Bobby Flay’s Most Interesting Quotes

Bobby Flay is one of the most famous chefs in America. He is a reality TV personality, owns several restaurants and has published multiple cookbooks. Bobby was born on December 10, 1964, in New York City to Bill and Dorothy Barbara (McGuirk) Flay. Bobby had food aspirations at a very early age. According to lore, at age 8, Flay asked for an Easy-Bake Oven Christmas. His father thought that a G.I. Joe would be more gender-appropriate, but despite his father’s objections, he received them both.

In the past he has been a host to several Food Network TV programs and had numerous TV appearances. In 1991, Chef Bobby Flay opened his first restaurant, Mesa Grill, and it received immediate acclaim. He made his first appearance on the Food Network in 1994 and soon became a television fixture alongside other great celebrity chefs that are also household names Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse and Rachael Ray. Flay has hosted several Food Network shows, including Grill It! with Bobby Flay, Throwdown with Bobby Flay and Beat Bobby Flay.

Bobby Flay has published 9 cookbook and also has an expanding empire of restaurants and other products for sale online including spices, sauces, household items and cookware. You can find all of his stuff here.

Here are our favorite Bobby Flay quotes.

Bobby Flay’s Best Quotes

“If you aren’t nervous about your passion, you aren’t passionate about it.” — Bobby Flay

“I dropped out of high school. I really had no interest in doing any school work whatsoever.” — Bobby Flay

“I don’t like to dump the dressing on top of the greens. Instead, I pour it against the side of the bowl – using only enough to glaze the leaves – then toss.” — Bobby Flay

“I don’t have a long family history of good cooks in my family.” — Bobby Flay

“I’d love to visit Thailand just for the street food and the energy of a city like Bangkok.” — Bobby Flay

“I can’t be on the cheeseburger diet all the time.” — Bobby Flay

“Grilling takes the formality out of entertaining. Everyone wants to get involved.” — Bobby Flay

“Grilling outside with my parents at the Jersey shore. We would grill lobster and corn in the summer.” — Bobby Flay

“Go vegetable heavy. Reverse the psychology of your plate by making meat the side dish and vegetables the main course.” — Bobby Flay

“For me, it’s all about moderation. I don’t kick things out of my diet, like carbs. But I’m not going to eat fast food.” — Bobby Flay

“Even if the chef has a good business head, his focus should be behind kitchen doors. A business partner should take care of everything in front of the kitchen doors.” — Bobby Flay

“Don’t try to be the next Rachael Ray or Bobby Flay, we already have those people. We want someone who is going to make their own mark on ‘Food Network.’ Trying Do you want to make a tamale with peanut butter and jelly? Go Ahead! Somebody will eat it.” — Bobby Flay

“Cooking is a subject you can never know enough about. There is always something new to discover.” — Bobby Flay

“Cook ingredients that you are used to cooking by other techniques, such as fish, chicken, or hamburgers. In other words be comfortable with the ingredients you are using.” — Bobby Flay

“Charcoal or gas. Both give excellent results, so choose the one that best suits your style of cooking.” — Bobby Flay

“Basically, there are two things we know: Everybody has less time, and the general public is demanding better food – better in terms of quality and better in terms of flavor.” — Bobby Flay

An instant-read thermometer is your best bet for making sure that meat and fish are cooked to the proper temperature.” — Bobby Flay

“A grill is just a source of heat. Just like a stove, it is very user-friendly.” — Bobby Flay

‘The Food Network’ was just starting in New York, and I was getting lots of attention from Mesa Grill. They had no money, so if you couldn’t get there by subway, you couldn’t be on. It wasn’t like TV was something I really wanted to do – but I knew it would be great publicity for my restaurants.” — Bobby Flay

“Brushes are crucial for applying glazes, sauces, and oils. The pastry brushes that you find in homestores can be pricey so pay a visit to your local hardware store and pick up a few paint brushes which are less expensive and work equally as well.” — Bobby Flay

“Chipotles to me are a one-of-a-kind pepper because they’re smoked jalapenos, so they’re fiery and they’re smoky. It’s good to use chipotles in salsas or soups or condiments – that works really well. To me, they always really pick up anything you put them in.” — Bobby Flay

“Don’t underestimate the importance of having enough room to work. Grilling is much more relaxing when you are not trying to juggle a whole collection of plates and bowls as you do it. If your grill doesn’t have enough workspace – and they almost never do – set up a table right next to your grill.” — Bobby Flay

“Everybody says, ‘I have problems overcooking steak on the grill,’ but just take it off earlier! Grilling is really common sense. It’s very simple. You should think of a grill as a burner – it just happens to have grates. You shouldn’t be intimidated by it.” — Bobby Flay

“Habaneros have a great fruity flavor, but the challenge is that you have to deflect the heat in order to taste the flavor. If you don’t, you’re dead. They should really have a warning sign on them. Deflect the habanero’s heat by pairing it with sweet food.” — Bobby Flay

“I can’t grill vegetables, shellfish or steaks without tongs. Don’t bother with those long-handled grilling tongs normally found in the BBQ section of your home store. Get intimate with your grill and opt for the regular stainless steel tongs.” — Bobby Flay

“Take risks and you’ll get the payoffs. Learn from your mistakes until you succeed.” — Bobby Flay

“I’d love to visit Thailand just for the street food and the energy of a city like Bangkok.” — Bobby Flay

“It’s important to have balance in your life between work and play.” — Bobby Flay

“A molcajete is a stone mortar and pestle from Mexico. They’re great for grinding spices and making salsa and guacamole because they give everything a nice coarse and rustic feel. I’ve never collected anything, but I think I might start collecting these because each one is decorated differently.” — Bobby Flay

“Go vegetable heavy. Reverse the psychology of your plate by making meat the side dish and vegetables the main course.” — Bobby Flay

“I probably use my chef’s knives more than any other tool in the kitchen. I’m not married to a particular brand, because they all work, they all have sharp blades.”— Bobby Flay

“Grilling takes the formality out of entertaining. Everyone wants to get involved.” — Bobby Flay

“I don’t have a long family history of good cooks in my family.” — Bobby Flay

“Cooking is a subject you can never know enough about. There is always something new to discover.” — Bobby Flay

“If you aren’t nervous about your passion, you aren’t passionate about it.” — Bobby Flay

“Even if the chef has a good business head, his focus should be behind kitchen doors. A business partner should take care of everything in front of the kitchen doors.” — Bobby Flay

“I want to go to college and go back to Georgetown. It’s a really cool place.” — Bobby Flay

“Habaneros have a great fruity flavor, but the challenge is that you have to deflect the heat in order to taste the flavor. If you don’t, you’re dead. They should really have a warning sign on them. Deflect the habanero’s heat by pairing it with sweet food.” — Bobby Flay

“Do you want to make a tamale with peanut butter and jelly? Go Ahead! Somebody will eat it.” — Bobby Flay

“Don’t try to be the next Rachael Ray or Bobby Flay, we already have those people. We want someone who is going to make their own mark on ‘Food Network.’” — Bobby Flay

“You have to have your face in the food. These days people think a tattoo and a bottle of Sriracha equals success.” — Bobby Flay

“Cook ingredients that you are used to cooking by other techniques, such as fish, chicken, or hamburgers. In other words be comfortable with the ingredients you are using.” – Bobby Flay

“Today, when I hire, I look for people who want to be trained and molded.” – Bobby Flay

“If my daughter wants to get into this business, I would support that decision. She’s going to have a hard time not being in it. She loves food and she’s around it all the time.” — Bobby Flay

“I can’t grill vegetables, shellfish or steaks without tongs. Don’t bother with those long-handled grilling tongs normally found in the BBQ section of your home store. Get intimate with your grill and opt for the regular stainless steel tongs.” — Bobby Flay

“Lime juice makes things taste fresher. I use it for drinks, salsas, relishes, soups, and sauces. You want some give to your limes – firmness means the inside is dry – and they’ll stay softer longer if you don’t refrigerate them.” — Bobby Flay

“When I’m hiring a cook for one of my restaurants, and I want to see what they can do, I usually ask them to make me an omelette.” — Bobby Flay

“For me, it’s all about moderation. I don’t kick things out of my diet, like carbs. But I’m not going to eat fast food.” — Bobby Flay

“An instant-read thermometer is your best bet for making sure that meat and fish are cooked to the proper temperature.” — Bobby Flay

“I don’t like to dump the dressing on top of the greens. Instead, I pour it against the side of the bowl – using only enough to glaze the leaves – then toss.” — Bobby Flay

“I was hired as a sous-chef at a restaurant on the Upper East Side. The chef liked to drink – some mornings we would find him sleeping. Two weeks after its opening, I became the chef. I was 20 years old, and way over my head. I had to hire the cooks and do the menus.” — Bobby Flay

“Don’t underestimate the importance of having enough room to work. Grilling is much more relaxing when you are not trying to juggle a whole collection of plates and bowls as you do it. If your grill doesn’t have enough workspace – and they almost never do – set up a table right next to your grill.” — Bobby Flay

“I dropped out of high school. I really had no interest in doing any school work whatsoever.” — Bobby Flay

“Nothing goes perfectly, especially when you’re opening a restaurant.” — Bobby Flay

“My contribution I hope is to get people to eat full-flavored food. If I could come away with that alone, that would be a fantastic accomplishment. I’m also very proud of being a very American chef.” — Bobby Flay

“When I go to a restaurant, I eat three-quarters of the food in front of me. That cuts my calorie intake by 25 percent.” — Bobby Flay

“I love the culture of grilling. It creates an atmosphere that is festive but casual.” — Bobby Flay

“I wasn’t passionate about food until I’d been cooking for a while. I started long before food became part of the mainstream media. I just wanted to cook, period.” — Bobby Flay

“I love working with big flavors like chiles and smoke. Honey is perfect for softening the edges, mellowing them out a bit. I put it in everything – vinaigrettes, soups, stocks, salsas, so I’m always on the hunt for great honey.” — Bobby Flay

“I think New York has the most diverse and best quality representation of so many different cuisines at all levels.” — Bobby Flay

“Grilling outside with my parents at the Jersey shore. We would grill lobster and corn in the summer.” — Bobby Flay

“Basically, there are two things we know: Everybody has less time, and the general public is demanding better food – better in terms of quality and better in terms of flavor.” — Bobby Flay

“Obviously, the easiest recipes are the most successful when it comes to the home cook, because they’re not intimidated by them. If I’m doing ‘Boy Meets Grill,’ and I do something very simple like grilled hamburgers or steaks or chicken, those are the most sought-after recipes.” — Bobby Flay

“One of the things that happens in my house on the holidays is after dessert, we sit down to a very ambitious men-versus-women game of Trivial Pursuit. It’s brutal. And there’s a trophy.”

— Bobby Flay

Related: Rachael Ray’s Best Quotes

“There are so many great things about this business. Almost everybody is on the same team. It is all for one-friendly competitiveness. No one is out to hurt anyone.” — Bobby Flay

“Charcoal or gas. Both give excellent results, so choose the one that best suits your style of cooking.” — Bobby Flay

“Most of the time, I grill over high heat. I like things to move fast. I like the sound and smell of a very hot fire. I gravitate towards dishes that you can get on and off the grill as quickly as possible. After a while, you’ll know without thinking about it how hot the fire is.” — Bobby Flay

“My partner and I are looking at several locations on Park Avenue South and Midtown for a new restaurant space.” — Bobby Flay

“I can’t be on the cheeseburger diet all the time.” — Bobby Flay

“In the end, your creativity – perhaps even your outrageousness – will determine the final result.” — Bobby Flay

“I guess I fell into cooking.” — Bobby Flay

“A grill is just a source of heat. Just like a stove, it is very user-friendly.” — Bobby Flay

“I spend 80% of my time in my restaurants. Taping my TV shows doesn’t take much time, and then they get aired a lot. That’s the thing people don’t realize.” — Bobby Flay

“Nobody believed the ‘Food Network’ could last. Even I was short sighted and thought to myself, 24 hours of food on TV? They’ll run out of things to talk about in four days! But that wasn’t true. ‘Food Network’ continues to get better and evolve.” — Bobby Flay

“I still love making hamburgers on the grill. I guess whenever I eat them childhood memories come up for me.” — Bobby Flay

“I think a lot of times people design restaurants with flash in mind. I think you should design restaurants with function in mind. Make sure it’s functional and works with what you’re trying to accomplish. Design can come later.” — Bobby Flay

“I live in New York and I’m in New York basically all the time. I spend a lot of my time in my restaurants, and I feel like that’s why they’re successful.” — Bobby Flay

Related: Eric Ripert Quotes

Bobby Flay Grilling with President Obama

Chef Bobby Flay advises the President not to take a peek before flipping his steak at the White House Young Mens Barbeque on June 19, 2009. (public domain)

Related: Barack Obama Quotes

Summary

As you can see from the quotes above, Bobby has had a very impressive and diverse career. He has worked hard to help make food more fun and help people think of more bold flavors, especially in his preferred Mexican/Southwest style of cooking.

Be sure to check out one of Bobby’s amazing restaurants when you have a chance.

Related: Wolfgang Puck Quotes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image Credit: U.S. Department of State from United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons