Greenwich Chef To Appear On Food Network's 'Beat Bobby Flay'

GREENWICH, CT — Can Chef Adrien Blech beat Bobby Flay?

Viewers will find out on Thursday night when Blech, the executive chef at Greenwich's Orienta restaurant, appears on an episode of "Beat Bobby Flay" on Food Network. The episode will air at 9 p.m. ET.

The popular cooking competition show pits two chefs against each other in the first round, where they have to create a dish using an ingredient of Flay's choice. Two celebrity judges then try the dishes and select a chef they feel can take down Flay, one of the most well-known and successful celebrity chefs in the world.

In the final round, the selected chef chooses a signature dish to make and squares off against Flay, who also has to make the dish on the fly. A panel of judges, usually restaurateurs or chefs in their own right, then conduct a blind taste test to determine a winner. Flay wins more often than not.

According to a description of Thursday's episode, titled "Kitchen Crime Scene":

"Bobby Flay's got a signature dish that's way out of his comfort zone, and 'Law & Order's' Angie Harmon and Scott Conant aren't making it any easier as they aid and abet chefs Crystal Wahpepah and Adrien Blech."

Wahpepah is an indigenous American chef who runs a restaurant and catering business based in Oakland, Calif.

Orienta, located at 55 Lewis St. in downtown Greenwich, is a French/Asian bistro with a heavy Vietnamese influence.

Blech's parents, Suzanne and Antoine, first opened Orienta in the Upper East Side of Manhattan in 1995. Antoine had worked at two iconic NYC restaurants, Le Bilboquet and Le Colonial.

The restaurant reopened in Greenwich in 2020, and Blech was named the executive chef. His resume includes over 13 years of experience working at world renowned establishments such as Le Bernardin, Soho House LA, Le Royal Monceau and Guy Savoy. He also worked at Le Penguin and Le Fat Poodle, which are also owned by the Blech family.

Thursday night's episode will re-air on Food Network a few hours later at 12 a.m., and on April 13 at 3 p.m.