Charlotte chef Whitney Thomas appears on ‘Beat Bobby Flay’
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Charlotte Chef Whitney Thomas, the chef de cuisine at Mico restaurant inside the luxury Grand Bohemian Hotel Charlotte in uptown, competed for the chance to “Beat Bobby Flay” on Thursday night.
In her Food Network appearance, first reported by Unpretentious Palate, chefs Geoffrey Zakarian and Sunny Anderson from The Kitchen judged as she took on chef Sammy Monsour, for the chance to beat Flay. Like Thomas, Monsour is also from North Carolina, but he now lives in Los Angeles.
“It was a good time. I definitely learned a lot about the whole TV game,” Thomas told CharlotteFive. “It’s definitely more intense, thinking on your feet and trying to make it happen in the amount of time that you have.”
The Season 26, Episode 5 show titled “Don’t Be Salty,” was filmed last October, she said. The Food Network website describes the battle as: “Bobby Flay makes a dangerous wager with The Kitchen’s Geoffrey Zakarian and Sunny Anderson that may cost him the game. Chefs Sammy Monsour and Whitney Thomas are there to rub salt in the wound and try to walk away with a win.” (Spoiler if you haven’t seen it yet: They don’t let Flay use salt or chili peppers in the final battle.)
The ingredient Flay gave Thomas and Monsour in the first round was ‘Nduja sausage, a smoky spreadable product. She made blackened shrimp and grits with an ‘Nduja gravy; he made an ‘Nduja toast with charred fennel and wilted mustard greens.
Monsour edged her out, with the judges complimenting Thomas’ shrimp but noting they wished she had used something fresh herbs or something bright. Flay ultimately won the night, producing hush puppies that judges Hugh Mangum, Jean Paul Bourgeois and Melba Wilson deemed lighter and fluffier than Monsour’s.
Thomas, 32, first gained prominence in the Charlotte food scene as she worked her way up to become the executive chef at 5Church, which was highlighted on the show. (Restaurant partner and chef Jamie Lynch, a Top Chef All-Star, is now executive chef there once again.)
Now at Mico, Thomas described her cooking style as fusion and putting together a little bit of everything. “I kind of borrow from all cuisines and put my spin on it,” she said.
Other well-known Charlotte chefs have taken on the Food Network star with mixed success. Chef Alyssa Wilen of Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen wasn’t able to make it through the first round. But chef Sam Diminich of Your Farms Your Table took down Flay with a version of the lobster risotto he perfected at at Upstream.
“It was just an overall good experience — I was very happy with being chosen,” Thomas said.
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