Throwdown: In this week’s episode of Season 8, Bobby Flay challenged Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, owners of Brooklyn bakery Baked, to a banana cream pie throwdown.
Food Network describes the challenge: “Tired of the rat race, friends and co-workers Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito left the grind of jobs in advertising to follow their tasty dream of opening a bakery. This led to the creation of their Elvis-inspired banana cream pie that has fans flocking from all over to their Brooklyn bakery to get a taste of this dessert that is fit for a king! Can Matt and Renato cream the competition with their heavenly dessert, or will Bobby’s take on the classic pie reign supreme?”
Dishes: Matt and Renato made their signature peanut butter banana cream pie, inspired by Elvis’s love of peanut butter banana and bacon sandwiches. (No bacon in the pie!) You can get the recipe by clicking here.
Meanwhile, Bobby made a traditional banana cream pie, but caramelized the bananas and added hazelnuts on top. You can find the recipe by clicking here.
Judges: Ron Silver, chef and owner of Bubby’s Pies in NYC. Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of 9 baking books including Rose’s Heavenly Cakes.
Winner: Bobby Flay! Judges liked both pies, but Ron Silver found the peanut butter too overwhelming to taste the banana flavor.
Bobby improves to 4-3 for the season and has a shot at finishing over .500 for the first time ever at the end of Season 8. Good luck, Bobby!