Bobby Flay

There’s nothing timid or subtle about celebrity chef Bobby Flay. His hair’s flame red, he’s upbeat and energetic and his food is vibrant and bold. In a city where black is the unofficial uniform and artifice is the norm, no wonder diners are drawn to his personality and his distinctive restaurants!

A true New Yorker, Flay was born in the city, grew up there, cut his culinary eye-teeth there (at Joe Allen in the Broadway theater district), was trained there at the French Culinary Institute (courtesy of Joe Allen, who was so impressed by Flay’s culinary potential), and has been cooking there since his graduation, in 1984. Soon after, he was introduced to the flavors and ingredients of the southwest and immediately decided to explore the possibilities of this regional cuisine as a distinct, significant American culinary style. As it turned out, he was on to a good thing.

From 1988 to 1990, Flay attracted a devoted clientele at the East Village’s Miracle Grill. His cooking so impressed restaurateur Jerome Kretchmer that he offered Flay an opportunity to partner with him in the opening of Mesa Grill in 1991. Accolades followed and, two years later, Flay teamed up with Laurence Kretchmer to open Bolo, offering Mediterranean-influenced, contemporary Spanish fare. So long-lived has both these restaurants’ popularity proven that critics can’t decide whether to award Chef Flay four sombreros or four castanets!

For more information on Chef Bobby Flay’s involvement in the Yipeee Celebrity Chef Alliance, click here.

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