For the past 30 years, celebrity chef Bobby Flay has been a familiar face on TVs across the country (and eventually the world). He made his Food Network debut in 1994 and hosted his first show, Grillin' & Chillin' , starting in 1996. When he first showed up on TV, he was already an established chef, but these shows introduced him to a much wider audience that was instantly charmed by his laid-back attitude, his cooking confidence, and his love for big, bold flavors.
Over the years, Flay has starred in many shows, including fan favorites like Boy Meets Grill, Beat Bobby Flay and Iron Chef, where fans watched him battle in Kitchen Stadium for 17 years. But TV was just part of his career. The entire time he was gracing our TV screens, he was also opening and running restaurants—Mesa Grill, BOLO, Bar Americain, Gato and more.
Oh, and he also wrote 17 cookbooks. And now it's time for his 18th book, and it's a departure from the previous ones, which leaned into his casual, comfortable attitude toward cooking. This book, Bobby Flay: Chapter One , takes a look back on how Bobby Flay became Bobby Flay, starting with his unlikely start in restaurant kitchens, through the TV shows and restaurants that made him famous.
Along the way, he sprinkles in personal essays and lots and lots of recipes—recipes that reflect Flay the person and Flay the chef. Parade recently sat down with Flay to discuss his new book, his culinary career so far, his passion for chiles, his thoughts on how Sunny.