SalleeShares: Battle of Brooklyn

SalleeShares: Beat Bobby Flay - Battle of Brooklyn

This week I watched Beat Bobby Flay:Battle of Brooklyn.

Actually, I watched that episode three times! The main battle between Bobby Flay and twenty-five year old, executive chef Jordan Andino is full of interactions between Bobby, Guest Chefs Anne Burrell and Chris Santos, and of course rising, executive chef Jordan Andino.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Sorry. First is the battle of Brooklyn executive chefs Jordan Andino and Jennifer Cole-Ruiz. Bobby theatrically revealed the star of the battle: whole Arctic char.

Battle Arctic Char

Chef Jordan is full of theatrical energy. He literally dances with energy and flashes big smiles constantly. According to Chef Anne Burrell he needed more than "stealthy, clever, dance moves". However, he needed the time he spent dancing for plating. He was sweating and down to the last second with his plating.

Chef Jennifer Cole-Ruiz is a calm, confident, and focused chef who flashes an occasional brief smile.
She was all business. The focused energy served her well because her dish was plated a minute or two before the round bell was rung. Chef Jennifer watched Chef Jordan rushing to complete plating right down to the final second.

The term "fire and ice" was used to describe the pair of competing chefs.The opposite styles of Cole-Ruiz versus Andino were even more apparent with the two arctic char dishes - raw vs cooked, simple vs complex, professional filleting technique vs amateur filleting technique, calm vs flamboyant, and the list goes on. However, in the end, who made Arctic char the star? Chef Jordan Andino.

Signature Dish Battle - Korean Short Ribs

E.C. Jordan Andino was chosen by Chefs Anne Burrell and Chris Santos to Beat Bobby Flay with his signature dish of Korean Short Ribs.

Talking Smack Battle - Andino vs Flay

• When Chef Andino talked about being 25 and an executive chef already, Iron Chef Flay answered back with the fact that he already owned his first restaurant at twenty-five.
• Chef Andino talked about cooking at an early age. Chef Flay provided information  about his own early cooking experience. 
• Midway through the battle, Iron Chef Flay walked over to look at Executive Chef Andino's cooking food. The young chef immediately walked over to examine Iron Chef Flay's cooking food. Upon returning to their own stations Bobby called over to Jordan, " Hey Jordan, turn up your grill." Iron Chef scores another smack down point!

Anne cheered and called advice to Jordan through out the show. She scored a couple of points herself in the Smack Battle. In an aside to Chef Chris she said, "When chefs are running scared they pull out the eggs." Bobby heard her and replied with, "This egg is liquid gold."

In the end, the Iron Chef used his time wisely and Chef Jordan was again plating at near light speed to get done on time. He also forgot to incorporate his scrambled eggs into his fried rice and put them between the rice and short ribs. Experience and timing won out over youth. 

Who Will Win?

The three guest judges of the blind taste test are: Chef Johnathon Sawyer, Chef Roberto Trevino, and Chef Andy Ricker. 

Both short ribs were judged to be good. However, Jordan's fried rice and short ribs combo was called "heavy". The scrambled eggs had assumed an unappetizing, off color from being layered between the rice and short ribs.

In the end, Iron Chef Bobby Flay won another battle with his Orange Glazed Short Ribs and Kimchi Slaw. The egg in his dish was indeed "liquid gold". 

However, Chef Jordan Andino scored one more Smack Battle point by saying he was only twenty-five and would only get better. I think we are going to see a lot more of Executive Chef Jordan Andino.