Celebrity chef, local baker battle over blond

ThisWeekNews - Columbus Area, OH, USA - It was a battle of epic proportions:

Columbus vs. New York. Celebrity chef against local guy.

The subject : Who makes the best brownie?

Conclusion: Pending.

Food Network star, chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay was in town Tuesday afternoon squaring off against an owner of Sugardaddy's Sumptuous Sweeties in Lewis Center to see who makes the best brownie. Flay, the host of "Throwdown! with Bobby Flay," took on Tom Finney, a co-owner of the mail-order brownie company at 1347 Cameron Ave. Finney dished up one of the store's best sellers, the Tahiti blond brownie ­ a buttery creation with brown sugar, pineapple, semi-sweet dark chocolate, white chocolate chips, cashews and shredded coconut.

Flay made a traditional blond brownie, with butter, brown sugar, toffee chips and pecans. And the winner isŠ You'll have to wait.

Judging was done the day of the show, but network officials asked the local media not to reveal the winner. The segment should air in six weeks or so, a producer said. The basic setup of the show is this: The Food Network contacts a restaurateur, shoots a show on-site about a food topic and, unbeknownst to the store's owner, Flay personally drops in for a challenge.

Finney, who's from Millersburg, Ohio, founded the bakery two years ago with Mark Ballard. Their store, known as home of the edgeless brownie, also serves brownie cakes, brownie trifles, brownie "trees" and brownie biscotti. Both Finney and Ballard said they were thrilled to be recognized by the Food Network.

"It was exhilarating, exhausting," Finney said. "And I wouldn't want to do it every day of my life, but it was thrilling the whole time.

"This is the big league," Ballard added.