Bobby Flay gets frosted by New Jersey pastry chef

We have so many great chefs here in New Jersey and one of them is Chef Joe Murphy of Scotch Plains who owns his Bakehouse Bakery in New Providence.

Joe’s credentials are full and impressive, including a 20-year stint with the world-renowned Jean-Georges 3 Michelin Star restaurant. In 2006, he was awarded one of the Top Ten pastry chefs in America. He was a natural to appear against Bobby Flay.

In the show, "Beat Bobby Flay" Joe had to go head to headfirst with a known pastry chef from the famous French Laundry in California. Bobby Flay picked the main ingredient in the first-round challenge and Bobby chose tahini which is a paste made from sesame seeds, oil, and salt and found in many Middle Eastern dishes including humus. It can be found in both sweet and savory dishes.

Chef Laura Ochikubo from the French Laundry decided to go with battered prawns with a tahini dipping sauce. Chef Joe went with tahini-infused beignets with an orange and banana infusion. The judges loved Joe’s beignets and he went on to round two to take on Bobby Flay.

This time Chef Joe picked the ingredients and pastry that they would make to compete. Chef Joe chose a Chocolate Blackout Cake. Bobby used a hint of cayenne in his batter and served it with infused cherries and berries. Three pastry chefs judged both cakes and Chef Joe came out with a 2 to 1 victory. Chef Joe had the infused cherries and a smaller cake than Bobby but according to the judges a better-tasting cake overall.

It was a sweet victory for Chef Joe and Bobby was a gracious loser to one of New Jersey’s best pastry chefs. You can get Chef Joe’s world-class bakery goods at his Bakehouse bakery in New Providence. If you see the Blackout Cake available, get it. It’s a winner, and so is Chef Joe Murphy.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.

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