D.C. Chef Jose Andres enters Kitchen Stadium to challenge Bobby Flay to a succulent battle. Will Chef Andres take home the title of Winner, or will Chef Bobby Flay prove too much culinary prowess? Tune in to see whose cuisine reigns supreme!
Judges
Dr. Tim Ryan
Jeffrey Steingarten
Rene Syler
Challenger stats: Chef Andres
From: Mieres, Asturias, Spain
Restaurants: Cafe Atlantico, Jaleo, Zaytinya, Minibar by Jose Andres, Oyamel
Cuisine: Spanish cooking! Also, Greek, Turkish, Lebanese and Mexican. Minibar is where I let my imagination go free.
Interests: Barca, my family, good food and wine, technology and travel
Ideal secret ingredient: Cigalas, centollo or lobster
Culinary inspirations: Ferran Adria, Juan Mari Arzak, Martin Berasategui, Thomas Keller and all the guys who work with me.
Ideal judge: Ferran. It would be an honor to have my friend and mentor there.
Culinary secret weapon: Mortar and pestle, microplane, iSi bottle, Spanish olive oil
Favorite restaurant: Depends on my mood! Some days it would be French Laundry or El Bulli. Another day it would be Rompeolas or Rafas, or maybe something at La Boqueria in Barcelona.
Favorite food: Again, depends on the day! Sometimes jamon Iberico or fabada asturiana or soft shell crab. Other days I want centollo and sidra or cigalas a la plancha or watermelon and tomato or sea urchin or sashimi. Other days, nothing is better than pancakes and maple syrup with my girls. And sometimes you can't beat a good hamburger.
Food you won't go near: I can't think of any!
Weirdest thing you've ever eaten: I don't know! This depends on perspective, no? What is weird to me is normal to you! And visa versa. I guess people might think percebes (gooseneck barnacles) are weird. They look like something from the movie Beetlejuice.
Favorite food destination: Casa Gerardo in Asturias for fabada, Chesapeake Bay for blue crab, El Bulli for anything.
Alternative dream job: Soccer player, actor, playwright, astronaut or sailor
Chef Sohui Kim thinks truffle oil is overrated. “I firmly believe that salt, a pinch of sugar and/or a splash of rice wine vinegar can always save the day,” she says. And that may very well be true—as long as you know how to wield those ingredients like Kim can. Sweet-salty-spicy flavors perk up cuisine from South Korea, her birthplace, and they now electrify the food at The Good Fork and Insa, the two Brooklyn restaurants she runs with her husband, Ben Schneider.But gochujang and kimchi aren't the only stars. On The Good Fork menu, fried calamari with fra diavolo and Parmesan are just below her savory, teriyaki-drizzled scallion pancake. It’s eclectic and fresh, but comfortably mom-and-pop cuisine. In The Good Fork Cookbook, Chef Kim describes her food as “traditional dishes heightened by a global pantry; classics, with just enough of a twist to make them new again.” It’s the kind of food that builds a following, so much so that after Hurricane Sandy damaged their restaurant, Kim was able to crowdsource $50K to rebuild.That kind of tenacity is what put Kim on the culinary track in the first place: after graduating from ICE, she secured an externship at Blue Hill under Chefs Dan Barber and Michael Anthony. They tried to persuade her to move upstate as they opened Blue Hill at Stone Barns, but the buzz of the West Village sounded more appealing, so she moved on to work with Anita Lo at Annisa.Kim brings her professional chops to Panna, but with a warm, homespun touch that's evident in the loving way she pleats pork dumplings (the ones that beat Bobby Flay's in a throwdown). Watch how she bundles veal shanks with butcher’s twine to make Osso Buco, the dish her husband cooked to woo her while they were dating. Other dishes taste totally familiar, but draw from the “global pantry” that defines Kim's style: pan-seared chicken breasts, bathed in a butter sauce funkified by Chinese fermented black beans, or a lentil salad specked with piquillos, a sweet Spanish chile. So, whether you’ve got flavor wanderlust or need a dose of edible comfort, Kim’s cuisine will satisfy and leave you hungry for more.Sohui's Restaurants:Insa (Brooklyn, NY)The Good Fork (Brooklyn, NY)Sohui's Book:The Good Fork Cookbook (2016)