Celebrity chef Bobby Flay has had an interesting life. He quit high school when he was 17 years
old and took up a gig at Joe Allen in New York City at a time when his peers were focusing on
their education. He progressed to the kitchen in a short period and decided to join culinary school.
It was the right decision. He was so good at cooking that he received
top honors when he graduated from the French Culinary Institute in 1984.
"And the winner is… Iron Chef Flay."
Bobby Flay did well in the food industry and was only 26 when he launched his first eatery,
Mesa Grill, in New York in 1991. He has only progressed further over the years and launched
many more restaurants and become well-known as a television personality. But for Flay,
a few basic rules have stayed the same no matter the popularity he's achieved. There's
one particular thing that he never does when he's eating at a restaurant as a courtesy to the chef.
For Bobby Flay, it's really important to not turn down food and send it back to another
chef when he's dining at a restaurant, no matter the circumstances. He has said that
he doesn't mind it if someone else does that at one of his restaurants,
though. He's happy to rectify mistakes and listen to his customers and figure out what's making
them feel dissatisfied. He obviously wants his own customers to be happy with the dishes they order,
but he knows that it can be a blow to a chef, so he himself refuses to do it.
Flay also offers this suggestion to diners, based on his own experience:
when he's eating at a restaurant, he tends to pick something that he doesn't usually get at home.
While the acclaimed chef might not send a dish back, Bobby Flay doesn't hesitate to rave about
something he likes if he's dining at an eatery that truly impresses him. If Flay becomes a fan
of a certain chef, he also makes sure to visit frequently and support the restaurant in his
own way. He has spoken multiple times about his fondness for the restaurant Via Carota in New
York's West Village. He loved it so much that he visited it five times in less than a year.
He's expressed his adoration for nearly every item on the menu, especially the pastas and
veggie dishes. Flas has regularly talked up the restaurants across New York City,
and still considers it the culinary destination to beat. Several of his many television shows,
like "The Flay List," have revolved around him dining out and hyping up his favorite spots.
Of course, Flay does have a pet peeve when it comes to encountering food trends while
dining out. He has said that he's frustrated by restaurants focusing on something that's not their
speciality. One example he has seen is restaurants including fusion-style dishes alongside
their standard fare. Flay would rather places restaurants and chefs stick to their specialties.
"Get rid of the five percent of pizza, but you eat the ninety-five well done."
"Exactly."
Now, what if Bobby Flay is over someone's house and the homecooked meal leaves much to be desired?
He has a rule: remain diplomatic when you're a guest at a dinner party. This means that if
he's not happy with the food, he'll keep his thoughts to himself instead of being direct.
Like his rule about not sending food back at a restaurant, Flay doesn't want to crush anyone by
saying he disliked their dishes, and instead will just tell the host that everything was
great and he enjoyed it. Who would have guessed that even Bobby Flay would turn to white lies?
Of course, when it's the cookbook author, Food Network star, and Iron Chef who's cooking dinner,
Flay also has a trick for getting lingering guests to leave a dinner party. He says he allows people
to linger for a bit, but then he'll just start doing dishes. If guests still don't get the hint,
he'll ask if anyone left will give him a hand. This will either get people helping clean the
dishes or reaching for their coats—a win-win situation for a tired host.
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