Everyone has that one food that becomes their absolute kryptonite. Hey, you might
even have a few of those on your list. And as it turns out, celebrity chefs are no different.
"Chopped" judge, Amanda Freitag, turns her nose at monkfish liver terrine,
and "Good Eats" host Alton Brown isn't a fan of pineapple. He once tweeted:
"Pineapple destroys 72.6% of every dish it touches."
Even everyone's favorite Iron Chef, Bobby Flay, admits to having a food or two that he won't
touch. But for fans of "Bobby and Giada in Italy," don't worry — it isn't anything Italian. Nor is it
a dish Flay would be seen throwing on the grill or cooking up on an episode of "Throwdown."
As it stands, it appears that Flay's least favorite food is one that often
shows up in a mystery basket or two on "Chopped" — at which time,
it causes everyone on the show to break out their nose clips. If this food were in high school,
it would be the stinky kid who skips the shower after gym class — and gym class is first period.
"Are you sure this isn't rotten?" "I have a very sensitive stomach."
So what exactly is this supposed edible terror? As Flay revealed to People, he doesn't like
the tropical fruit durian and its notoriously distinctive odor. He told the outlet point-blank,
"It's awful; I don't want to be around it."
And it appears he's not alone in his dislike of the fruit. Chefs Aarón Sánchez and Marc Murphy
reportedly agree with Flay — and if you've never smelled one, you might be in for a surprise.
According to Yahoo, this spiky Asian fruit can clear a room. Or even ground a plane! As
the outlet noted, in 2018, it forced a passenger flight from Indonesia to land early. Apparently,
the plane was hauling durian in cargo and the stench was so overwhelming, passengers were
desperate for fresh air. Culture Trip pointed out that the smell of durian is so real,
it's actually banned on public transportation in Thailand, Japan, and Hong Kong.
"I love it. It kinda — it tastes like
onions and garlic and avocado and pineapple kind of, like, in a custard."
But durian isn't the only food on Flay's blacklist. He once told
the New York Times of his disdain for one particular bean, stating in 2005,
"Whenever I tell somebody I hate lentils,
they're shocked. There are a lot of lentil fans out there."
"This dish sucks, it's no good, it's awful."
But we wonder whether Flay may have softened his feelings on dishes featuring this
ingredient. In January 2021, he Tweeted a promotion for the Barilla brand, posting,
"What pairs nicely [with] my Eggplant Bolognese sauce?
Perfectly al dente [Barilla] Red Lentil Penne made [with] 1 ingredient: red lentils."
We can certainly understand why Flay might pass on the durian. After all,
it's a specific crowd that craves a fruit that smells like what CNN called, quote, "raw sewage,
rotting flesh, and smelly gym socks." But it might be a little more difficult to understand
his distaste for lentils, when they can be used as a base for things like soups, salad, and pasta.
Though Flay didn't go into much detail about this little legume,
according to The Perfect Pantry, many people are totally Team Lentil.
Still, one forum responder apparently agrees with Flay, writing of the bean,
"I don't like them. The mouthfeel is disturbing to me and they don't taste
like much. There are lots of foods that don't taste like much (like tofu) that
are great ingredients. For me, lentils are just disturbing."
"Today is especially delicious. Mira…"
Some on the forum suggest that maybe minds can be changed about the food, with one user noting,
"I must be the odd vegetarian who prefers just about any legume over
the common brown/green lentils — [it's] mostly about texture,
I think. But I make wonderful meals and more with the splits a.k.a. dal,
in many colors and genealogies. But keep the ideas coming…You may convince me yet."
Perhaps Flay just needs a little more persuading. But even so, in his professional life,
the chef clearly straddles the line on lentils. He reportedly makes a mean Lentil and Split Pea
Dip with a roasted garlic naan — which just might be able to turn a hater into a legit lentil lover.
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