Food Network Sighting - Bobby Flay's Throwdown (Paella)

Woo-hoo, me and fellow Ghetto Gourmette (Jen B.) got to participate in a Food Network filming. The stage was The Cannery and the show was Bobby Flay's Throwdown -- against Gerard Nebesky, Southern California's king of paella.

Being the Food Network groupie that I am, I was thrilled to be part of the audience, in second row watching the 2 chefs battle against each other. Gerard had a giant paella pan that he let boil the whole time whereas Bobby Flay's smaller paella pan seemed only to steam. A self-taught chef, Gerard added ingredients such as garbanzo beans, Meyer lemon, baby octopus, white shrimp, green beans and short-grained Calrose rice to his paella. On the other hand, Bobby Flay, celebrity chef (Iron Chef America and Boy Meets Grill) went with lobster, green peas, chicken and chorizo in his dish.

When the film crew asked me to comment on Bobby Flay's versus Gerard's dish, I had to admit I much preferred Gerard's sweeter version of paella - not only because the Meyer lemon lent sweetness, but because the shellfish was juicy, sweet and not too fishy at all.

The judges were the owner of the Spanish Table and the native Spanish chef/owner of B44 Catalan Restaurant in San Francisco. To find out who won the Throwdown, tune into the Food Network in mid-June!! More picts here.