The "He Beat Bobby Flay!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Remembering back many, many years to the year I had a young man in my Graphic Arts class named Eric Calhoun.  On parent's night that year I got to meet Eric's father, Joe, who happened to be the weatherman on our local Channel 8 TV station.  I knew that Eric had other siblings, but never knew that he had a younger brother who enjoyed cooking and baking.  That all changed today when I saw on the front page of the local newspaper that Manheim Township graduate Scott Calhoun, Eric's brother,  bested another fellow by the name of Bobby Flay on the Food Network TV show, "Beat Bobby Flay."  

My wife, Carol, and I enjoy watching the show, but often wonder why nobody can beat Bobby week after week.  One year we did actually see Bobby lose to another chef and thought it was the first time ever he had lost.  Well, that all changed today when the newspaper story I was reading told me that Scott Calhoun topped Bobby Flay on his TV show!  My wife, Carol, and I found the show on our TV and sat down to watch the defeat of one of the best cooks ever, Bobby Flay.  Scott was a 2003 graduate of Manheim Township High School and eventually went to culinary school.  

David and Scott in front of their restaurant in Philadelphia

He and business partner, David Feola, both appeared on the "Beat Bobby Flay" show recently.  The show aired this past Tuesday night.  Scott and David own Ember & Ash, which is an acclaimed restaurant in Philadelphia.  Scott began his cooking career at a sandwich shop known as V&S Sandwich Shop which used to be a block from my house on the Fruitville Pike.  He soon met David and before long the two opened their restaurant in the Philadelphia area.  In a quote from the local newspaper, Scott said, "The true test for me was the first round.  That was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my cooking career.  First, facing off against Dave, my business partner, where I knew I was up against someone with some serious chops." Scott said that first round of the competition was "the fastest 20 minutes of his life."  He beat his partner and then was paired against famous Bobby Flay in the Finals.  His dish of choice for the finals was liver and onions.  It was a meal that his dad, the WGAL-TV Meteorologist in Lancaster, PA often cooked for him when he was growing up.  He said it was a dreaded day in the Calhoun household when his dad cooked liver and onions, but today he realized how good his dad's dish must have been since he beat Bobby Flay with it!  

Scott working on his liver and onions.

He said, "In a way this was an ode to my dad, and also a way to show the beauty in something so simple as liver and onions."  Scott was so prepared that at one point he realized that he was ready to plate the dish too early and needed to slow himself down.  When the clock finally ran down, Bobby came over and saw his dish and said, "Oh, you plated the livers IN the onion!"  

Liver and onions...the winner!

Scott realized that after hearing Bobby say that, he could see that Bobby was less confident in his own dish.  Weatherman Joe Calhoun, his father, appreciated seeing his son on the screen.  He said, "I'm blessed and proud to have four great children."  

Scott...soon after winning!  Bobby is to the right.

Joe said, "I hate watching myself on TV, but I enjoyed watching him."  Who wouldn't enjoy seeing their son beat a chef such as Bobby Flay on a show such as "Beat Bobby Flay,"  A moment that will be hard to every top!  Great job, Scott!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Congratulations from one of America's best chefs.