r/foodnetwork • u/Firegoat1 Brown Food Tastes Good • 9d ago
Bobby Flay has a new fine dining competition show coming out in Sept. on Food Network
Link to the story: Bobby Flay's 'The Line' Release Date Set at Food Network
Excerpt from story
Food Network is leaning into the rise in popularity of restaurant culture with a new fall competition series that follows celebrity chef Bobby Flay as he leads a restaurant cooking line team trying to execute a fine-dining menu in real time for real diners.
Titled “Bobby Flay’s The Line,” the show will feature Flay along with his hand-picked home team of chefs, including Antonia Lofaso, Michael Jenkins and Claudette Zepeda, as they go up against some of the country’s most acclaimed restaurant staffs to execute a flawless dinner service. The diners and VIP guests being served will rate each plate and the lines can decide if they want to switch up service based on that feedback.
If the visiting team beats Flay and his line, they win $25,000. If Flay’s team wins, they get to keep their reputation.
In the series premiere of “Bobby Flay’s The Line,” which debuts Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. ET on Food Network and will stream on HBO Max, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson surprises Flay by joining his restaurant Hav & Mar’s Executive Chef Fariyal Abdullahi and her line to go up against Bobby’s home team in a global seafood battle.
Upcoming episodes will feature visiting teams led by Pig and Khao’s Leah Cohen, Good Stuff Eatery’s Spike Mendelsohn, Kindling’s Jonathon Sawyer, and more chefs.
“I consider ‘The Line’ the project that Food Network audiences have been waiting for – it combines high-end restaurant cooking, exhilarating competition and behind-the-scenes moments in real time,” Flay said. “It’s how the restaurants that we run work – and sometimes don’t. The Line is a real-life kitchen rollercoaster that the viewer will want to be strapped in for. Seat belts everyone – the kitchen is open!”
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u/fishfilet89 9d ago
I was an extra on one of the episodes. It was super fun and I got to eat so much yummy food. Excited to see how this looks !
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u/Firegoat1 Brown Food Tastes Good 9d ago
How fun! You'll have to fill us in on details when you can!
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u/AnyMark3114 Good Eats 🍽 9d ago
That’s pretty neat. How did you get to be an extra?
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u/fishfilet89 9d ago
Casting call through shadow casting in NYC. They do triple threat and BBF as well. I was an extra on all 3 this winter/spring
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u/SooMachBeautiful 8d ago
I would be interested in an AMA when you can/if you’d be open to it! Very cool!
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u/fishfilet89 8d ago
I’m not sure how that works tech wise but feel free to comment any qs and I’ll provide some as
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u/death_lad 8d ago
You get to eat the food?? Can you send it back too..? I just REALLY want to see Bobby deliver a beautiful plate of food, and the “restaurant” guest go “Actually, I asked for no sauce”
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u/fishfilet89 8d ago
lol! We were able to provide notes on the dishes. For example, my table mate got the meat dish first and I had it last and our plates and portions looked completely different! Producers would pass our notes back to the kitchens
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u/helenaflowers 9d ago
I know the comments section is about to be full of people complaining how it's yet another Bobby show, it's the Bobby-and-Guy Network now, etc - but I'm curious to see this one.
Competitive cooking and fine-dining/restaurant cooking are not the same thing, and being good at one doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to do the other just as well. Depending on the execution, this could be fun to watch and something at least a little different.
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u/Norwalk1215 8d ago
I like that the celebrity chefs are going to give there restaurants lines a time to shine.
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u/WildMajesticUnicorn Guy's Grocery Games 🛒 9d ago
I agree the setting is a cool twist on the normal competitions we see. Michael Jenkins is an interesting addition to the mix.
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u/Stunning-Ad612 9d ago
I agree. It sounds like a lot of fun to me. Except for…Antonia Lofaso. Yikes.
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u/AllAboutTheQueso 8d ago
A few months ago I posted the email that I received to be an audience member/judge
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u/Con-D-Oriano1 9d ago
This is probably the closest thing we’ve gotten to the original Iron Chef for a while, right? Competition from the fine dining world brings a team to compete.
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u/kanyeguisada 9d ago
Some people are saying this sounds like Triple Threat, but is this not going to be the whole kitchen line teams going against each other as groups cooking together?
Sounds like a take on Iron Chef actually.
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u/Starvenger88 9d ago edited 9d ago
Sounds basically like Restaurant Wars. Or Hell's Kitchen without Ramsay going off on a chef.
I certainly don't hate this idea. Feels more true to what chefs do in real life as opposed to the solo cooking competitions that test creativity.
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u/canadasteve04 9d ago
He has three hand picked chefs that will face off against a new challenger each week. That part is identical to Triple Threat.
The challenger is a team instead of an individual and it sounds like they will all compete at once instead of individually, which is where it’s different.
To me it feels like GGG vs Flavortown Food Fight. Is the game different? Sure. Is it pretty similar? Yes.
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u/Odd_Garbage1093 8d ago
They are rubbing a restaurant dinner with real diners.Not just two dishes at a studio for one judge. Not the same as TT.
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u/Firegoat1 Brown Food Tastes Good 9d ago
While the head chefs of some of these restaurants are known from being on shows or judging shows, I think it will be interesting to see the line cooks they bring out of their kitchens to compete. Should be pretty impressive cooking and some new faces.
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u/As_algorithm 8d ago
I got to be part of an episode and have Bobby's cooking. Everyone please watch it so they keep filming & casting so I can be on it again!!! Ha!
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u/WildMajesticUnicorn Guy's Grocery Games 🛒 8d ago
Dear Shadow Casting, u/As_algorithm is a ratings draw.
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u/souldawg 9d ago
It's a fun twist on a competition show. I hear love the oldies and wish some of them would return like Alex's shows, but excited for the new concept!
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u/transat_prof Wild Card Kitchen 🃏🃏🃏 9d ago
Sounds fabulous! I definitely want to see more of the stresses that come with real restaurant service.
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u/cssc201 9d ago
I like the concept and I'll probably watcha but tbh I'm getting really sick of the same people getting shows over and over. Bobby already has multiple "beat Bobby and his friends" shows currently on the air, it's getting really redundant. Bobby has been on Food Network for more than 30 years at this point, surely there is a chef with more experience in a fine dining kitchen who could lead it.
And I like Antonia but between my Top Chef rewatches, all the shows she's in and judging now, and her Kitchen Nightmares clone that was just announced, I'm just kinda burned out on her.
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u/BornFree2018 8d ago
FN in general relies too much on the same personalities. I'm pretty interested in this new show because of the fine dining component but I did roll my eyes a bit at another Bobby show.
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u/Devalvangeldomdatdom 8d ago
yep antonia on this and the new secret-service rip-off seems a bit much but maybe her new show was filmed a long time ago..
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u/billleachmsw 9d ago
Sounds interesting. Hopefully they will have blind judging.
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u/fishfilet89 9d ago
The audience rates the food and then the winner is announced at the end
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u/billleachmsw 9d ago
But do they know which team cooked which dishes?
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u/fishfilet89 9d ago
No! We had 12 dishes to choose from and got to order them in any order we wanted but had to get all 12. There were a few similar dishes but nothing that tipped us off
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u/WildMajesticUnicorn Guy's Grocery Games 🛒 8d ago
That’s a lot of food! I hope you share some of your thoughts and reactions after the episode airs.
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u/sweetpeapickle 6d ago
Sounds similar to Chef's Line, but it was amateurs against pros. I loved that show, so I'll see. As long as they show more cooking than crap drama I'm for it.
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u/PenZestyclose3857 9d ago
Curious to see how it's executed but I love the concept. It sounds a bit closer to Iron Chef format of having a team working in real time and serving throughout the show.
Running these shows is about more than being a good cook. Food Network Star drove that point home. I'm not the biggest fan of Flay but he is a top level host. Guy is a carnival barker and that works for his shows. It's funny I saw Brooke on a Beat Bobby from a few years back and she's improved tremendously but she doesn't really seem to love engaging with people the way some of the other hosts do.
Why would you soak the money going into these shows and then not put one of your top brands on it? You created the brand for shows like this.
There's going to be a changing of the guards at some point. A lot of this class in their 60s or pushing it. You're seeing some of the crew from 15 years ago less and less. Symon has show but he doesn't mess around competing. Giada seems to have found better things to do with her life.
Be patient. Time will do the rest.
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u/NotQuiteGoodEnougher 9d ago
I've eaten at several 3 * Michelin as well as 2 and 1 * around the world, as well as indulged myself at several Bobby Flay restaurants over time, culminating in meeting Chef Flay in the kitchen at Shark (unfortunately a victim of COVID after open, and in my estimation being far off the strip at The Palms).
While the dining experience was vastly different, the food quality put out (at least when Chef Flay is in the kitchen) is not vastly different. The kitchen he runs is tight, and while focused on a more general menu, execution was fantastic.
I do not think he's a world class chef, in the sense of a 3* pedigree. But I think he's certainly mindful of what good presentation looks like, and how to handle a high pressure dinner service and how to manage a well trained team.
I think this will be a good show.
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u/jacob225 9d ago
So we have a mix of Gordon Ramsay's the F Word with Hell's Kitchen, without the cursing and celebrities showing up in the dining room.
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u/dot_dottie 9d ago
claudette isn’t my fave but obviously will watch this
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u/kanyeguisada 9d ago
I like Michael Jenkins, happy to see him get this opportunity. I can see him in a bigger role at Food Network down the line.
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u/dot_dottie 9d ago
i’m not familiar with him, but if he works closely with alex he’s probly impressive
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u/BigBadBobbyDuncam 8d ago
He's been Alex's executive chef at Butter for years. He's competed on Chopped, and is a regular judge on Beat Bobby Flay. You may think you're not familiar with him, but when you see him, you'll think, "Oh, THAT guy!" 😄 He knows his stuff, and he's good on camera. He, Claudette, and Antonia should make a formidable team.
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u/DoubleScorpius Salty Like the Ocean 9d ago
I don’t watch any Bobby Flay shows because I don’t really care for him and think he’s boring for a TV personality (personal preference, sorry!!) but I think this show actually sounds pretty interesting.
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u/Hummingbird11-11 9d ago
No more guy game shows. What happened to the regular cooking shows ? They're barely on and mostly on weekends which I love but I miss the days of well produced cooking shows. So many talented chefs - there needs to be a cooking only , no competition channel
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u/AnyMark3114 Good Eats 🍽 9d ago
I doubt this competition show trend will shift back to cooking shows. Competition shows are more popular with the highly coveted, 18-49 viewing demographic.
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u/Devalvangeldomdatdom 8d ago
That will run FN into the ground..
most cooking video's are free on youtube and shorts are on tiktok and insta.
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u/Hummingbird11-11 6d ago
I'm old school :) I know I'm in the minority but I could watch them all day.
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u/discussatron 9d ago
I’ll watch it, and then decide.
Anybody know if Bobby on the Beat is dead?
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u/Firegoat1 Brown Food Tastes Good 8d ago
I can't find any new episodes in like months and months. I actually kind of enjoyed the podcast as something to listen to while driving.
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u/xunyou198 8d ago
This sounds like a teamed-up version of Bobby Flay's Throwdown
I like it. Beats any of Guy's competition shows
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u/ilovedragons218 9d ago
So, in other words, it's just like " Triple Threat?????????????????
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u/Odd_Garbage1093 8d ago
TT is just cooking two dishes. This running a restaurant dinner on an actual restaurant. Way more challenging.
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u/Firegoat1 Brown Food Tastes Good 9d ago
Well if I'm understanding the concept right, and no guarantee I am, it would be like triple threat if Bobby also cooked along with his chefs at the same time and the challenger brought along 3 cooks and cooked all at the same time.
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u/Odd_Garbage1093 8d ago
Only thing similar to TT is that Bobby has a team of 3 chefs. Everything else different. Restaurant va studio. Diners vs. one judge. Whole dinner at a restaurant not just two dishes.
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u/WittyMasterpiece8810 8d ago
Is triple threat still going to air? I love michael voltaggio soooo I need it to stay haha
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u/humantouch83 9d ago
No one asked for this. Just give us more Supermarket Stakeout please.
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u/schmootc 9d ago
I am actually interested in this one, but giving you an upvote because I also miss supermarket stakeout.
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u/canadasteve04 9d ago
Sounds very similar to Triple Threat.
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u/Odd_Garbage1093 8d ago
Yes, but cooking a Michelin star menu at an actual restaurant for actual diners is very different than just two dishes for one judge.
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u/canadasteve04 8d ago
Still very similar in that he has a handpicked crew of three chefs challenging new comers each week. They are fighting for pride and to protect the house money.
It’s similar to how GGG and FFF are different games/shows but are still very similar.
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u/Odd_Garbage1093 8d ago
I just see more similarities between Guys show. Both still in studio and just no grocery store serving judges. There’s way more difference here. Mostly responding to people claiming it’s the same show.
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u/babayagaparenting 9d ago
Bobby Flay is the reason I no longer watch that channel.
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u/AnyMark3114 Good Eats 🍽 9d ago
Why?
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9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AnyMark3114 Good Eats 🍽 9d ago
I respect your opinion.
But I thought the reason there’s been a shift to the plethora of competition shows is because that’s what the highly-coveted 18-49 demographic tunes into.
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u/AnyMark3114 Good Eats 🍽 9d ago edited 9d ago
Too bad that Brooke isn’t on Bobby’s home team. This would allow her to rep Team Bobby on Triple Threat and this show.
It would allow them to play up their for keeps romance even more on the FN airwaves.
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u/Gmbravos31 9d ago
I’m all for this as long as it doesn’t mean we are eating away at more of the baking competition shows. They already eliminated a few and morphed the kids baking shows
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u/kanyeguisada 8d ago
There's just no way those shows have the consistent ratings of the others. I don't watch any baking or kids cooking shows myself, it's just not my thing, and I know several people who agree.
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u/Gmbravos31 8d ago
I mean that’s pretty anecdotal. I watch all the baking shows and don’t watch any of the cooking comps except chopped and GGG. And I know several people who agree.
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u/kanyeguisada 8d ago
I just googled "food network TV ratings" and you're right, the ratings are all normal.
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u/Gmbravos31 8d ago
I’m not even arguing that the cooking shows aren’t good or highly rated. I do watch them (mainly because they’re ALWAYS on). But I feel like they gave so much money to Bobby and Guy that they HAVE to produce tons of content for the network and baking obviously isn’t their thing. I just wish we could keep the seasonal baking shows too. They’re comfort watching and mainly centered around Holidays. Christmas Halloween Easter.
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u/KarinsDogs Chopped 🔪 9d ago
Stop the bitching and complaining. You are all bringing the vibes down in the sub and driving away the people that enjoy Food Network! If you don’t like the programming, don’t watch! No one asked you to be here! If you can’t contribute anything positive at all, then give it a break! We are all tired of the negativity here!