Michael Symon up for a ‘Throwdown’ in Food Network competition series
Michael Symon loves to teach, compete and of course, cook and he displays all three in a competition series upcoming on Food Network.
In “Throwdown With Michael Symon,” a fourepisode series premiering with a double episode on Tuesday, Dec. 14, the chef, restaurateur and cookbook author ventures onto the home turf of top New York chefs and challenges them to a – well, see the title – in which he takes on that chef ’s signature dish and creates his own interpretation of it.
The twist here is that the chef in question doesn’t know this is a competition, only that they’ll be filming a Food Network special. Then Symon makes his way through the crowd and throws down his figurative gauntlet. A pair of special guest judges blindly evaluates the final product and declares a winner.
So while the chef has the home crowd and the signature dish to their advantage, Symon has the element of surprise on his side.
“It’s my kind of favorite show,” explains Symon, who just released his new cookbook “Fix It With Food: Every Meal Easy,” “where for me I get to be a chef, which I love; there’s a lot of just like natural teaching moments in the show, which I love; we get to feature basically two great chefs/restaurateurs per episode, so maybe people get to discover some new places.
“And then it ends in competition, which everybody else loves ...,” he adds with a laugh. “So I think it’s one of those few shows that hits on all those elements.”
Tuesday’s opener takes Symon first to Brooklyn’s Pig Beach to throwdown against chef Matt Abdoo and his signature burger. Then in the second, he shows up at the downtown Manhattan Eastern European eatery Tzarevna to challenge owners Ricky and Mariia Dolinsky in making their khachapuri, a cheesy stuffed bread from the nation of Georgia.
For Symon, the decadent dish required a substantial learning curve.
“That was a fun one for me,” he says, “because it’s something that I’ve never made, khachapuri. So you kind of go to a restaurant and learn the history of the dish and the different varieties of it and what someone who specializes in Georgia cuisine, what they think makes it special and unique. It was a great history lesson and learning experience for me and to taste all the different varieties was pretty awesome.”
6:00 pm FOOD Money Hungry A contestant without culinary training takes on an array of challenging cloches. (N)
6:30 pm FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Christian Petroni chooses chefs who have mastered Italian cooking.
7:00 pm FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Giada De Laurentiis and Jess Cagle match up Pano Karatassos and Mimi Weissenborn.
7:30 pm FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Ed McFarland and Dale Talde swap their spoons for knives as they try to defeat Bobby.
8:00 pm ^ Lidia Celebrates America People who have overcome extraordinary odds to find purpose in serving their communities. (N)
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Chef Dawn Burrell and chef Rob Lam face off before they go for the gold against Bobby Flay.
8:30 pm FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Chefs Blythe Beck and Mark Allen battle for the chance to spoil Bobby’s Christmas. 9:00 pm _ Gordon Ramsay’s Road Trip Gordon Ramsay takes pals Gino D’Acampo and Fred Sirieix deep into a winter wonderland to find Santa. (N)
FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Chefs George Kantaris and Angelo Vangelopoulos take center stage for a shot at the crown.
9:30 pm FOOD Throwdown With Michael Symon (N)
6:00 pm FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Chefs shop for ingredients in their burger and loaded fries combo using just tongs and a grill lid.
7:00 pm 1 Cook’s Country Boneless rib roast with Yorkshire pudding; black tea.
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Guy brings the culinary combat to Flavortown Market’s aisles in every single round.
7:30 pm 1 Cook’s Country Crumbcrusted rack of lamb; electric knives.
8:00 pm FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Wintertime favorites with eight items or fewer; frugal holiday desserts; the Holiday Food Wheel.
9:00 pm 1 Sara’s Weeknight Meals Homemade marshmallows; cheese crackers; peppermint bark.
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Guy Fieri’s two sons and nephew face off with allstar chefs and weird ingredients. (N) 9:30 pm 1 Sara’s Weeknight Meals Root vegetable soup with pita crisps; shredded butternut squash with dates; Brussels sprouts.
6:00 pm FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Actress
Jane Krakowski teams up with Chef
Michael Symon to steal Bobby Flay’s spotlight.
6:30 pm FOOD Beat Bobby Flay Eddie Jackson and Anne Burrell hope to trip up Bobby Flay with some stellar competition.
7:00 pm FOOD Christmas Cookie Challenge Five of America’s finest cookie makers take on the world of fine art.
8:00 pm FOOD Christmas Cookie Challenge The cookie makers create 3D Christmas trees inspired by plants found deep in the desert.
9:00 pm FOOD Christmas Cookie Challenge The bakers release a tsunami of icing that completely transforms their towering displays. (N)
6:00 pm FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives A shoulder pull and a holiday ham; Mexican tamales and quinoa sweet potato tacos.
6:30 pm FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Basque lamb tacos; popcorn pork; grandma’s pizza; homemade pappardelle pasta; dumplings; Asian pork.
7:00 pm FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Guy heads to North Pole, Alaska, to visit local establishments.
8:00 pm FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives A culinary dojo amps up local specialties; a funky food truck puts out meatless Mexican.
8:30 pm FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Southern comfort food in Atlanta; Brazilian flavors in Austin, Texas; barbecue in Richland, Wash.
9:00 pm FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and
Dives
9:30 pm FOOD Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives A Southern-style chicken sandwich and hush puppies in Oregon; a unique pizza in Oklahoma.
8:00 am FOOD The Kitchen Smoked salmon eggs Benedict with sauce Maltaise; easy bacon, peppers and cheese home fries.
8:30 am 1 Les Stroud’s Wild Harvest Harvest based on two trees — oak and madrone; Paul Rogalski and Joy Cyr face a culinary challenge.
9:00 am DSC Moonshiners: Smoke Ring
FOOD Giada’s Holiday Handbook Giada De Laurentiis hosts a family Christmas Eve dinner that honors the Feast of the Seven Fishes.
TRAV Food Paradise Triple-decker grilled cheese sandwich; lobster-stuffed mac and cheese; a fiery cheese spectacular.
9:30 am 1 Cook’s Country Boneless rib roast with Yorkshire pudding; black tea.
FOOD Giada’s Holiday Handbook A brunch on Christmas day with a California twist; her menu includes beef tenderloin.
10:00 am 1 Pati’s Mexican Table Favorite food memories and the stories behind them.
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FOOD The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond cooks up her favorite one-pan crowd pleasers for the holidays or anytime. (N)
TRAV Food Paradise Bottomless bowls of soup, buffets in Las Vegas and sixpound hamburgers are featured. 10:30 am * SoFlo Taste
1 Ciao Italia Three easy recipes include fish chowder, scallops with spinach and baked fish with lemon and olives.
FOOD The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond is making an array of retro holiday party food that stands the test of time.
11:00 am J Pati’s Mexican Table Culinary highlights of Guadalajara, capital of Jalisco, Mexico; tortas ahogadas; Fabian Delgado.
DSC Moonshiners: Smoke Ring
FOOD The Kitchen The hosts create a home-cooked holiday menu inspired by their own traditions.
TRAV Food Paradise Chock-full-ofchicken pie on Cape Cod; Aussie meat pie in Georgia; steak pie in Chicago. 12:00 pm J Cook’s Country Easy steak frites; the origin of french fries; braisers.
DSC Moonshiners: Smoke Ring
FOOD Magnolia Table With Joanna Gaines (N)
12:30 pm 1 Baking With Julia Pastry chef Gail Gand makes lemon meringue pie for one; David Blom bakes cookies, tuiles and gingersnaps.
12:33 pm FOOD Magnolia Table With Joanna Gaines Joanna prepares some of her favorite holiday side dishes. (N) 1:00 pm 1 Jacques Pépin: Heart & Soul Salmon scaloppini with sorrel sauce; lamb breast navarin; green salad with mustard dressing.
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1:06 pm FOOD Molly Yeh’s Magnolia Adventure Molly and Nick visit Waco,Texas for home design inspiration. 1:30 pm 1 Joanne Weir’s Plates and Places Wiener schnitzel; dill green goddess salad bowl.
2:00 pm ^ Sara’s Weeknight Meals The unique food of New Orleans, including blackened fish with Creole spice and zucchini; jambalaya.
1 Sara’s Weeknight Meals Root vegetable soup with pita crisps; shredded butternut squash with dates; Brussels sprouts.
DSC Moonshiners: Smoke Ring
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Competitors return to settle the score in three rounds of head-to-head rematches.
3:00 pm ^ Cook’s Country Easy steak frites; the origin of french fries; braisers.
DSC Moonshiners: Smoke Ring
FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Some of GGG’s most beloved judges bring their siblings to compete alongside them.
4:00 pm FOOD Guy’s Grocery Games Guy uses a dreidel to give the chefs their budgets for a festive family favorite.
5:00 pm FOOD Holiday Wars The three teams of cake and sugar artists must showcase an unlikely understudy.
6:00 pm FOOD Holiday Wars The three teams are challenged to reimagine Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
7:00 pm FOOD Holiday Wars The teams have to showcase two animals that don’t ordinarily get along.
8:00 pm FOOD Holiday Wars Six teams must imagine the perfect way to win the ultimate snowball fight.
9:00 pm FOOD Holiday Wars The five teams are challenged to imagine friendly aliens celebrating their own holidays.