Hastings defeats Bobby Flay



Mesa Grill, BobbyFlay.com

Birmingham's own Chris Hastings, owner of the Hot and Hot Fish Club located in Southside, appeared on Iron Chef America last night.  He met up with Bobby Flay, who has appeared on Iron Chef more than 50 times and has a 70% win rate.  During the interview/audition process, Hastings reportedly said that he wanted to go up against the very best, and Flay certainly fit the bill. 

Now, as an aside, we are huge Bobby Flay fans here at our house.  We LOVE Flay, but we had to pull for our home town treasure.  Normally, I would expect Flay to win fairly easily, but a couple of factors caused me to think Hastings would "bring it" and make this a true showdown. 

First, I learned that Hastings had requested Tena Payne, a local potter, credited already for making all of the china for the restaurant, create five, 15-piece place settings for the Iron Chef appearance.  In the history of the show, there has never been a chef who went to that degree of effort and detail. 

Second, Hastings had been rumored to incorporate moonshine into one of his courses.  Moonshine?  Please.  That is unbeatable.  Or, as Anthony Anderson, celebrity judge, said, upon being served the moonshine, "You win." 

Third, Hastings practiced on an insane scale.  After recreating "Kitchen Stadium" in the Hot and Hot, he, along with two former H&H chefs, practiced 4-5 hours per day, 3-4 days per week, for an entire month. 

Finally, and this is the only food-related factor, the pottery work had to be driven 16 hours to New York due to the time crunch and need to get the settings there in time for taping.  Along with the pottery, tomatoes and other local vegetables were transported.  In the paraphrased words of Tena Payne:  How are you going to find a good tomato in New York? 

For some reason, I thought the pottery and moonshine might give Flay pause.  In the end, those steps may not have mattered, as Flay appears to have stumbled more by "playing it safe" with his creations.  Hastings prevailed, and I am so proud and ecstatic for Hastings and the Hot and Hot. 

Also, I will be forever curious about the pear moonshine.