Tony Hawk Beat Bobby Flay and Gave Him a Hilarious Skateboarding Lesson

Over the course of more than 500 Beat Bobby Flay battles, our fearless host has an impressive win rate of about 63%. But when a Titan and a top-notch athlete step right up, there’s no question that Bobby should be shaking in his sneaks.

During an unforgettable episode of the culinary competition, Bobby welcomed chef Michael Voltaggio and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk to the table — each of whom brought a chef to drop in and represent them in the arena. “When you want to beat the best, you have to bring the best,” Michael said.

And beat the best, they did, as one of the challenging chefs took Bobby to school, teaching him several secrets about how to master one of the fundamental recipes in Chinese cuisine.

Tony Hawk's Dropping Into the Culinary Scene

Prior to filming, Bobby knew that Tony was a legend on his skateboard. However, Tony’s no poser when it comes to the culinary world, either. He has appeared as a guest judge on Chopped Junior and Cupcake Wars, and joined Guy Fieri on a 2022 episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Plus, when Tony’s not enjoying tasting menus on the regular, rating recipes on TV or rolling around town on his board, you might spot him at the Encinitas, California, fried chicken restaurant he co-owns with chef Andrew Bachelier, Chick & Hawk.

Mark your calendars for 2027, when Tony’s Mexican-inspired restaurant, A Toda Madre, will open in Detroit. The best seat in the house is certain to be on the terrace, which will overlook a public skatepark that Tony helped design.

Grinding Out a Win

Tony wasn’t the one slipping on an apron and trying to smoke Bobby that day, though. Instead, he brought his friend chef Ming Pu, who was then chef-partner at The 502 Bar & Bistro and is now executive chef and founder of the Thai hot spot TANA in Louisville, Kentucky. Tony told Bobby that Ming was “ready to grind out a win.” Then, Michael introduced his contender, Pablo Zitzmann, who was then executive chef of No Name Chinese and now helms the Japanese-Latin American restaurant Zitz Sum in Coral Gables, Florida.

Before Pablo or Ming could take on Bobby, they had to compete against each other in an andouille sausage battle.

Ming was well-versed in the world of this smoky, spicy French-Cajun pork product. In fact, he likes to incorporate it into his shrimp and grits, and decided to serve up Shrimp and Polenta With Andouille Red-Eye Gravy.

As for Pablo, “I’ve never cooked with andouille sausage,” he conceded. Despite this, the Colombian chef didn’t waste a second and immediately got to work on Andouille Sausage Ragu With Fried Egg, Crunchy Sausage and Kale.

The judging was toe-to-toe. But after a challenging deliberation, Michael announced the winner due to the punchy flavors and the celebration of the key ingredient: Pablo.

Kung Pao Pablo

Then, it was time for Pablo and Bobby to try to blow away a panel of three culinary pros who would rate each dish in a blind tasting. The dish du jour? Pablo’s signature: Kung Pao chicken.

In case you’re unfamiliar, this centuries-old Sichuan dish is essentially a chicken stir-fry with chiles, garlic and Sichuan peppercorns, all tossed in a thick, sweet-and-spicy sauce and garnished with peanuts. On a heat scale of 1 (mild) to 10 (tear-inducing), Kung Pao chicken should clock in at about a 7, Michael noted.

Pablo came in confident, as he learned how to cook this dish in China, and at the time of this battle, sold about 85 servings each night at his restaurant.

On the flip side, Bobby didn’t try to disguise his amateur status. He confessed that he had only eaten Kung Pao chicken as a takeout order prior to this challenge. “I don't know if you've seen me make Chinese dishes here before. I basically take the same four bottles of Asian ingredients and try to make a sauce out of it,” he said. Later on, Bobby spilled the stars of this particular sauce: dark soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, black vinegar, sugar and hoisin sauce, all thickened with a spoonful of cornstarch.

Pablo’s sauce recipe also included plenty of condiments and flavor-boosters: oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine. The real key, though, was in the technique. Pablo “velveted” the chicken, essentially massaging it with cornstarch and baking soda to help tenderize the lean protein. He also added an unconventional bonus ingredient, bacon, in an effort to layer on more smoky flavor.

As for Bobby, he marinated chicken thighs in Chinese sherry wine and soy sauce before he fried it until golden and tossed it with the aforementioned savory-sweet sauce.

Meanwhile, Tony busted out his board to check in on the chefs. Seeing him so adept on four wheels inspired Bobby to remark, “It’s like seeing Michael Jordan dribble a basketball.” Tony’s board first took him to Pablo, who shared a heartwarming confession. Tony was the spark that inspired him to learn how to skateboard himself as a kid. “You were my hero,” Pablo said.

Next, he checked in on Bobby — and broke out a faceplant-proof board tricked out with training wheels. Bobby gamely clipped on a helmet and hopped aboard, only to wobble, chuckle and quickly return back to his station.

Bobby and Pablo both cut it close to the final bell. Just in time, they polished up their plates and were ready to present them to a qualified panel of pros.

The colors and creativity of Pablo’s plate stunned the judges, although his cashews got a bit lost in the sauce and the pros wished he stuck with rice instead of scallion pancakes. Bobby’s presentation in a ceramic takeout container earned points for playfulness. Still, he was a little too heavy-handed with the sauce, the spice level was too light and the texture of the rice was a miss.

Michael and Tony acknowledged that it was a split decision. In other words, neither chef wiped out. But by a nose, the winner was chef Pablo.

Michael graced the winning chef with a new nickname, “Kung Pao Pablo,” and strolled up to Bobby and said, “There’s only one way out of here, chef,” while handing him a helmet and board. It’s worth tuning into the episode to witness his “steez” — or lack thereof.