Can Del Campo chef Victor Albisu out-cook Bobby Flay? We may find out tonight on the Food Network, which airs an episode of Beat Bobby Flay featuring the local grill-master.
The show, which starts at 10, mixes elements of Iron Chef (secret ingredients!) and Throwdown With Bobby Flay, in that final competitors take on the chef/host. For Albisu to reach that stage he’ll first have to beat fellow contender, Cleveland’s Eddie Tancredi, in a cook-off starring a mystery ingredient. Whoever wins will move on, revealing his signature dish to Flay. The duo will then battle it out to make the best version, with bragging rights on the line.
So far, it’s been a big week for local cooks on national television. Last night, Kapnos chef George Pagonis advanced to the three-part finale of Top Chef season 12 after making the final four last week. Though his dish didn’t win—a prize that would have secured him a place in the finals—he lives to battle another day. Tune in for the final Boston-based episode before the remaining cheftestants move on to Mexico on January 21.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
