Middle Eastern cooking on Beat Bobby Flay is a patience problem disguised as a technique problem. Falafel wants dried chickpeas, not canned. Baklava wants clarified butter brushed between every single sheet. Fesenjān wants pomegranate molasses reduced by half before the walnut paste enters.
Each of these requires the long version of the recipe. Bobby’s version is shorter.
Four wins, four shortcuts Bobby took. The judges, four times, preferred the long one.