Bobby Flay turns 51 today, and in honor of his birthday, we thought it would be a good idea to find out everything we could about him. Being a household name due to his more than 25 restaurants and dozens of hosting gigs on the Food Network — in addition to his recent nasty breakup with his third wife — you might think you know all about him, but there is more to Flay than meets the eye.
He’s been into food his whole life
At 8 years old, Flay asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas. His father was none too happy about that, thinking his son should have a more gender-appropriate toy, but for Christmas Flay got an Easy-Bake Oven… and a G.I. Joe.
He was a high school dropout
Flay dropped out of high school at the age of 17, taking his first job in a joint his dad co-owned. He started as a busboy and after two long weeks he was moved into the kitchen, where he learned how to use a knife and make salad. Thus, a culinary giant was born.
Flay’s first boss paid for his culinary schooling
He showed so much promise that his boss, Joe Allen, paid for his culinary education. Flay graduated from the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) with the school’s inaugural class in 1984.
Flay set up a scholarship at his alma mater
He also set up a scholarship in 2003 at the International Culinary Center and he personally helps pick the recipient. The scholarship is awarded to a student from the Long Island City Culinary Arts Program each year.
Bobby Flay: The Wall Street Man
Flay worked at the American Stock Exchange for a short stint. After seeing how much money his friends were making, he hung up his apron to work on Wall Street… for about six months. But he says there was no creativity in it, so he went back to the kitchen. It is safe to say he isn’t worrying about money anymore.
Flay has been married (and now divorced) 3 times
His high profile and much reported divorce from Law & Order’s Stephanie March is his third marriage to crumble. It is pretty widely known that Flay might not be the best significant other, after reports that he often left March high and dry on the husband front. He married and divorced Debra Ponzek and Kate Connelly. Flay has a daughter with Connelly.
‘Bobby Flay Radio’
In 2009 he hosted a Sirius XM radio show, Bobby Flay Radio where he talked about everything from “sports to current issues.”
He is a champion racehorse owner
He owns racehorses. He was also just recently named to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s board of trustees. He won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with his horse More Than Real and also owns Mrs Kipling, Super Espresso, Her Smile and America — as well as Dame Dorothy, who has won three graded stakes this year. Flay has reportedly made close to a million dollarsjust in race winnings… this year.
On top of it all, he’s a teacher, too!
He’s not just a chef, restaurateur, published author and TV show host, he’s also a culinary teacher. He has been a master instructor and visiting chef at the International Culinary Center.
He got his Food Network stardom because he hustled. Hard.
He got his break with the Food Network thanks to living in New York and the Network being broke. He said, “They had no money to fly people in, so if you could get there by subway, you could get on a show.” He used that to his advantage, saying other chefs didn’t want to do it, but his mind was set: “…every time I’m on TV, I’m gonna get people to understand that I own a restaurant, and I’m gonna put more asses in seats.” Thus, Throwdown! with Bobby Flay and Beat Bobby Flay were created.
He has a cat named Taco
Not only is his cat named Taco, which is awesome… Taco has his own Instagram account and it is magical.
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