
-and he still won. -Yeah. [groans]
-Sutton's not happy. -You're in trouble.
-What we did find though is, he cannot sing. -No, he cannot sing.
-No. All right, cut. We're out. -No. Yeah.
Well, my plating was a flop, but my tart came out on top.
[crowd cheering]