When you think of a chef who represents Southwest cooking at its finest, one name comes to mind: Bobby Flay. Known for taking zesty Southwest flavors and putting his own surprising and interesting, not to mention delicious, spin on classic dishes, Flay has created an empire based on bold flavors and delicious results. With a slew of shows on the Food Network, multiple cookbooks and restaurants, Flay has proved that a love for food can go a very long (and tasty) way.
Armed with a strong New York spirit and a passion for food, Flay began to professionally pursue cooking at the age of 17, working at New York City’s Joe Allen Restaurant. Once he realized his talents and saw the direction he wanted to take his professional career, he moved on to the French Culinary Institute to perfect his craft.
After graduation, Flay worked at a restaurant that was heavily influenced by Southwestern flavors, which fired his love for the cuisine that would eventually make him famous. Flay went on to meet such greats as Wolfgang Puck, whom he calls “one of my greatest mentors” and his inspiration, although he admits he’s “inspired by a lot of people.”
Flay opened his first restaurant, Mesa Grill, in 1991 and its three current locations include Fifth Avenue in New York City, Las Vegas and Paradise Island. From this auspicious beginning, Flay’s success took off, thanks in no small part to his attention to detail and his endless inspiration. “I do it [take on new projects] sort of methodically. I don’t think of it as a competitive thing, or how do I stay on top, or anything like that. The things that I look at most every day are the things that I already have and continue to run, and those are my restaurants. And if something new inspires me, I think about how I can transition that idea into something that’s real, and [how] I’ll do it. And sometimes, that actually becomes a new restaurant idea.”
It’s that renewable source of inspiration that has allowed this chef, television host, restaurateur, writer and entrepreneur to expand his range. His successful restaurants continued to open to, and maintain, rave reviews. With a personality big enough to match the big flavors in his food, it only seemed natural for Flay to take his charisma to the Food Network with his own show. He started in 1996 with his first show, Grillin’ & Chillin’, and continued with a few different grill-based series, as well as The Next Food Network Star and his most grueling television role on Iron Chef America.
The next natural progression was for Flay to join the great chefs of Iron Chef, starting in Japan, then joining the cast of Iron Chef America. It was an ultimate test of Flay’s cooking chops and continues to be, even with years of experience under his belt. “The challenge of Iron Chef America is that it’s Iron Chef America,” he says. “It’s 60 minutes of trying to make five dishes and multiples of each for the judges, so you’re basically making 25 dishes in an hour. Just even thinking about that and getting it done is always an incredible challenge; it never gets easier.”
The world of Iron Chef has allowed Flay to compete against the greats, such as Chef Masaharu Morimoto, known for his incredible Japanese cuisine and beautifully unique presentations. Flay appreciates being able to compete with him—they’ve gone up against each other twice, Flay beating Morimoto in Japan years ago and Morimoto beating Flay once in America. But the competition only makes Flay grow stronger.
Being part of the Food Network is not something Flay takes for granted. In fact, he sees the network as being incredibly revolutionary within the culinary world. “It’s changed not just cooking, but the way people eat in America. I think the Food Network has given people an understanding as to what is out there to eat and how to cook it, and I think it gives people so many more options than they used to have,” he says.
And while Flay is fully capable of complex flavors incorporating different sauces and textures on Iron Chef America, when it comes down to what he likes to cook, Flay sticks to the basics. “There are so many different things I like to cook, but I always say that my favorite foods are fried chicken, fish tacos and cheeseburgers.”
This appetite for good ol’ American staples provided inspiration for Flay’s latest restaurant: Bobby’s Burger Palace (BBP), which offers 10 signature burgers inspired by Chef Flay’s career-long passion for the grill. BBP can be found in five different locations, including Long Island, NY and Flay has every intention to continue expanding. Based on Flay’s presence in Manhattan with restaurants such as Mesa Grill and Bar Americain, it’s interesting that the first location of BBP was in Lake Grove, Long Island, though Flay says he had every intention of opening in the suburbs of New York from the start. “We did not want to open in New York City; we have five Bobby’s Burger Palaces now, we wanted to open outside of New York and prove that the idea could work outside of the city. The Long Island location was our first one and it proved to be a really good place to start.”
In terms of new projects, Flay says he has no plans to open up any new restaurants at the moment aside from new locations for his current places. “We sort of have what we have right now, we definitely have expansion plans for Bobby’s Burger Palace that’s sort of our big push coming up,” he says.
As for career highlights, one moment seems to top all others. Flay was given the opportunity to cook with the President in a private lesson at the White House. Doing what he does best, Flay grilled with POTUS Barack Obama in 2009. To this day, Flay recalls it as an amazing experience, “probably the most exciting experience of my professional life,” he says.
For Flay, the secret to success seems to be his hands-on manner in every aspect of his career, including his restaurants; he takes the time to visit each of them on a regular basis, tasting, experimenting and deciding when it’s time for change. When asked about his success secrets, he’s modest. “There’s no magic to it; I get up every morning and I go to the place that feels like it needs the most attention. I’m on a constant tour of my restaurants, that’s what I do; I go from place to place and make sure they’re running the way they’re supposed to. And we’re constantly trying to make them better, changing the menus. Mesa Grill has been open for 20 years. A few months ago, I changed 22 dishes on the menu,” he says. “We don’t ever rest on our laurels. We try to make things better every day.”
And while his success might mean slight sleep deprivation, Flay doesn’t mind. Food is what he’s passionate about: “I just get it done. Sleep is overrated. I get up and I go to work every day.”
Currently, Flay is winding down from an intense book tour for Bobby Flay’s Throwdown, which, according to the cover, includes “more than 100 recipes from Food Network’s Ultimate Cooking Challenge.” If you’ve ever seen the show Throwdown! With Bobby Flay, you know how much fun it is. Flay travels to different restaurants famous for particular dishes and tries (many times successfully) to beat these restaurants at their own game. The book presents many of the dishes seen on the show with the same fun and enthusiasm radiating from the pages.
As for Flay, he plans to expand Bobby’s Burger Palace and continue to promote his new book, as well as continue to be a regular member of the Food Network Family. Flay proves how a chef with a dream can take his passion and form it into a burgeoning career. We all look forward to what he has to offer food enthusiasts next.

Click Here for Bobby Flay's Crunchburger Recipe