Chef/Owner Bobby Flay: Education of a Grill Master

Native New York Chef Bobby Flay is popularly known for his exciting TV Throwdown! shows with fellow chef specialists. But in the culinary world he is as well-known for his dynamic dishes that emphasize grilled everything, especially meats grilled with glazes, relishes and spicy sauces, all distinctly infused with the flavors and gusto of the Southwest.

Bobby Flay as Restaurateur

As much as he has become a charismatic and likable celebrity chef, Chef Flay is keenly involved in the culinary world as a restaurateur. Mesa Grill on 5th Avenue in NYC is his flagship restaurant, founded in 1991. The menu features pan-seared renditions of beef, pork, fish and wild game with chilies, relishes, sauces, glazes and chutneys; dishes crusted with blue corn, cornmeal, and peppers then grilled with tomatillos, chilies and peppers.

Since his initial Mesa Grill success, Flay has since launched two subsequent Mesa Grill locations, one in Las Vegas and the Bahamas; Bar Americain, an upscale New York “brasserie” still featuring Flay’s zestful signature cuisine; and Bobby Flay Steak in Atlantic City.

His latest restaurant is Bobby’s Burger Joint. The first was opened in Lake Grove, New York, the second in Eatontown, New Jersey and third will open in Paramus, New Jersey.

Bobby Flay’s Culinary Education

Here’s a cooking school lesson: Flay didn’t graduate high school. He dropped out and got a job in a restaurant kitchen. But he was motivated and ambitious and obviously talented enough in a kitchen. He eventually enrolled and successfully completed a culinary arts program at the prestigious French Culinary Institute in New York City, where he continues to guest teach other budding chefs.

As if in thanks for his fruitful career, Chef Flay has established the FCI Bobby Flay Scholarship awarded to an aspiring student chef each year.

Television

Flay’s first food TV show was his very successful Hot Off the Grill with Bobby Flay, which solidly secured him his place as rising food star and his status as upscale grill master. But it may be his Throwdown! with Bobby Flay television events that have earned him the most fame.

Besides television, Flay also has a string of cookbooks and a few food products, including his line of Mesa Grill rubs, hot sauces and barbecue sauces, and his signature Bobby Flay steak sauces.