A Chef Reveals Bobby Was Her First Crush on 'Beat Bobby Flay'

It’s New Yorker night on Beat Bobby Flay. Comedian Desus Nice, host of Desus Pieces, joins chef Alex Guranaschelli at the judges' table to watch chefs duke it out for the chance to beat Bobby Flay. Desus is a man of many flavors. From fermented shark in Iceland to Crown Fried Chicken, a neighborhood staple in Brooklyn and the Bronx, he says his palate doesn’t discriminate.

Bring on the Beef

Our first contestant, chef David Viana, rolls through the gate swinging Thor’s meat mallet. He used to work for Bobby, but now he runs four restaurants and is a James Beard Award semifinalist. Our second contestant, chef Kess Eshun, saunters out of the gate with a cupid's bow and arrow. She studied pastries in culinary school and now works as a private chef in Dallas, Texas. When she immigrated to the US from Ghana, Bobby was her first crush. Both chefs admire Bobby, but one of them must bring him down.

Bobby reveals the main ingredient: skirt steak. Whether we’re eating chopped cheese or beefing on the streets, Bobby knows New Yorkers love their beef served hot.

Kess sautes her skirt steak in a cast-iron skillet with onions, mushrooms, thyme and spices. She’s making a skirt steak and mushroom baguette, a timeless flavor combination with diverse textures.

On the opposite end of the kitchen, David slices onions on a mandoline for his salsa verde onion noodles. He’s making a pan-seared skirt steak with a pomegranate-red wine reduction and salsa verde onion noodles. The dish includes bright and bold flavors meant to enhance the caramelized skirt steak.

New York Judges the Beef

“Based on the dishes in front of me, I think that either one of you could beat Bobby,” Desus says. Alex and Desus try David’s dish first.

They believe that the steak was well executed; however, the sauce overpowered the steak. “The steak, it was cooked so well, but then you know, it [pomegranate-red wine reduction] kind of throws it off,” Desus critiques.

Next, the judges reach for Kess’ plate and bite into her baguette.

“This is delicious. It’s seasoned well. It’s soulful,” Alex exclaims.

The steak was the star, but the baby greens and tomatoes clashed with the steak. “You know, it’s like you brought kids on a date,” Desus jokes.

After some deliberation between Alex and Desus, Kess moves on to the next round.

Jollof Wars

There’s a sweet joy that bubbles up inside when you get the chance to destroy a past crush in a competition. It’s only fitting that Bobby should struggle, too. Kess challenges Bobby to the ultimate rice showdown: jollof rice.

Jollof is a top-tier topic for passionate debate. If you claim [insert West African country] has the best jollof rice, a sea of righteous representatives across West Africa will appear before your home to claim their home country's is best.

Kess and Bobby run to their ends of the ring to begin their jollof rice. Kess adds anchovies and spices to her pot; meanwhile, Bobby adds grenadine and red wine vinegar to make pickled shallots.

There’s less than 30 minutes left in the battle, and Bobby may be in trouble: His rice stuck to the bottom of the pan, and he's still frantically scooping out burnt grains. Kess fries her chicken to get a crispy exterior before mixing it in her sauce. Behind her back, Bobby sneaks a peek at his competition. He slyly rolls a tomato into Kess’ station and strides away with raised eyebrows.

“Mr. Flay, please stay on your side of the kitchen,” Desus scolds.

Laying Down the Jollof

Kess plates her jollof rice with braised chicken and a side of arugula salad; Bobby plates his jollof rice with roasted chicken thighs and pickled shallots.

Judge Mama Tanya, creator and founder of Mama Tanya’s Kitchen, loves Bobby’s seasoning. “I’m getting that heat and a little bit of sweetness. Where things got a little bit busy was the chicken skin, but this is a beautifully grilled piece of chicken.” Chef and restaurateur Michael Silakis believes the rice is really good, but it’s not at the same level as the chicken.

The judges reach for Kess’ plate. They love the braised chicken, but the rice is under-seasoned. “I do believe some of that sauce was in the rice, but I don’t think that the seasoning early on in the cooking process was enough," judge Aliya LeeKong says. "So, the rice really doesn’t have the full flavor it could.”

The judges chose Bobby as the winner. Chef Kess didn’t get to crush her crush, but she did get to see him struggle a bit and, more importantly, she made her mom proud, and that’s just as riveting.