Bobby Flay trivia | 45 facts about the famous chef

Bobby Flay is a really popular chef, who also happens to be a television personality.

Let’s find out more about Bobby Flay!

1. His full name is Robert William Flay.
2. He was born on December 10th, 1964 in New York City.
3. His parents were Bill and Dorothy Barbara (McGuirk) Flay.
4. He was raised on the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.
5. He is a fourth generation Irish American and was raised Catholic, attending denominational schools.
6. At age 8, Flay asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas.
7. His father though wasn’t so sure about buying the oven.
8. His father thought that a G.I. Joe would be more gender-appropriate.
9. He received them both.
10. He is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality.
11. He is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants such as Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, Bar Americain in New York and at Mohegan Sun.
12. He is also the owner of Bobby’s Burger Palace that is located in 19 locations across 11 states.
13. Flay has hosted several Food Network television programs.
14. He has also appeared as a guest and hosted a number of specials on the network.
15. Flay is also featured on the Great Chefs television series.
16. Flay dropped out of high school at age 17.
17. He has said his first jobs in the restaurant industry were at a pizza parlor and Baskin-Robbins.
18. He then took a position making salads at Joe Allen Restaurant in Manhattan’s Theater District, where his father was a partner.
19. The proprietor, Joe Allen, was impressed by Flay’s natural ability and agreed to pay his partner’s son’s tuition at the French Culinary Institute.
20. Flay received a degree in culinary arts.
21. Actually, he was a member of the first graduating class of the French Culinary Institute in 1984.
22. After culinary school, he started working as a sous-chef, quickly learning the culinary arts.
23. At the Brighton Grill on Third Avenue, Flay was handed the executive chef’s position after a week when the executive chef was fired. Flay quit when he realized he was not ready to run a kitchen.
24. He took a position as a chef working for restaurateur Jonathan Waxman at Bud and Jams.
25. Waxman introduced Flay to southwestern and Cajun cuisine, which came to define his culinary career
26. After working for a short time on the floor at the American Stock Exchange, Flay returned to the kitchen as the executive chef at Miracle Grill in the East Village, where he worked from 1988 to 1990.
27. He caught the attention of restaurateur Jerome Kretchmer, who was looking for a southwestern-style chef. Impressed by Flay’s food, Kretchmer offered him the position of executive chef at Mesa Grill, which opened on January 15, 1991.
28. Shortly after, he became a partner. In November 1993, Flay partnered with Laurence Kretchmer to open Bolo Bar & Restaurant in the Flatiron District, just a few blocks away from Mesa Grill.
29. Flay opened a second Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2004.
30. In 2005 he opened Bar Americain, an American Brasserie, in Midtown Manhattan.
31. He continued to expand his restaurants by opening Bobby Flay Steak in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
32. This was followed by a third Mesa Grill in the Bahamas, located in The Cove at Atlantis Paradise Island, which opened on March 28, 2007.
33. The Las Vegas Mesa Grill earned Flay his only Michelin Star in 2008, which was taken away in the 2009 edition. Michelin did not publish a 2010 or 2011 Las Vegas edition, so the star could not be re-earned.
34. Bolo Bar & Restaurant closed its doors on December 31, 2007, to make way for a condominium.
35. Aside from his restaurants and television shows, Flay has been a master instructor and visiting chef at the French Culinary Institute.
36. Although he is not currently teaching classes, he occasionally visits when his schedule permits.
37. Flay established the Bobby Flay Scholarship in 2003.
38. This full scholarship to the French Culinary Institute is awarded annually to a student in the Long Island City Culinary Arts Program. Flay personally helps select the awardee each year
39. Flay opened Bobby’s Burger Palace (BBP) in Lake Grove, Long Island on July 15, 2008
40. Flay married Debra Ponzek, also a chef, on May 11, 1991 and thet divorced in 1993.
41. Then Flay married his second wife, Kate Connelly, in 1995 and together they have a daughter named Sophie.
42. Bobby Flay and Connelly separated in 1998, and later divorced.
43. Flay married actress Stephanie March, on February 20, 2005.
44. According to media reports, March and Flay separated in March 2015 and their divorce was finalized on July 17, 2015. According to tabloids they divorced because he had an affair.
45. Flay dated Heléne Yorke from February 2016 until early 2019.