Bobby Flay shocked the world early in 2018 when he announced that he would be leaving
Iron Chef.
But before he stunned his fans, he caused some confusion that made headlines.
Here's the real reason Bobby Flay quit Iron Chef.
T-shirt stunt
Iron Chef is filmed in front of a live audience.
While episodes are edited before airing, competitive segments, much like live sporting events,
aren't re-taped.
That's why it was such a big deal when, during a taping of Iron Chef Showdown in the summer
of 2017, Flay reportedly took off his chef's coat mid-battle to reveal a shirt reading
"THIS IS MY LAST IRON CHEF BATTLE EVER."
The story of Flay's apparent resignation broke in October of that year, before that season
of Iron Chef even had an air date.
Food Network refused to comment immediately after news of the incident broke, but inside
sources verified that the move was completely unexpected and that Flay had been acting on
his own without the approval or knowledge of the network.
The t-shirt stunt never aired, and the footage, as of the making of this video, still hasn't
leaked.
Brief backtrack
After the news of the incident broke, Flay backtracked, telling People it was all just
a joke.
"This past summer when I was in production on Iron Chef Showdown, I wore a T-shirt to
have a little fun during my last battle this season.
In hindsight, it was probably not the best decision because it's just creating confusion."
Flay emphasized that he wasn't going anywhere, saying,
"Food Network has been part of my family for over 20 years and will absolutely continue
to be, and though there is a talented bench of Iron Chefs to tap, if I were asked, I'd
be excited to return to Kitchen Stadium, whenever my schedule allows."
Of course, we now know that Flay wasn't exactly being truthful with that statement.
Did the network put pressure on him to backtrack, or did it really start out as joke?
Gone for good
Just four months after Flay assured his fans that his controversial T-shirt reveal was
nothing more than a stunt, he announced at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival that
he really was leaving Iron Chef.
The chef explained that he was burned out and needed a change of pace.
"I've done over 100 Iron Chef competitions, and frankly they are exhausting.
They are exhausting physically but, even more so, they are exhausting emotionally."
In a typical season of Iron Chef, Flay did six to eight battles per week.
He said,
"It crushes me because it's 60 minutes of pure energy, creativity and execution.
And so at some point I was like, 'I've been doing this for a long time and I want to go
out on a high note.'"
Food Network fixture
Bobby Flay's 17 years as part of Iron Chef are just a drop in the bucket when it comes
to the chef's TV appearances.
He started off as a guest on Food Network in 1994 when the channel was just getting
its start.
Since then, he has hosted more than a dozen shows on the network.
Flay told StarChefs that the business of being a high-profile chef has changed dramatically
since he first started out, saying,
"Chefs now have two, three, ten restaurants, they write books, they're on television, they
do appearances, charity events, there is no way a chef can be a person who stands at a
stove and cooks every single meal."
It makes sense that after decades of juggling TV appearances, Flay might want to cut back
and do what he loves to do best: cook.
Road-weary restaurateur
Flay is perhaps even more successful as a restaurateur than as a TV chef.
He's launched more than two dozen restaurants throughout his career, and was just 26 years
old when he opened his first restaurant, Mesa Grill, in 1991.
He's balanced his restaurants and TV shows for years, but the schedule is demanding,
not to mention exhausting.
He told Inc.,
"The way that I juggle things, I kind of have everything going on the same track at once.
Each day, I go where I'm needed most, whether it's [my restaurant] or my office or my production
studio […] Sometimes, I'll be in 10 places in one day."
While leaving Iron Chef doesn't free up endless amounts of leisure time, it does give him
a bit more room in his schedule to focus on his beloved restaurants, which he said are,
quote, "the most important thing."
Network nudge?
Bobby Flay swears that he and Food Network are on good terms, but he admitted that they
weren't too pleased with how he left the show.
He said at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival,
"The network was not thrilled.
I thought it would be good TV.
They didn't think of it that way, and that's obviously their prerogative."
A short time after the taping, Flay failed to appear at Food Network's annual New York
City Wine and Food Festival, although he was reportedly seen in the area.
This indicates that, at least at that time, tensions may have been high between Flay and
the network, potentially leading to Flay deciding to quit Iron Chef for good.
Considering a comeback?
While we won't see Flay as a regular on Iron Chef for the foreseeable future, the chef
hasn't ruled out the possibility of coming back some day, telling the South Beach Wine
& Food Festival he'd consider it.
But Flay urged a younger generation to take a shot, saying,
"I think that Iron Chef is a great place for new and younger people to come on and start
taking the reins.
How many times do you want to watch Bobby Flay do Iron Chef?"
Die-hard fans will certainly miss him on Iron Chef, but they're going to have to look elsewhere
to get their Flay fix, at least for now.
The next spark
So what does life after Iron Chef look like for Bobby Flay?
He told Today in July 2018 that he's taking a pause:
"I'm at an interesting place in my life.
I need to take a pause.
I'm probably not done yet, but I'm gonna look for the next spark.
And when it hits me, I'll know it."