Bobby's Triple Threat - General Discussion

[Bastet]

Of course, by the time I discover this, it's already done for now, but I enjoyed it a lot and a second season was ordered after just two episodes and is slated to air some time this year, so I started a thread.

Somehow, Flay claimed an odd inspiration by The Color of Money to come up with this twist on Beat Bobby Flay.  He invites a chef to compete for three rounds against his "titans" -- Brooke Williamson, Tiffany Derry, and Michael Voltaggio -- one at a time.  For round one, he picks two ingredients, and the contestant gets to choose which titan to go up against; they must each make two dishes featuring those ingredients.  The judge (a different culinary superstar each week) will taste, not knowing who made what, and award up to ten points to each chef.  Same with round two, just with a different titan.  In round three, with the last titan, the contestant gets to pick the two ingredients, they each only have to make one dish, and there are up to 20 points each available for it; it's always anyone's game to the end.  If the cumulative score of the contestant is higher than that of the titans at the end, the contestant wins $25,000 -- plus an invitation to join the titans at the in-show bar and an engraved locker with an invitation to come back any time (what, exactly, would happen if they do, I have no idea, but it's set up like a speakeasy).

That's a tough challenge!  The titans only have to compete in one round each, while the contestant has to power through three, and the effect on stamina really shows sometimes. 

It's interesting how, after everyone learns who that week's judge is, they tailor their second and third round offerings to what the judge has made clear about their preferences via comments on the first round dishes.  Great caliber of judges so far, but they really need more non-white folks in the mix going forward.

Don't read the rest until you've watched, unless you don't care about being spoiled ...

Of the six episodes in the first season, only two contestants won.  But one of those got the only perfect ten by anyone in any round.  That was Brittany Anderson, and it was a well-earned accomplishment!  I'm usually at least someone rooting for the titans, as I like Tiffany and Brooke so much, and the other chef who won, Viet Pham bugged me a little, but I was all in for her, even though German cuisine is quite far down my list of preferences.  Other than her giant schnitzel, her food looked fantastic.

Everything looked great all season, which is why I enjoyed the show.

[FormerMod-a1]

New season begins Aug 22.  I'll be watching, of course. :)

[Mellowyellow]

Omg so excited!!! I love this show!!!

[SophiaD]

I really enjoy watching the other Titans watching and commenting on the battle while it's in progress.  It's also great that there's just one judge, so they can craft their offerings to appeal to that person.  

Bobby has strong "cooking dad" vibes in this.  I wonder how difficult it is for him to just watch and offer occasional comments and advice, rather than to be cooking himself?  (He is rocking his look with that blazer, though).  

[SophiaD]

On 1/10/2023 at 4:15 PM, Bastet said:

That was Brittany Anderson, and it was a well-earned accomplishment!  I'm usually at least someone rooting for the titans, as I like Tiffany and Brooke so much, and the other chef who won, Viet Pham bugged me a little, but I was all in for her, even though German cuisine is quite far down my list of preferences.  Other than her giant schnitzel, her food looked fantastic.

Yes, I'm with you on both.  I really didn't like Viet Pham's attitude towards the Titans, nor did I care for the judge.  But Brittany did a wonderful job and her food looked amazing.  I did think Brooke got her in the last round.  (Can you tell that I watched the marathon today?)

It will be interesting to see what the next season brings.  I like this format very much - the chef has the possibility to get tired, as Bobby mentioned.  I wonder if that will be a factor.  

[Salacious Kitty]

The first contender up is Michael Symon. That should be very entertaining.

[Grizzly]

Aw I wanted chef Symon to win. The dishes all seemed very creative. The judge was very persnickety. I preferred last year's bartender. Glad this show is back.

[FormerMod-a1]

I wanted to try all the dishes.  They all looked so good, even the tofu.  I did want Michael to win, too, but I like all the Titans so I was going to be  happy no matter what.  Brook's must have really tasted good to get over the "messy" plating hurdle.  The judge was tough, but I think consistent and fair.  I did cringe with the 5 for Michael's tofu dishes, and then Tiffany only got a 6.   On a side note, I think Michael was looking really good.  I do watch his other shows, like the outdoor show, but he seemed just a little more ... something...  fit? not just trim, but overall looking good.  Maybe more relaxed? 

[Jaded]

I had wondered where Michael had been for awhile. I didn't know it was him at first in some of the Food Network promos I'd seen recently. I think it's those glasses. 

[mlp]

I just love Michael Symon.  He always seems so genuine and I've never heard a bad word about him.  I do wish he'd shave though.  I like his BBQ USA show.  He's mostly unscripted but he knows cameras are following him around and he handles everything so well.  I was very happy that he beat Brooke but I wanted him to win the whole thing.

[Gramto6]

Just discovered this show after seeing a rerun a couple weeks ago. I really like it and look forward to more episodes. I too was hoping Michael Symon would win, it was close but no cigar... Enjoyable show all around!

[Ellee]

Love me some Shota … by the intro it appears he will be one going against the Titans this season. 
 

I like this show. 

[Guinnessgirl]

Michael's laugh kills me every time.  Plus how he and Bobby are when they are together.

[Bastet]

I could never tire of watching Bobby and Michael rib each other.  I loved when Bobby told him if he kept calling out the time remaining, Bobby wouldn't have a job to do, and Michael said, "I'm not sure you actually have one anyway, but okay."

I wanted all the first round food; I love the combination of pistachios and honey and what they did with it.  I thought Symon's raviolis had too little filling when he was making them, so I felt vindicated when the judge noted that as a flaw.  I think the two scores sounded appropriate for the flaws each of those four great dishes had.  I appreciated the two Michaels each saying they can not do what the other does.

Round two, I hate tofu, so I sympathized with Michael's reaction.  I'd have tried both soups, eating around the tofu, but I wouldn't have touched either of their other dishes.  Beyond personal taste, they both had some fundamental flavor flaws, so I wasn't surprised by the low scores, but it's still painful to see for two chefs who usually do so much better.  At least it was both of them, not one being blown out.

I'd have had even less idea for round three.  I don't each much offal, and never cook it, so I'd have been at a loss for how to prepare lamb heart.  Michael's dish was very appealing visually, but Brooke's flavors had me wanting to try hers more than his.

Nice, close match with great rapport between everyone.  I'm glad to have the show back!

[schnauzergirl]

I'm not a great fan of Brooke, but felt her embarrassment at the plating of her dish.  

The judge wasn't familiar to me.  Naomi?  Didn't catch her last name.

 

[Bastet]

6 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

The judge wasn't familiar to me.  Naomi?  Didn't catch her last name.

Naomi Pomeroy, from Portland.  I've seen her as a guest judge on Top Chef, and IMDb says she's competed on Top Chef Masters and Iron Chef, among a few other appearances.

19 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

I'm not a great fan of Brooke, but felt her embarrassment at the plating of her dish.  

I am a great fan of hers - as a chef (I've had her food) and as a contestant - so I cringed in second-hand embarrassment for her.  Pomeroy was quite surprised when that turned out to be her dish, since she's judged Brooke before and always been served beautiful plates.  She just got totally in the weeds, which is unusual for her. 

I read an interview after the first season where the Titans all said they fixate on the mistakes they make, even though they have far more successes, so this is one that will definitely replay in Brooke's mind.

[Mellowyellow]

Wonderful show! I like all three Titans and Bobby so this is one of my favorites!

I really want to try Michael V's pistachios cassoulet. I hate beans but love pistachios so that was such a cool concept.

I thought it was so cute when Micheal V told Michael that beating him was a bucket list thing. 

I love how passionate the Titans are really enjoy their talking heads. You can just see how competitive they are and how much they analyze the dishes. Such a treat to watch them.

 

[TexasTiffany]

On 8/24/2023 at 5:15 PM, Bastet said:

I am a great fan of hers - as a chef (I've had her food) and as a contestant - so I cringed in second-hand embarrassment for her.  Pomeroy was quite surprised when that turned out to be her dish, since she's judged Brooke before and always been served beautiful plates.

I'm glad this show is back and Michael Symon is in the first episode. I love that Michael and Bobby are best friends. I've watched them so many times having fun on BBF. Michael will taunt Bobby and Bobby will come back with, "shut up, Michael."

I bolded the quote above to say that Pomeroy's gasped shock that beautiful plated dish was Symon's was another embarrassing moment as if Symon has never plated a beautiful dish ever. I understand that she expects Brooke's dishes to always be near perfection. Pomeroy was OTT that Symon made that dish. I felt bad for Michael. Hey Pomeroy, you know he's an Iron Chef, right? Did he once squeeze a lemon and it accidentally squirted in your eye?

Bring on Shota Nakajima! I'm so excited.

[Bastet]

2 minutes ago, TexasTiffany said:

I bolded the quote above to say that Pomeroy's gasped shock that beautiful plated dish was Symon's was another embarrassing moment as if Symon has never plated a beautiful dish ever.

I think it was simply that Michael hadn't been competing recently, whereas Brooke has consistently done so in recent years, so she was, as a judge, much more familiar with her style than his and thought his dish looked like one of hers.

[mlp]

I was interrupted tonight right as the final judging began.  Who won?  Esther I hope.

[Salacious Kitty]

Yes, Esther won by one point. The undercooked rice did Brooke in. 

[Mellowyellow]

Omg I love love loveeeeeee Esther. She is another person who I think is very gifted when it comes to cooking. I love her on those YouTube homecook swaps with Chef videos. Wish she’d make more of them. On a superficial note, she’s absolutely gorgeous as well.

[Bastet]

LOL at Bobby saying Michael was sporting a sweater from the Guy Fieri fashion line.

With the incredible depth of flavor she got into that rice, I bet if it had been properly cooked Brooke would have received a score of at least 18 for that dish.  I loved her yelling at the rice cooker to shut up when it beeped after she'd finished plating.

I'm with the judge about Tiffany's wrap -- take the short rib off the bone before you plate it.

Esther was in a tough position the avocado and serrano round; she hadn't wanted to go up against Brooke in the final round, as she was the competitor she was most worried about, but she didn't want to go up against the queen of California cuisine on those ingredients.  But by picking Michael, I knew she was going to get outdone on creativity.

I enjoyed Esther saying beating the Titans was a lot harder than beating Bobby.  And her telling him "I can make other things" when he thought she was making Korean potatoes, not creamed potatoes.

The only thing I would change about this show is have it be truly blind judging -- just the judge and Bobby in the room (have the Titans and challenger clear out).  Obviously the judge knows who the Titans are, but that way they wouldn't know which one of the three competed in any given round, or who the challenger is.  The way it's done, they know who competed in each round, just not which dish they each made.

The only show (among those I watch) to achieve truly blind judging like that is Tournament of Champions (and it's very telling that all four seasons thus far, a woman has won; Guy Fieri bugs the shit out of me, but he has every right to take pride in that) -- the judges have no idea who's competing, so there's no conscious or subconscious "I bet this is So-and-So's dish" potentially affecting their scoring.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Bastet

[Gramto6]

There was someone, forgot her name, that was going to leave the bones on the chop in her pork sandwich...calling it "Chicago Style" to justify it. But I guess she overheard the judges saying that was a big "NO", so at the last minute ripped the bones off and ended up with a really messy plate leading to her being chopped. I think Tiffany should have known better.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Gramto6
typo messing instead of messy

[Grizzly]

My issue with the judging on this show is that there's only 1 judge. There has to be a reason every other show has at least 2 judges and most have 3.

[Grizzly]

I am probably alone in this, but I adore Scott Conant. Was so happy to see him beat the Titans. Michael served very small portions. Don't go to his restaurants if you're hungry. After the first round, when Waxman said he couldn't taste the eggs in Scott's gnocchi, the titans didn't learn. That's what cost them rounds 2 and 3. Did Scott try Tiffany's dish? Very gallant of him to say she should have won.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

I adore Scott Conant

Ugh, not me.  (He went on a ridiculous rant on Chopped that a contestant had "disrespected" the fish she was preparing by using tongs to hold it while she cut it -- when that's because she had hurt one hand.  He threw an absolute hissy fit and made a complete ass of himself, then doubled down when he got called out on social media.  I could have looked past that and his other nonsense on that show, but not him screwing his employees out of their wages.)  I was going to watch tonight but I don't know if I can sit through this one.  I'm glad I know he's the challenger, and that he won, so I can wait until I think I might be in the mood to stomach (no pun intended) it.

[Grizzly]

That was some battle with Jose Garces. If I hear that judge was found dead in an alley, I will not be surprised.

[FormerMod-a1]

Who was the judge?  She spoke almost monotone.  Regardless, I thought Jose would win.  It was close, but dang.  

[MerBearHou]

I watched and I still have no idea who the judge actually was — never heard of her.  I disagreed with the scoring and the winner.

It’s weird — something is “off” for me this season — not enjoying it like I really, really did last season.  

Edited September 13, 2023 by MerBearHou

[MyMaui]

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

I watched and I still have no idea who the judge actually was — never heard of her.  I disagreed with the scoring and the winner.

It’s weird — something is “off” for me this season — not enjoying it like I really, really did last season.  

I think so too with this season.

I think it's easier for the judges to know who made the 2nd and 3rd rounds when they are told who made the 1st round dish. The show needs more than one judge now I think or change how voting is done. 

I thought Jose should have won. I could see why he was upset with the 3rd round. I don't think Brooke's dish should have been a 19/20 when it didn't have enough of one ingredient.

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, MerBearHou said:

I watched and I still have no idea who the judge actually was — never heard of her.  I disagreed with the scoring and the winner.

It’s weird — something is “off” for me this season — not enjoying it like I really, really did last season.  

I think she was one of the judges on that global Robert Irvine show a few years back that went nowhere fast, but, yeah, other than that I've got nothing. And is it just me or is it rude to have one of your main complaints during judging that you need salt and pepper to eat Iron Chef-caliber food? 

[Grizzly]

The judge must have attended the Giada school of how to dress. How do you expect to be taken seriously with your boobs hanging out? Jose made it clear he had never heard of her.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Grizzly
New thought, didn't notice auto correct.

[roseslg]

I think the blind tasting is tongue in cheek. The judge knows who has prepared which dish, I mean they are standing right there. If you have chef A that has two dishes that are very Latin focused, and a spin on traditional dishes and then chef B that's not and one chef is Latin American, then come on.  I don't care how often Bobby says blind tasting, the chef and titans are right there. 

 

I like the show, but they need to rethink this.  

[MerBearHou]

3 hours ago, roseslg said:

I think the blind tasting is tongue in cheek. The judge knows who has prepared which dish, I mean they are standing right there. If you have chef A that has two dishes that are very Latin focused, and a spin on traditional dishes and then chef B that's not and one chef is Latin American, then come on.  I don't care how often Bobby says blind tasting, the chef and titans are right there. 

 

I like the show, but they need to rethink this.  

The judging on Alex vs America is much, much better IMO.  It's a couple of highly respected chefs and they have no idea who cooked what, or if Alex G is even still in the running.  Totally agree with you, @rosesig -- the judges can come up with a pretty good idea of who's cooked what once they've seen who's cooking.  

[candall]

I have to agree with Jose Garces that Jose Garces won.

[eclectcmoi]

From Brooke's reaction, it appears as though she thought Jose had won too. I agree that the show needs more than one judge. 

[MerBearHou]

In the Facebook post tonight by Food Network about the new Titans episode with Mei Lin, people are predominantly commenting about the farce of Jose losing last week.  The posters are pissed and they predict Mei Lin wins to not have the Titans win two weeks in a row (yes, these shows can be shown in any order TPTB wish).  I can’t disagree — I thought it was ridiculous that Jose lost.  

Edited September 20, 2023 by MerBearHou

[Grizzly]

Are all these people hanging out together the night before taping? First Brooke had a "feeling" that Waxman would be a judge. Then Michael complained that Mei Lin didn't save him for last so he could get some rest. Then Brooke thought Stephanie was going to be a contestant. And Stephanie commented on that. It's getting a little fishy.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

In the Facebook post tonight by Food Network about the new Titans episode with Mei Lin, people are predominantly commenting about the farce of Jose losing last week.  The posters are pissed and they predict Mei Lin wins to not have the Titans win two weeks in a row (yes, these shows can be shown in any order TPTB wish).  I can’t disagree — I thought it was ridiculous that Jose lost.

I'm behind, so are we talking about José Garces, who lost earlier than expected - in the most blind of blind judging in food competition TV - on Tournament of Champions this past season, which Mei Lin won?  If so, how typical that social media would be talking about him instead of her.

[MerBearHou]

4 hours ago, Bastet said:

I'm behind, so are we talking about José Garces, who lost earlier than expected - in the most blind of blind judging in food competition TV - on Tournament of Champions this past season, which Mei Lin won?  If so, how typical that social media would be talking about him instead of her.

Talking about Jose losing last week on Bobby’s Triple Threat.

[Ellee]

Could Jose be the next Jet Tila meaning ‘the nice guy, exceptional Cook that always loses’?  
 

If so, who would Mei Lin be?  

[Salacious Kitty]

1 hour ago, Ellee said:

Could Jose be the next Jet Tila meaning ‘the nice guy, exceptional Cook that always loses’?  
 

If so, who would Mei Lin be?  

Replacement for Tiffany?

[FormerMod-a1]

Except Jose had a good win rate on Iron Chef.  He was one of my faves of the "new crew" in ICA.  

[MyMaui]

This show this season is really strange to me.   I don't get some of the judges and their scoring/comments. Stephanie in the first round said she was scoring low to see how the later rounds turn out.  Each round had a different titan so why score low the first round.  If there is a third season I hope they realize their judging system is flawed.

[ILuvShibaInus]

Just saw the episode where Jose Garces lost. Anytime a judge keeps asking for more salt on everything and gives a tostada with little manipulation of the star ingredient a 19 is a joke pure and simple. 

 

[MerBearHou]

Fascinating no comments about the episode last night.  I didn’t watch — this season irritates me so I think I’m out — but I came on here to see how it went.  I wasn’t familiar with the name of the chef who was on last night’s show.  

[Salacious Kitty]

He beat Bobby Flay. I think he said he considers Bobby a mentor. He didn't win any round. The best he did was tie Tiffany in the final.

[schnauzergirl]

Kind of a funny/tense moment when Kelvin chose Brooke in the second round because he thought Tiffany was more likely to do well with the ingredients, sausage and red bell peppers.  You could tell that irritated Brooke and she beat him by two points.  I didn't know the judge (Adrienne ???) but enjoyed her comments.

[Salacious Kitty]

I remember Adrienne from Top Chef. She sure liked her texture! 😀