Fans love to see realism in their TV shows, particularly when it’s a show that is based upon little more than realism after all. Cooking shows like Beat Bobby Flay are rarely ever pegged as being fake since the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and the whole idea of faking people out on a cooking show seems like it might eliminate the entire idea of the Food Channel if such a scandal was to ever be uncovered. While Bobby Flay, Mr. Iron Chef himself, has been a prominent and prized member of the Food Channel for a long time now, it would stand to reason that there are things that he can and can’t do when it comes to cooking, a theory that is based mostly on the idea that he doesn’t spend every day cooking dishes that are bound to be unique challenges to his skill and knowledge in the kitchen. In other words people aren’t going to be challenging him every day to create something that can top the skills of another.
That being said however it’s still quite easy for shows like Beat Bobby Flay to hype themselves up on the shoulders of the star as it becomes an open challenge to anyone and everyone that thinks they have what it takes. One reason why fans might think it’s faked however is that quite often you’ll see chefs come in thinking they’re great enough to take down an Iron Chef and will even go so far as to state that no one can replicate their recipe. You might think that this means that Flay would indeed have a legitimate challenge on his hands and might even run the risk of losing. But then you’d be forgetting that Flay is a champion chef in the kitchen and the Food Channel is banking on this with every episode. That’s why he rarely loses after all, as some people would think, he’s being hand-fed opponents much as Mick did for Rocky in Rocky III.
You could argue that this doesn’t do Flay’s reputation for being one of the best any good, but in all honesty Flay is still one of the best since the chefs that are brought in aren’t exactly novices. Sometimes though it does appear that the producers might be bringing in chefs that they think aren’t quite up to Flay’s skill level just in order to keep the legend that is Bobby Flay alive so that people won’t think he’s losing his touch in the kitchen. After all with Flay being such a big cash cow it’s easy to see how that reputation needs to be kept in order to maintain the appearance that he’s some culinary juggernaut that simply can’t be beat. People might come close, as the judging is fair and there’s little to no real bias from the panel when it comes to evaluating each dish, but more often than not Bobby comes out with a win and is vindicated once again as a truly gifted chef.
Another slightly irritating quirk of the show is that Bobby seems fond of saying that there are dishes that he’s never done before in his life. This is annoying since it would indicate that there’s a chance he could be beaten in such episodes, but then somehow he pulls it out and makes it known that he’s cooked something similar throughout his career. At this point is anyone really doubting that Bobby Flay has cooked a wide enough variety of dishes to have this contest well-covered? The man has done amazing things in the kitchen and has shown time and time again that going up against him is like trying to take down Ali in his prime. It’s definitely possible, but it’s not too likely since he’s just that good at what he does and isn’t bound by any one particular recipe. So to hear Bobby say that he has never made a certain dish is an eye-rolling moment since even if it’s true the chance that he’ll remember some way to replicate it and create his own spin on the dish is pretty much guaranteed.
No one likes to hear that one of their favorite shows is rigged in any way, but the chances of any show on TV being 100 pure and untouched by a production crew’s magic are rather dim. At this point in time in TV the idea is to make the show as enjoyable as possible but also as one-sided as it needs to be in order to offer up a challenge and yet still keep the star of the show on top as much as possible. If you’ll recall, Flay has been beaten, but it’s not such a common occurrence that his reputation has taken a pounding. He’s still the man after all, and that’s the way the producers tend to like it.
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