Food Network Big On Cheese Sauce

Yes, that was PW contributing editor Kirsten Henri on the Food Network Sunday night. She not only appeared on Throwdown with Bobby Flay, but she appeared on the show judging Philadelphia pretzels: Bobby Flay vs. the Best of Philly™ winner!

She wrote about her experiences for Foobooz. Apparently, the folks at the Food Network are really, really big on cheese sauce on pretzels. (This would confuse the hell out of the New York Times.)

The producer wanted us to say what we thought made a great Philly soft pretzel. They asked us to mention something about ‘cheese sauce.’ I protested. A true Philadelphian would NEVER EVER sully a pretzel with cheese sauce. We clothe our pretzels in mustard and mustard only. You want to argue about what type of mustard, fine, but not cheese. Never cheese. I’m a purist.

He insisted, I frowned. My reputation was on the line here! We compromised on ‘dipping sauce,’ which also offended me, but I didn’t want to be a pretzel prima donna. At least not at this early stage in my career.

It’s nice to see Henri didn’t back down under the TV pressure. Flay managed to win the contest, actually, proving he does something right (besides his taste in Law & Order ADAs, of course).

Me and Bobby Mc… Flay? [Foobooz]