Doughnut Plant Throwdown
I caught a rerun of Throwdown with Mark Isreal of the Doughnut Plant. I was surpirsed/intrigued by his reaction to the Throwdown and Bobbly Flay. He did not seem happy to be celebrated as the doughnut genius he is. Any ideas on his odd reaction?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
20 Comments:
I saw this too. I thought it was bizarre that he didn't make his doughnuts on-site. He seemed really nervous and uneasy.
Maybe he has a little man behind the curtain that makes all of his donuts?
bitchincamero at 1:33PM on 07/02/08
To me, it seemed like he didn't know who Bobby Flay was and thought that it might have been a scam or a trick or something like that. Regardless, it was painful to watch and he came across looking rather daft and unpleasant.
brooke29 at 1:44PM on 07/02/08
I read the title of this post, and thought, for a brief, shining moment some genius here had gotten donuts to grow on trees or something.... I really HAVE been on a diet too long!
I was so excited! ;)
Brownie at 3:14PM on 07/02/08
Damn, I missed it.
BITTER at 3:22PM on 07/02/08
I dunno. If I found out that Food Network lied to me about their intentions, only to have some blowhard waltz in and challenge me to an impromptu cookfight stacked in his favor, I'd be pretty irritated too.
clemon79 at 4:24PM on 07/02/08
clemon, how is the cookfight stacked in Bobby's favor? Generally, in his throwdowns, he's cooking quite a ways out of his comfort zone against someone who is right in the center of theirs. It seems stacked the other way.
minstrel at 6:08PM on 07/02/08
I think I'd still feel resentful--although Bobby is no longer the blowhard he once was. He takes his defeats like a man and seems honestly surprised when he defeats the "champ". Still, it does seem a little creepy to a busy person who might not consider himself a celebrity, or want to.
annien at 12:22AM on 07/03/08
I've never understood that Food Network show. First they promise the person a special or a pilot episode that they get excited about, then they SURPRISE them by telling them it was all a lie and it's just part of this egomaniac's effing show.
You tell me I won a million bucks, but the surprise is that I actually won $100.
Why wouldn't you be pissed? For a second I thought I had a special/ pilot/ whatever lie they throw, and instead I have to prove myself to the line cook at a Chipotle's?
wthrop at 1:00AM on 07/03/08
I agree, the concept of the show and Bobby's cocky attitude are real turn offs. I don't really understand why they can't just ask the people if they want to challenge Bobby beforehand? Besides how consentual is the competition? With all those cameras on you, I think it would be hard to say no. Like Mark Isreal I think I would begrungingly agree, but feel a bit miffed. I mean who does this guy think he is? And why do my cooking chops need to be challenged? If I'm someone who is known for a certain dish and everyone likes it, why do I suddenly have to prove to some cocky TV chef that I'm better than him?
On the flipside, I like being able to watch two people make the same dish two different ways and having the judges evaluate it. You get to weigh the pros and cons of different decisions made while recipe development. I also like when Bobby makes a trial run and they have to change a few things. This is an important part of the cooking process they they don't normally "teach" you.
If only Bobby could not lie to his competition and ask them with no cameras before hand whether they would like to challenge him, then I could watch the show in good conscience.
blankplate at 9:11AM on 07/03/08
I'm not really sure that the FN really LIES to the featured cooks. They must have to sign some kind of contract before they participate in the show, and spelled out in there must be the terms under which their performances will be used. Otherwise, the FN would be opening themselves up for many lawsuits. So I think the "surprise" of the challenge from Bobby is mostly faked.
minstrel at 4:55PM on 07/04/08
First off, these throwdown participants do so voluntarily. That is, they get compensated and the product never gets aired without their consent.
I don't know how Flay is off camera, but on camera he comes across as promoting both the competitor's and their food nicely . and that is why Israel consented to having it on. The cops were complete idiots too! What about taste??? Why would I care about crumbs on the uniform? It didn't even appear to be a real concern, as the glaze Flay used seemed to keep the nuts on just fine. They were probably just a couiple of Isreal's boyfriends...
readir at 5:46PM on 07/05/08
I retract my previous post. I have learned that Mr. Isreal did not get paid and he had no idea what was suppose to be a promotional event would be something where he would be asked to compete. The fryers provided were not his. He admittedly should not have gone through with it but the producers talked him into it. Obviously he feels passionate about what he does and aside from competing against Flay, did not want to put anything less than his best out there. I still can't believe the cop's concern with crumbs though...
readir at 8:05PM on 07/05/08
I saw it and thought that he was irritated that he was celebrating his shop's 7th anniversary and then some hotshot (though I don't think Bobby Flay is that bad) strolls in and makes it into a challenge to try to take him down. Seemed like he was pissed it was an interruption to his party and maybe that he was a little insulted that someone would challenge his product. Their Tres Leches donuts are delicious though!
shaofan at 12:06AM on 07/06/08
I saw the episode a while back, but didn't remember it, so I watched it again. Yeah, he looked cranky. And his parting comment was about how his food was honest. So I'm thinking that he felt that he was lied to a bit too much about what would be aired, and a throwdown wasn't his idea of a good deal. Or maybe the timing of the throwdown was just bad for him.
He did recognize Flay right off the bat, so it's not that he didn't know who Bobby Flay was, but maybe he wasn't familiar with the Throwdown show.
I think that now, most people who are suddenly approached by FN about a special would have it in the back of their head that a Throwdown would be possible. After all, FN doesn't air a whole lot of specials with unknown cooks.
And if the contract says, "we are gonna take a bunch of your time, but there's no guarantee this will ever air" -- which I'd bet is part of the contract -- then getting shown on Throwdown as a sure thing is probably better than a possible appearance on some quirky special.
Most people seem fine with the challenge. Even if they're disappointed that the concept is different, I'll bet most of them realize that getting shown on Throwdown is good for business. And taking the challenge with good grace makes them seem a lot more likable.
And Flay seems to lose most of the challenges, so it's like like he's there to beat anyone up. And if he does win, he makes a point of pumping up how good the opponents food was and that his own win was a surprise.
dbcurrie at 12:35AM on 07/06/08
I believe dbcurrie is right on. I called Mark Isreal and he told me that he had known about the event being covered by Food Network for 3 months. They had followed him around for two days prior, and he was not compensated for the show - that is beyond the expected publicity. I can see where he could have been sucked into just doing it without the protection of some contract as it was more like they were covering it as a news event. He said his experiences with other TV tapings were great (Today Show, Emerill, Good Morning America). But he should have followed his instincts to not do the show and not be talked into it by the producers. He said they were to provide the equipment and it was for demonstrational purposes on ly, not forr the purpose for concocting a donut that would be judged agaist Flay's on national TV. A guy that takes pride in his work over whatever perceived publicity he might get - I like that. And yes, like the previous post (dbcurrie) mentioned, he would be much more aware about what was going on if he was put into this situation today
I hope Food Network has clened this up a little bit. Mark seems to wear his emotions on his sleeve and necessarily was not thinking he should adjust them at the time to come off a little more receptive. I sort of like that honesty. I suggest everyone visit his website to read his comments on this.
readir at 10:54AM on 07/06/08
I think Mark Isreal is taking himself too seriously. I have watched many a Throwdown, and it seems to me that Bobby Flay is usually happiest when his competition wins. He seems genuine about how complimentary he is to the competitors. Granted, the conditions weren't great for Mark to make doughnuts on the spot, which I totally get, but he came across as an ass. The publicity alone he will get from this show (unless people don't want to support an ass), is priceless. The show is set up to celebrate these cooks/chefs/bakers who otherwise would remain relatively obscure. The 'contenstants' are usually told they are being featured on a FN special, which they are when Throwdown airs. Unless there is some behind the scenes shenanigans going on that we don't know about, it seems like a win-win situation to me. Mark seemed completely ungracious. I wouldn't be surprised if the show was 'fixed' for him to win since he was such a baby about the whole thing.
sooongbyrd at 2:21PM on 07/06/08
Seems to me that most of the judging on Throwdown is skewed against Bobby Flay. Quite often one of the criteria is the authenticity of the dish, and Flay's thing is that he takes the dish and adds his own touches to it. So while his may be tasty, it's no longer authentic, and he loses points right off the bat. Which is fine with him.
Flay doesn't need the publicity -- the point of the show seems to be to highlight a relatively unknown cook who specializes in some dish, and this is the way it's done -- by having the cook compete against Flay and probably win the contest. Or, if they lose, losing against a name-brand chef like Flay isn't a huge loss. After all, he's a winning Iron Chef.
As far as Mark Isreal, he was caught off-guard and his response wasn't as gracious as most of the "contestants" on the show. Personally, I think he missed an opportunity to showcase himself and his product in the best light, but it's not the worst thing in the world. People who know him and like him will continue to see the situation from his side, and people who think he's a jerk will probably not be deterred from eating his doughnuts.
dbcurrie at 3:54PM on 07/06/08
Oh boy...I just read his website and the response that he "waited two years" to make. He still seems to be miffed about how the competition was set up -- the fryer wasn't working, etc. -- after two years. Is it just me, or is it odd that after all this time he's still commenting about the things that weren't in his favor, when he ended up the winner? What, he wanted to win bigger?
And if this is his way of explaining why he was cranky on the show, he needs some new PR advice. He still seems cranky.
If he was less than gracious on TV, that's pretty forgivable, because not everyone is good at handling surprises. It doesn't make him a bad guy if he didn't handle it as well as someone else. But this is a response he waited two years to make, and one would suppose he thought about it for a while. Come on, it's doughnuts, not the cure for cancer.
I would have liked the guy a lot more if he simply would have said, "I don't like surprises," or "I'm not good at shifting gears once I've made plans," or even, "The fryer was broken and I was upset about that before I even knew about the contest." But really, after all this time, and considering that he won, telling us about the "circumstances under which I competed" seems just a bit whiny. Not that he cares if I like him or not.
dbcurrie at 5:05PM on 07/06/08
I think Isreal has a major chip on his shoulder and I don't know when it landed there. He was featured years ago on a Food TV show, (Emeril I think), where the cameras came into his bakery and basically put his small operation on the map. He was happy as a clam on that feature. Perhaps "we're" taking ourselves a bit too seriously these days, Mark. Lighten up. You turned a golden opportunity for positive exposure into a petulant, arrogant performance. You could make the best doughnuts in the world, but I wouldn't choose to eat one. All those dry, bitter crumbs would stick in my throat.
Josdean at 11:37PM on 07/06/08
Personally I think that Mark Israel came out looking like the Douche I think he really is in real life. What a winer! Did this guy not brag about working in the basement of his home for something like 5 years? This publicity would have been priceless and most take it as a compliment. Instead he whined like a 6 year old girl who had her doll taken away. Its not like this guy is a chef. He makes donuts. Single dimension. And who the hell picked the cops? No way I would have chosen his. I suspect they rigged it just to keep it going and salvage the taping. I was personally most disgusted by the comments to Bobbies donut from his and the handshake with the filling. That just shows what a classless douche he is. He can say whatever he wants about the conditions etc, but he is responsible for his behavior. I hope people start avoiding his shop since he is such a graceless fool. I am certain every chef in NYC will certainly avoid his shop. My 2c.
ramonetl at 2:11PM on 07/11/08