Former Viera resident brings her A-game to 'Tailgate Takedown' on Food Network

Molly Winsten's resume includes bakery operations manager and national champion football player, so merging the two made perfect sense.

That's what the former Viera resident did when she applied to be a contestant on the Food Network's "Tailgate Takedown." Episode 4 of the NFL-Food Network collaboration airs Wednesday, Jan. 25, with New England Patriots fans Winsten and her friend Erin Truex going up against a duo of Chicago Bears supporters.

The show was taped at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts in October.

"They set up a makeshift set in the parking lot," Winsten said. "We had three rounds of competition. Each round had different scores allotted for your final dish."

Food Network star Sunny Anderson and NFL great Vince Wilfork hosted the show. Top Chef Kelsey Barnard Clark and NFL television analyst Ian Rapoport served as judges.

Winsten and Truex know their way around a kitchen, even one that's set up outside on a cold, rainy New England morning. Winsten, a 2011 graduate of Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy, now lives in Boston and runs Freedom Gluten Free Bakery. While Truex's day main job is serving as director of development and communications at the non-profit Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice in Salem, Massachusetts, she also is a bartender at a distillery there.

They also know their way around the football field, too. Both play on the offensive line for the Boston Renegades, a tackle football team that has won the Women's Football Alliance national championship seven times.

Winsten always has been athletic. She played softball and soccer and swam at Holy Trinity. She was on the Division 1 crew team at Stetson University. When she went to Boston University for graduate school, she played rugby.

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After college, she tried rec leagues in Boston, but didn't find the competitiveness she craved. She found the Renegades in a Google search.

She joined the team in February 2020 and made a few practices before the league shut down for the pandemic. She played for the team during its 2021 and 2022 national championship seasons.

Truex, who has played for the team since 2016, said football "has been crucial for my sanity" in her bio on the Renegade's website. "It is a consistent and great place for me to channel my aggression."

The two dialed their competitiveness up to 12 for the "Tailgate Takedown" competition, with Winsten concentrating on the food and Truex pouring her talent into cocktail pairings.

"Erin and I are very serious competitors, and we know what it takes to win," Winsten said.

Dishes in each round needed to represent the contestants' area, so Winsten and Truex decided to go with a breakfast, lunch and dinner theme.

The first round required a bite-size appetizer and a dip. Truex made bloody marys while Winsten made deep-fried bites of sausage stuffed with sharp cheddar and coated in pancake batter, served with a spicy maple syrup.

"Pancakes hold a particular significance for us," Winsten said. "Pancaking is a verb." It involves knocking your opponent flat as a pancake.

The second course featured a color-changing vodka cocktail paired with garlic butter lobster rolls with homemade spicy pickles.

The final course included whole-belly fried clams with tartar sauce and apple slaw with scallions and blue cheese. The cocktail, hot mulled cider, warmed up the blustery day.

All their dishes were gluten-free. Winsten has gluten allergies and is a staunch advocate for food inclusivity.

Three months after taping the show, Winsten still sounded giddy about the experience. She loved the adrenalin of the competition, meeting the hosts and the judges, and just being part of the pageantry of NFL football.

She also loved getting the chance to represent women in the kitchen and women on the playing field.

At the end of the day, the hometown Patriots lost to the Bears 33 to 14.

Winsten couldn't say which tailgate team earned bragging rights, great tickets to the game and the Yum-bardi Trophy. You'll have to watch the show to find out those results. But she did offer a hint.

"Erin and I have played together for two years, and we've never lost a game," she said.

The Food Network's "Tailgate Takedown: Chicago Bears vs. New England Patriot" airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25.

Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Former Viera resident takes on 'Tailgate Takedown' on the Food Network