Move over Bobby Flay.
The man who beat you in a hamburger cook-off last summer is now moving in on your territory.
Bobby Olguin, the rotund yet robust owner of the Buckhorn Tavern in San Antonio, N.M., is now hosting his own television cooking show.
“New Mexico’s Hot Chefs” will air for the first time on Saturday, March 13, 11 a.m., on Albuquerque’s KASA Fox 2.
“Not in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d be hosting my own show,” said the 56-year-old restaurateur. “But I never dreamed that Bobby Flay would come to New Mexico and challenge me to a cooking duel either.”

Claiming Fame
Olguin appeared last July on an episode of the Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay.” The premise has Flay showing up unannounced at restaurants around the country and challenging the chef to a cook-off of a signature dish.
It didn’t hurt that the judges were all from New Mexico, but Olguin’s Buckhorn Burger, a traditional New Mexico green chile cheeseburger, was deemed better than the gourmet version cooked up by the celebrity chef from New York City.
Olguin called it a life-changing experience. After the episode aired on the Food Network, Gov. Bill Richardson declared July 24, 2009, as “Buckhorn Tavern Day” in New Mexico and came to San Antonio to taste a Buckhorn Burger for himself.
Olguin’s own celebrity grew in the months that followed. So much so that he was invited to serve as Grand Marshal for the State Fair parade.
“That’s when I realized things were out of control,” he said. “People were calling out to me from the crowd. It was too crazy.”
But there was more to come.
A month or so later, Olguin was contacted by Cliff Dweller Productions LLC, of Rio Rancho. The company already produces two shows broadcast in New Mexico: “HomeBuilders’ Gallery,” which airs on KASA on Sunday mornings, and “Travel Guide New Mexico,” shown on KRQE-13 on Saturday mornings.
“They called and said, ‘Just listen to everything we have to say before you say no,’” Olguin said. “They said they had an offer I couldn’t refuse. They were right.”

Cooking up an idea
Janine Sjostrom, vice president of Cliff Dweller Productions, said the company was looking to add another item to their menu of TV shows and came up with the concept for “New Mexico’s Hot Chefs.”
“The whole idea of the show is that cooking shows are so popular, but there was nothing that specifically focuses on Southwest cooking,” she said. “There are some really good restaurants in New Mexico, and we thought if we could feature some of their chefs on a cooking show that it would be a real win with everyone.”
The Roasted Clove in Angel Fire will be featured when the show debuts Saturday. The Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, Bravo Cucina Italiana and the Artichoke Cafe in Albuquerque are some of the other restaurants the company lined up for the first season.
But the show needed a host.
“We wanted a chef with character and personality, who was out-of-the-box and could carry the show,” Sjostrom explained.
They found their man in Olguin, whose star power potential shined during the “Throwndown.”
Karen McCallum, a spokeswoman for Cliff Dweller Productions, said adding Olguin to the mix seemed like a recipe for success.
“We loved the way he interacts with people on camera,” she said. “Bobby’s so gracious and so real. He’s everyman.”

The Star of the Show
McCallum said the show features the cutlery arts as performed by chefs at 13 of the state’s finest restaurants.
“But the star of the show is Bobby Olguin,” she said. “He is who he is, and that’s coming across on camera.”
Olguin’s role is to introduce guest chefs and chat with them about their restaurant, and the food it specializes in cooking. Then, he leads his guest through segments focusing on various aspects of cooking while the chef makes a specialty dish.
“The thing that appealed to us was that Bobby asks the questions you’d want to ask,” said McCallum, adding that it’s during the segments when Olguin is at his best. “You can see his love and enthusiasm for cooking.”
Olguin also has interaction with the audience. Two members of the audience are selected on each show to serve as “Taste Buds,” and get a chance to sample the food as it’s cooked.
Episodes of “New Mexico’s Hot Chefs” are filmed before a live audience on Sundays, in Albuquerque, at Builder’s Source Appliance Gallery, which displays four state-of-the-art kitchens used as sets for the show.
McCallum said each 30-minute episode will air four times over the course of the next year.
While the baker’s dozen restaurants featured on “New Mexico Hot Chefs” are located in the north or central part of the state, the hope is that a second season will focus on eateries in southern New Mexico, McCallum said.

The Spice of Life
Olguin said he’s been inundated with offers to capitalize on his foray with Flay, either by expanding or franchising the business that has been in the family for three generations.
Of all the business propositions he’s had, Olguin said the television show was the one he felt most comfortable doing. He said the job pays well and he gets to do something he loves.
“As long as it’s not stressful and doesn’t become like a job, I have no problem with it,” he said. “It’s a big learning experience for me and helps broaden my cutlery experience.”
Olguin is philosophical about his new-found fame and the opportunity to host his own show.
“At my age, you get to realize that life is subtle,” he said. “You’re born, you live your life and it eventually comes to an end. This is an avenue for me that’s new and exciting.”  
Although he takes a ribbing from his friends about his growing celebrity, Olguin insists he’s the same Bobby he’s always been.
One reason he agreed to do the show, he said, was because he just had to be himself.
“When they hired me they told me they wanted me to be Bobby and not act,” he said. “The show is a little scripted, because I have to remember lines for the introduction and leading into things, but once I get into the show it’s all ad-libbed.”
Olguin said he’s just trying to enjoy the ride down this new avenue in his life. There is no telling where it might lead.
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll be in New York on the Food Network next year,” he said with a laugh.