Marcus Samuelsson Shows Up to Work on 'The Line'

Over the years, we’ve watched Food Network star Bobby Flay go head-to-head against his peers on Beat Bobby Flay, but now, we’re getting a taste of how the iconic chef works on a team. Food Network’s latest series, Bobby Flay's The Line, peels back the curtain to offer a glimpse into how Bobby works alongside fellow accomplished chefs in a restaurant setting. Each week, a visiting restaurant and its team of chefs challenge Bobby and his Line to prepare their cuisine. The teams are given 90 minutes to cook 240 plates. And, as in real life, the diners are the judges, and a VIP guest may pop in at any moment. The prize? A cool $25,000 and bragging rights for life.

Watch Bobby Flay's The Line Tuesday nights at 9|8c on Food Network.

As always, Bobby is in it to win it. Legendary chefs Antonia Lofaso, Michael Jenkins and Claudette Zepeda join him in the Food Network kitchens, and Bobby shares that he selected each for a very specific reason. Covering all his bases.

“I assembled this team in particular because each one of us can do every single thing in this kitchen, right?”

At this moment, Bobby and his Line still don’t know the restaurant — or chefs — they’re cooking against, but Bobby reveals that their cuisine for the night is “upscale seafood.”

Safe to say, the Home Team doesn’t know what’s about to hit them. Legendary chef Marcus Samuelsson is joined by Fariyal Abdullahi, the executive chef of his New York City restaurant, Hav & Mar, and talented chefs Ed Brumfield and Greg Pena. Fariyal has three James Beard Award nominations under her belt, and chefs Ed and Greg played an integral part in almost every restaurant opening for Marcus.

Hav & Mar is a seafood-focused restaurant but pays homage to Samuelsson’s roots with Ethiopian influences. Signature dishes include Shiro Branzino, Addis York and Swedopian.

Chefs Marcus, Fariyal, Ed and Greg walk through the kitchen doors eager, to do what they do best. “Hav & Mar in the building!” exclaims Marcus. The Home Team erupts with a mix of incredulity and (nervous) laughter as they size up the visiting Line.

“As a young cook, I definitely looked up to Marcus Samuelsson, to be honest with you,” Michael Jenkins shares. “He’s the Black chef that we all looked up to. This is a dream come true."

Chef Claudette realizes just how brutal this battle will be when she sees Fariyal standing opposite her. “My girl, Fariyal. There’s nothing that girl cannot do. That woman, that chef. So, this is not going to be an easy win.”

Marcus reaches the same realization as he looks across the kitchen. “I knew he would bring killers!”

Bobby explains how the evening will go. “We have two hours of prep, and then we’re going to open the doors to 40 diners. There’s 90 minutes of service, each line is cooking six dishes, and the diners are trying them all.”

He goes on to explain that the diners will score each dish from 1-5 in live time, and the teams will see the scores change in real time. Finally, Bobby hits them with a friendly reminder, “Don’t forget, you got to get all your food out. If you don’t before time’s up, they don’t count.”

Bobby introduces the team to his business partner of 35 years, Laurence Kretchmer, who will serve as a liaison between the diners and the back of house. “His job is to talk to the customers and get feedback. But he’s not on our side. He’s with everybody.”

It’s time to get down to business. Fariyal’s team selects a menu that’s straight out of Hav & Mar. “We brought these dishes we cooked in the restaurant day in and day out, and that’s our advantage,” Marcus explains. The diners will get a taste of their exquisite Ethiopian fare with Tuna Tartare, Biryani, Curry Scallop, Uni Pasta, Fish Fry & Grits and the national dish of Ethiopia: Doro Wat Crispy Chicken.

The Home Team sets a menu they feel confident in, too. Their lineup: Diver Scallops & Mussels, Lobster Ravioli, Riviera Nayarit Grilled Fish, Blue Fin Crudo, Red Corn Taco with Shrimp and Yellowtail Ceviche. “Hamachi is like my favorite fish,” Bobby shares.

As patrons enter the restaurant, Laurence explains that each diner chooses the order in which they want to taste the dishes. “Not only do the diners not know which dish is coming from each kitchen, they have no idea who’s in those kitchens.”

Service begins and orders come fast and furious for the Home Team. Chef Antonia calls out each ticket to her team as it arrives. Oddly, Hav & Mar doesn’t have any orders coming through from their menu. Chef Fariyal quickly realizes something is fishy — pun intended.

The producers inform chef Fariyal that the POS (Point of Sale) system is down, and she must take orders by hand. “There’s no time to panic,” she says. “We have done this enough times to know that we have a solution for everything.”

“We have to manually write down the guest table, the seat number, all this information. I need a lot of paper,” Fariyal says. “A lot. A lot of paper.”

As it turns out, the Home Team is not immune to the POS system failure.

“Wait,” Antonia starts. “I haven’t gotten a ticket in six minutes.”

Their printer is down, too, and chef Antonia has to put her head down and get through half-printed tickets and half-written tickets. The Home Team starts getting antsy as she works through the orders. “I haven’t gotten an order in 15 minutes,” Bobby says.

“I need you to stop yelling,” Antonia responds. “You’re, like, yelling with your eyes.”

As the evening progresses, the diners enjoy dishes from both teams. But not without some hiccups. Bobby’s Red Corn Taco with Shrimp receives low scores, and Laurence learns that diners feel the tortilla is a bit soggy. Bobby uses this insight to pivot and begins frying his tortillas, and this change gives the Home Team a boost on the board.

Hav & Mar’s crew has a mishap, too. One of their Dora Wat Fried Chicken dishes is sent back to the kitchen because it’s undercooked. Once they realize this, Marcus and his team begin frying the chicken harder. “Just cook them a little bit longer,” says Marcus. And as luck would have it, the chicken score rises moving forward.

There are only 30 minutes left and, as if service isn’t stressful enough, a VIP guest walks into the dining room. Chef Esther Choi and her sister take a seat, and Laurence returns to the kitchen to inform the teams they must prepare a special dish for their guest.

Bobby lets his fellow chefs in on a little twist. “So, we have decided when our VIP comes in, that dish is worth 10 stars,” he begins. “The losing dish gets zero.”

Chef Antonia dives in and begins preparing Lobster Tagliatelle with Crab, Lemon and Basil. But she’s still in charge of all the tickets and realizes she’s in over her head. She asks Bobby for help with the VIP dish.

Chef Marcus takes on the task of preparing Hav & Mar’s VIP dish. He prepares Surf & Turf with Tortilla Sauce, featuring lobster, wagyu and tuna.

Esther enjoys both dishes but realizes that chef Marcus left off lobster from her sister’s plate which isn't ideal. She enjoyed the spice of the tagliatelle and decided to award the Home Team the 10 stars.