Chef Alyssa tried to ‘Beat Bobby Flay.’ Observations from her 1st Food Network appearance
This past spring was a busy time for Chef Alyssa Wilen (formerly Gorelick).
She married her long time boyfriend and business partner, Andrew Wilen, moved to a new home, and made her Food Network debut appearance on the hit reality show, “Beat Bobby Flay.”
The 30-minute show pits two chefs against each other in a timed cook-off elimination battle featuring a secret ingredient. Each chef’s dishes are judged by a celebrity panel with the winner moving on to a head-to-head battle with Flay, preparing a specialty dish chosen by the contestant.
Wilen is well known in Charlotte for Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen, hands-on cooking experiences focusing on healthy, sustainable food.
Chef Alyssa’s episode of “Beat Bobby Flay” is scheduled to re-air on the Food Network July 28 at 11 p.m. if you missed it the first time around, or just want to watch it again.
Spoiler alert: Wilen didn’t make it through the initial elimination round to face Chef Flay, she did find the experience to be “positive and validating.”
Here are some of her observations:
On being selected:
“Andrew filled out the application last October and we heard back from the producers the same day,” said Wilen. “This was followed up by a Skype interview where they go through your background pretty thoroughly. They are looking for ‘your story,’ and how you work under pressure. I was selected very shortly after the screening process and went to New York City to film last December.”
On her strategy:
“You’re provided with a detailed list of available pantry and refrigerated items as well as equipment and even a floor-plan of the kitchen in advance. Of course you have no idea what the secret ingredient is going to be. My goal was to keep things simple and fresh. You only have 20 minutes to prepare the best dish you can.”
On her dish:
“My secret ingredient was mackerel. You have about 3 minutes after they identify the ingredient before the timer starts. We’d toured the kitchen beforehand and I spied some lovely purple and yellow cauliflower. I prepared seared mackerel with caramelized cauliflower and fennel salad.”
On the celebrity judges:
“Of course Bobby Flay is the host of the show and there is a brief bit of banter with him. My judges were Katie Couric and Chef Michael Symon. I had a nice back and forth with Couric – and Symon is just as he appears on TV, nice and genuine. After the time is up, your dishes are immediately taken to the judges where they taste and rate them off stage. I thought actually I’d won. Where I went wrong was not fully getting all the skin off my filet and not being bold enough with my seasoning.”
On the biggest surprise:
“I was there for an entire day – from 10 to 5. They shoot a ton of interview footage, both before and after just to get a few minutes into the final show. There is a lot of waiting and it is hard to keep your energy level up. They shoot two shows a day and two seasons in two weeks. The “talent,” — Flay and the judges — are only whisked in during camera time. You’re not hanging out with them.”
Her takeaway:
“I was really pleased with the experience. The show has a lot of integrity. It is validating to know I can compete in that environment.”
Chef Alyssa’s episode of Beat Bobby Flay will re-air on the Food Network July 28, 11 p.m. Check your local listings for updates.
Photos: Courtesy of Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen
This story was originally published July 14, 2016 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Chef Alyssa tried to ‘Beat Bobby Flay.’ Observations from her 1st Food Network appearance."