Local chef throws down against celebrity chef Bobby Flay

[Henry]

This Sunday night on the food network the TV Program with Mark Bove & Bobby Flay will be aired at 10 p.m. on the Food Network - Below is the article written by Lauren Ober, Free Press Staff Writer last October.  If you happen to be in Burlington sometime and want to get a takeout from Boves, they are faster than McDonalds.  Maryann and I got a couple of takeouts last week and we each had enough for two days meals.  The food and environment in the restaurant hasn't changed since the 50s when Maryann and I used to go there to eat.

Local chef throws down against celebrity chef Bobby Flay

By Lauren Ober Free Press Staff Writer
October 13, 2007

At 11:50 a.m. Friday, Mark Bove prepared to begin the biggest food fight of his life.

He dabbed the sweat from his brow and steeled himself for the epic culinary battle ahead. But when the Iron Chef walked through the crowd at the University of Vermont's Billings Hall and approached Bove's lasagna prep table, Bove couldn't help but let a little excitement out.

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay strode over to Bove and surveyed the competition. He didn't look intimidated, but when he tried Bove's famous vodka sauce, he knew he was in for a good fight.
Flay, star of the Food Network's "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," was at UVM for a lasagna cook-off with Bove and the rest of the family. The competition was filmed for a future episode of the show.

As Flay played showman for the assembled crowd of UVM students and community members, Bove, owner of the Pearl Street restaurant of the same name , could hardly hide his broad smile.

"If I win, can I call you Bobby?" Bove asked Flay.

The competition began with Flay's sous chefs organizing his ingredients, most of which were locally sourced. Flay, wearing designer jeans and a loden wool cardigan, helped arrange his knives and burners. Then he started engaging the crowd.

"You guys hungry?" Flay asked.

As he spooned out pieces of ricotta cheese from Maplebrook Farm in Bennington, Flay talked about his love of lasagna dating back to his childhood. He told the crowd his mother never made good lasagna, but his Italian neighbors did and he often went over to their house to eat.

A number of students pining to be on TV called out questions as Flay worked.

"Are you using local products?" one female student asked.

"Of course," Flay said with a sly little smile. "True story."

Sean Buchanan, of Wood Creek Farm Beef in Bridport, found all the organic ingredients for the Food Network. In addition to cheese from Bennington, Flay used beef from Buchanan's farm, pork from PT Farms in St. Albans, produce from Golden Russet Farm in Shoreham and fresh pasta from Anything's Pastable in Essex.

"If they can get it local, they know it's going to be fresh and better," Buchanan said of the Food Network.

Flay chose to make northern Italian-style lasagna using nearly equal parts tomato and bechamel sauce. His lasagna was studded with pieces of slow-braised beef and pork, which Flay said made for a good consistency.

"This is good college food," Flay said.

Bove's dish was more traditional and used highly seasoned meatballs to bring out the flavor of the cheeses and the sauce. As he prepped his dish, his brother Rick Bove reflected on the family's good fortune.

"For this to happen to just little old us is quite an honor," Rick Bove said. "My grandmother, Victoria, would be very proud. It was her recipe."

At the end of the throwdown, Flay left his station without a spot of sauce on his clothes. Bove's apron and hands were covered with sauce. One of Flay's sous chefs revealed a secret about the Iron Chef -- he doesn't get anything on his clothes, but he leaves a trail of food spills wherever he goes.

As the dishes neared completion and their aromas filled the air, the crowd began to grow restless. Brett Silverstein, a freshman at UVM, shifted from foot to foot waiting to get some of the lasagna. He and his friend and fellow freshman Andrew Hughes missed their economics class for Flay's appearance.

"We got someone to take notes for us," Silverstein said. "This was worth it."

So, did Bove best the Iron Chef? Not quite. Two judges, Rod Rehwinkel, executive chef at UVM, and food writer Melissa Pasanen, a regular contributor to the Free Press, chose Flay's creation over Bove's. But getting to spar with Flay was a victory in itself.

Contact Lauren Ober at 660-1868 or lober@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
 

Bobby Flay and the sauceboy, Mark Bove

[Henry]

My oldest daughter and youngest grandson were up for the weekend and we watched the Bove/Flay Throwdown.  Although I was disappointed that Bobby Flay won, his Lasagna was not the traditional type and to me Bove's Lasagna was the real thing.  Not many restaurants around that can boast being in business since December 7, 1941.  Maryann and I get takeouts from time to time from Bove's and they are very quick.  No need to call ahead, you just go in the side door, give the lady at the cash register your order and she hands it out to the kitchen with one word, "Waiting" and within minutes you are on your way out.

The cash register is handled by one person, usually a family member I believe, who is always courteous and friendly.  I was looking around when I was down there last week and there are really no big noticeable changes except the Mural that was on the wall has disappeared and it is painted a plain green, about the same shade as it was some 66 years ago.