Celebrity chef and Food Network fixture Bobby Flay catches up with Jaymee as they reminisce on how they first met during an episode of SportsCenter and how Bobby supported Jaymee during her transition to food media.
Celebrity chef and Food Network fixture Bobby Flay catches up with Jaymee as they reminisce on how they first met during an episode of SportsCenter and how Bobby supported Jaymee during her transition to food media. Bobby gives the latest update on his two beloved cats, Nacho and Stella, and who started the Maine Coon trend among the Food Network stars. Bobby shares the memories of when he first heard of Food Network, initially called The Television Food Network, and his skepticism about how long it would actually last. He talks about his first show, “Grillin’ and Chillin’”, and a never-before-told story about those early days. Bobby and Jaymee talk about his daughter, Sophie Flay, what it’s like to work together and the characteristic he admires most in her. He grills Jaymee about her affection for smash burgers, names his favorite New York burger spot and the sign he puts up in every Bobby’s Burger restaurant kitchen. Bobby shares the strategy behind developing new shows and what movie inspired his latest show, Bobby’s Triple Threat. He talks about how he chose his three culinary titans and the undercover mission to Tiffany Derry’s restaurant to cast her for the show. Bobby shares the unique premise of the show and reveals what is really in the prized duffel bag. He passionately talks about why the dishes on his shows are judged hot and why he’s grown weary of questions about the legitimacy of Beat Bobby Flay before diving into the insane shooting schedule and why he is a stickler for time on set.
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Find episode transcripts here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/bobby-flay-on-his-embarrassing-early-food-network-days-triple-threat-bts
Jaymee Sire (00:02):
Hello, hello and welcome to Food Network Obsessed. This is the podcast where we dish on all things food with your favorite chefs, food influencers, and food network stars. I'm your host, Jaymee Sire, and today we are coming in hot. You have asked about this guest in my Instagram dms, and he is finally here talking about his journey in food television from his first show on Food Network, which aired all the way back in 1994 to his latest series, nearly three decades later. He is one of my personal mentors and friends. He is a chef restaurant, tour cookbook author, and an Emmy award-winning television host. He has headlined over two dozen television shows at his back for more with Bobby's triple threat. It is, of course, Bobby Flay. I am so excited I can finally say these words. Bobby Flay, Welcome to Food Network. Obsessed. How are you?
Bobby Flay (01:10):
I'm great, Jamie. It's always good to see you. You know, I love, uh, hanging out with you, so, um, this should be fun.
Jaymee Sire (01:16):
Yeah, I'm excited. Every time I ask our fans who they would like to hear on the pod, you are the most requested guest, so I could not be more thrilled, especially because you have been so instrumental in my transition from sports media to food media. I might not be sitting here right now talking to you on this podcast if it wasn't for meeting you at, at ESPN like six years ago. Um, so I'm gonna, for people that don't know the story, let's just reminisce for a second. Um, you were on Sports Center, uh, the show that I was hosting at the time, you were actually doing a bunch of shows that day. They call it the Car Wash at espn. I remember being excited and nervous to talk to you. What do you remember about that day?
Bobby Flay (01:55):
Well, I remember I was nervous as well cause I was basically, well for sure, I mean, I was, I was out of my element, you know, it's, first of all, I'm a sports fan. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (03:08):
Yeah, we have, I mean, I, I've been on beat Bobby Flay a handful of times and, and we've just kept in touch and, and you've been a great mentor for me as I've, I've, you know, eventually made this transition. When we first met, I was, you know, full, full into sports. Um, so thank you.
Bobby Flay (03:23):
Well you're, you're, you're, you're really good on beef Bobby Fla. I mean, that's the thing about you is that you have this rah situation going on no matter what you're doing in your life. And I don't know if that's what I'm working at ESPN or whatever it is, but like, it's like, you know, let's face it, Beat Bobby Fla is an athletic event. I mean, there's, you know, there's a, there's a time limit, There's lots of, there's lots of running, there's competing, there's a lot of trash talk. It's all of that. And you play into that incredibly well. Um, so it's always good to have you on the show.
Jaymee Sire (03:55):
No, thank you so much. I, I appreciate you saying that because, uh, I love coming on. I, I get so excited, um, when I, when I get the email from, from, uh, Rock Shrimp Productions. Um, so, uh, looking forward to, to many more hopefully, and we're gonna talk all about that. We're gonna talk about your new show, Bobby's Triple Threat. Um, but more importantly, how are Nacho and Stella doing, not just a busy guy?
Bobby Flay (04:18):
Oh, uh, Stella is right here. Bring 'em over here. Bring it over here.
Jaymee Sire (04:21):
Bobby Flay (04:22):
She, she's, she, um, they're always like, they, they always are, are sort of an earshot from where I am. Um, here's Stella. This one is like an octopus, the clause
Jaymee Sire (05:07):
Same. Same.
Bobby Flay (05:08):
And I was, and I was an only child, baby. So like, they, these were my, these were my brothers. I mean, these were my siblings. I, I always said that I was raised by cats, you know? And so, yeah. So they're, they're obviously, you know, and Nacho is like famous in his own life. He's got, what does he have 240,000 followers or something?
Jaymee Sire (05:24):
He's got his own, he's an entrepreneur. He's, I mean, he's all over the place.
Bobby Flay (05:29):
Yeah. He's got his own cat food made by Nacho. We have, there's like 85 SKUs now. Wow. I mean, it's like, it's just 25 employees. He's got a big company. I mean, it's crazy.
Jaymee Sire (05:39):
Wow. He, I mean, I, I aspire to be like nacho at some point. Um,
Bobby Flay (05:42):
Don't we all, don't we all.
Jaymee Sire (05:44):
By the way, we had Ted Allen on last year. He claims to have started the main coon trend amongst the Food network talent because it's kind of a thing now, uh.
Bobby Flay (05:51):
It is a thing.
Jaymee Sire (05:52):
Is that accurate or do you take credit?
Bobby Flay (05:55):
Well, well, he, no, I, I definitely don't take credit. Okay. Actually, I, I got turned on to, um, the main coon situation by Anne Barrell.
Jaymee Sire (06:05):
Oh, okay.
Bobby Flay (06:06):
Who already had to, and then I got one, and then I got another one. Um, and, but Ted already had them. Okay. So we didn't, we didn't know that he had it.
Jaymee Sire (06:17):
Oh, okay.
Bobby Flay (06:17):
But, but Burrell was the person that turned me on. Okay. To, to them. Yeah. Yeah. Daphne Oz has a couple of Maine coons, Uh, Eric repair the chef at Lare Down has a couple of main, I mean, it's like a chef thing.
Jaymee Sire (06:29):
Bobby Flay (06:30):
But they're such cool cats. They're such cool cats. You, you gotta get, you gotta get on the train. How's Maze doing?
Jaymee Sire (06:35):
Maze is great. I think Maze, I mean, Maze is smaller obviously, than a man Coon, but he thinks he's like a German Shepherd. So I think that he would, um, I don't know if you would take kindly too. He, he's, he's very Alpha. He's, uh, he's a one cat, uh,
Bobby Flay (06:49):
Is he named after Willie Maze?
Jaymee Sire (06:50):
He is named after Willie Maze. Yes. I got it when I I love that. Yeah. When I was in San Francisco, um, you know, I was covering the Giants, so it's, and he's orange, so it seemed like the, the perfect fit. Yeah. Perfect. All right. Well, I won't bore our listeners with, uh, all, all of the Cat talk. Let's, let's get into the food.
Bobby Flay (07:06):
Cat Talk.
Jaymee Sire (07:07):
Bobby Flay (07:33):
I owned a restaurant called Mesa Grill, and I remember them announcing Food Network is gonna be a, it was called the Television Food Network.
Jaymee Sire (07:41):
The Television Food Network.
Bobby Flay (07:43):
And, The Television Food Network was the original name, and it was gonna be a 24 hour cable network. And I was like, This is gonna last a week.
(08:31):
And if you couldn't get there by Subway or Taxi, you weren't gonna be on the network. Wow. I mean, they weren't flying people in from like Minneapolis or la you know, that that was not happening. They didn't have any money. And so I did a couple of shows, and one of the shows was a show with Robin Lees. People Don't Know This, Robin Lees, this is an amazing story, especially now, now, now listen to, you don't even know this story. I can tell Robin was like, like the, was like the, the big celebrity on the, on the network. And he had a show called Talking Food, and it was an hour long show, or two hours long, I can't even remember. And it came on at like 10 or 11 o'clock. And he would come back, he would go to the Nick's games. He was a big Nick fan, and he would come back after the Nicks games, you know, maybe had a beer two at the game.
Jaymee Sire (09:17):
Of course, as you do.
Bobby Flay (09:18):
And he would, and he would, Right. And he would interview like b and c celebrities, you know, I mean, we couldn't, I mean, at the ti at that time, they couldn't get any a plus, you know, celebrities that nobody knew what the Food Network was. And he had a sidekick named Kate, and she, she did the cooking segments with the chefs and the cooking segments. Like, you know, on the Today Show, they're like two and a half, three minutes long. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (09:58):
Wow. Really?
Bobby Flay (10:00):
Yeah. People don't know that Sophie is the, Sophie is the first product of Food Network.
Jaymee Sire (10:06):
Wow.
Bobby Flay (10:07):
She’s the first kid. Yeah.
Jaymee Sire (10:08):
Bobby Flay (10:21):
Yeah, so Kate and I got Kate and I got married, you know, Sophie was born. So then after that I got my own show called Grilling and Chillin. And I, and I remember exactly what it was cuz Sophie was 10 days old when we started shooting it. It was on the back lot of the, of the home shopping network it outdoors in Clear Word of Florida. And we shot 42 episodes in six days. We shot seven a day.
Jaymee Sire (10:44):
What. 42 episodes.
Bobby Flay (10:47):
No editing. 42 episodes. Yes. And I got paid, I think I got paid $200 an episode.
Jaymee Sire (10:53):
Bobby Flay (10:54):
And it ran for years. And it was really bad television. I mean, we were awful, but it was so bad. It was good. It was almost like, it became like a cult thing. It was like, we have to watch how bad these guys are. It was me and this guy, Jack McDavid, and we were grilling outside. I was the city guy. He was the country guy. You know, we were grilling, I I named the show Grilling. And I mean, it was crazy. I mean, that was, that was the beginning of my, of my Food Network career right there. It was nuts.
Jaymee Sire (11:22):
Wow. I feel like we need to are, do those like tapes exist anywhere? What, like what kind of format was that on? We gotta dig those up.
Bobby Flay (11:28):
I, I have burned, I burned every single one of them. I snuck into the Food Network of Vault one day, and I just, I literally b birth the, so,
Jaymee Sire (11:37):
They're, they're out there somewhere because, you know, I, I recently did like a speaking engagement at, at Washington State where I went to college and somebody had found these old, like, I, I used to host this movie review show, um, and somebody found a couple of these, these old episodes and put them on YouTube. And it's so embarrassing to, I mean, it was, I was in college, I was a sophomore and I was, it was probably the first TV thing I had ever done. And yeah, it's cringy to watch that back, but.
Bobby Flay (12:06):
Oh, no, I mean, I mean, I looked, first of all, awful. First of all, I didn't know what I was doing on in terms of tv. I was just kind of, you know, living my best life in the, in the wrong ways, that's for sure.
Jaymee Sire (12:17):
Well, well you've certainly come a long way since then. And, um, and, and your, you know, your career, I guess has kind of been, as we just found out, a very close, uh, related to, to Sophie and just her, her life. And, and you guys are now working together. So it's kind of come full circle, I guess, on Food Network. Um, and we had a pleasure of having her on a few months ago. She was fantastic. Of course. Um, yeah, you guys just were on Bobby and Sophie on the coast. You have a podcast together and now you have a new cookbook coming out October 11th. It's called Sundays with Sophie Fla family recipes for any day of the week. Um, what is it like for you getting to work with your daughter and all these different projects?
Bobby Flay (13:00):
Well, it's fantastic because it doesn't feel like work
(13:44):
You know, she's a, she didn't even say she's a kid, but she's, she's a, she's a lady. She's 26. Um, she's a, she's a nice woman. And, and, and, uh, you know, listen, I get the most joy when people meet her for the first time or spend a little time with her. And they say to me, I, everybody says the same thing to me. They're like, either I want to be Sophie, or I just want to hang out with Sophie, or I just love Sophie. Like she, everybody wants to gravitate towards her, um, way more than your dad, that's for sure. Which is totally fine. I mean, she is just, she has that sort of, that little magic sprinkle, you know, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, uh, she makes me look like I knew what I was doing as a parent.
Jaymee Sire (14:25):
Bobby Flay (14:38):
Well, listen, Jamie, I mean, she wanted to come back and live with me,
Jaymee Sire (15:03):
Yeah. No, I mean, my mom did the same thing to me pretty much. Um, but, you know, I'm thankful for it because, you know, it, it, it forced you to like, get out and just figure, figure stuff out.
Bobby Flay (15:13):
And she kept saying to me, she kept saying to me like, all my other friends' parents, like, they want them to come and live with them. I'm like, No,
Jaymee Sire (15:22):
I mean, as a parent, how, how proud are, are you of the way that she has kind of carved out this own path for herself?
Bobby Flay (15:29):
Well, you know, it's, listen, um, Sophie's had a very nice life. Let's not, let's, let's not, you know, understate that. But she also has, you know, some difficulties. You know, being, being a a a daughter of somebody like me is not easy because the first question, the first question she gets asked every single time is, Do you wanna be a chef? Do you cook a lot? You know, it's, you know, she has to kind of, she has to go through the, the moment of being, you know, Bobby's daughter and I, and listen, she handles it incredibly well. She decided really early on that she wanted her, her own lane, and in fact, so much so that she didn't really start cooking at all until she was in college. And I would try to teach her how to do things. And she, like, every once in a while she'd be like, All right, dad, let's, let's, uh, let's bake a cake today. And she'd be like, you know, 14 or something, you know, I'd start getting all the ingredients out and we'd start mixing 'em. And I'd turn around and she'd be like, in her bathing suit in the pool.
Jaymee Sire (16:27):
Bobby Flay (16:29):
Like no interest. She'd just complete no zero interest until she got to college. And she called me up one day, I mean, like early in her freshman year, she's like, Dad, I gotta, I have a serious problem. She's like, Everybody thinks that I should know how to cook everything
Jaymee Sire (17:04):
TikTok
Bobby Flay (17:06):
Yeah, totally.
Jaymee Sire (17:15):
I'm gonna go to TikTok for the, So yeah.
Bobby Flay (17:29):
No, she's actually becoming a very good cook. Um, I mean, I love when she posts her own stuff, and I'm like, Okay.
Jaymee Sire (17:35):
Bobby Flay (17:37):
That looks great. Um, and, um, no, but she's a great eater as well. I mean, when she was younger, I would take it to different places in the world, just the two of us, like a daddy and daughter kind of trip. We'd go to Europe, like once a year, just the two, two of us for like a week. And we'd go to like, you know, you know, we'd go to London or we'd go to Paris or Barcelona and we'd eat like the classic foods. And so she always was exposed. And I, that, that's one, one of the things I always tell parents with young kids is, don't make another meal for your kid. Yeah. Let them eat what you're eating. And if they don't like it, it's okay.
(18:21):
So basically, okay, so the title is Sundays with Sophie. And so basically Sophie is filling in for everybody. It's basically Sunday dinners, you know, it's like, I, I I I, I came up with a lot of these dishes during the quarantine days where we were all cooking three meals a day, and this time I wrote 'em down. Usually I don't write anything down when I'm cooking at home, but this time I decided to write them down. And, you know, basically the idea is that it's this is, this is, these are meals for basically any day of the week for your friends and your family. And, um, you know, because Sophie's such an important part of my life, and she's a family member, and people now know who she is. I, I basically, I put her name in the title of the book. That's, that was sort of the idea.
Jaymee Sire (19:02):
What about burgers? How does Sophie take her burger?
Bobby Flay (19:06):
Um, that's a good question. I mean, I like my burgers kind, actually. I wanna talk to you about burgers.
Jaymee Sire (19:14):
Oh, okay.
Bobby Flay (19:15):
Because I, I, I've been watching you do your, um, smash burgers.
Jaymee Sire (19:20):
Yes
Bobby Flay (19:20):
You're a smash burger fein. You love a smash burger.
Jaymee Sire (19:21):
I, I, I've, I just have be, you know, over the last couple years, I don't know what it is. I've just really taken an affinity to smash burgers, like the, the char and the crust, and, and I don't know, the onions get like, all caramelized and kind of fried a little bit. I just, I just really like all of the flavors that go and it kind of also, I think it's just, you know, reminiscent of like a backyard burger or like a in and out burger or something like that. Just like comforting, you know?
Bobby Flay (19:49):
Yeah. I mean, do you, But, but, but do you ever want to eat a burger that's like, like cooked medium rare? Or medium?
Jaymee Sire (19:55):
Yeah, I still do that. Yes. I mean, I still, I think there's a place for both, and I don't even know if they're in the same category. You know, it's like, one is, you know, like I said, you just want some, you know, easy comfort, like backyard burger, and sometimes you wanna sit down at a, at a nice restaurant and just really have like a well cooked burger with, um, you know, some toppings and nothing taken away from the, the meat I think is, is always the key to have like, the really good quality beef for sure.
Bobby Flay (20:23):
Yeah. At Bobby's Burger is, um, I mean, we cook them medium unless you want them well done. So basically you can either have a medium or well done, but, but like 75% of the people actually order the medium. And I think, like, like at Shake Shack, you know, they're smash burgers. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (20:58):
What, so what cheese are you going with?
Bobby Flay (21:00):
Me? American, always.
Jaymee Sire (21:01):
Same, same. I think it's, I think it just melts the best. It, it doesn't, again, it doesn't interfere with the meat. Um, it's not like trying to fight it for, for the flavor, but it just kind of adds that subtle flavor and just like a creaminess that you can't get from any other cheese, I feel like.
Bobby Flay (21:17):
Yeah. I mean, my, my, um, my place in New York City that I go to is JG Melons. Mm.
Jaymee Sire (21:23):
Mm. I love JG Melons.
Bobby Flay (21:24):
I've been going there since I was a kid. Um, so that, that's my burger. But it's a, it's such a simple burger.
Jaymee Sire (21:29):
It's a no frill. It's delicious. No frills. No,
Bobby Flay (21:31):
But it's delicious.
Jaymee Sire (21:32):
It's so delicious.
Bobby Flay (21:33):
See, I think, I think people put too much stuff on burger sometimes. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (22:05):
What, what makes the burgers at Bobby's burgers different? Like what, what are people expecting when they go in there?
Bobby Flay (22:11):
Well, it's a very high quality burger. It's, it's all, it's all certified Angus beef. Um, and, and we, and I teach, I teach technique, like I teach in my high end restaurants, so, you know, lots of salt and pepper, you know, severe crust on both sides, seals in the juices beautifully. Um, there's a sign in every store that says, Bobby says, melt the cheese completely. I hate when people don't melt the cheese. Right. Um, it just drives me crazy. But then, you know, our signature is, um, our French burger, which is really simply, you know, thin, crisp potato chips on the burger. And to me, that's what a burger is missing, is it's missing a contrast of texture. You know, a lot of times a burger is all even like, you know, the cheese, the, the, the beef, the bun, et cetera, it's all kind of soft. But when you put those crispy potato chips in there, it gives it contrast of texture. And to me, it's just much more fun to eat.
Jaymee Sire (23:06):
Uh, yeah. I mean, I love, I love adding chips to a burger, a sandwich, like a tuna melt. I think that that's, uh, a great use for that as well. Um, and I, and I love the range of your restaurants, right? Because you have fun, casual burger vibe, and then you've got your upscale nod to your love slash obsession with Italy
Bobby Flay (23:26):
Oh my God, I'm, I am. It's such a great place. I mean, do you spend any time there?
Jaymee Sire (23:31):
Um, Italy, I haven't been in a really long time. I, I was gonna go this year. The flights were kind of outrageous, so, um, it's outrageous.
Bobby Flay (23:38):
Outrageous.
Jaymee Sire (23:39):
Yeah. So it's definitely, I need to go back, but I, I, I, I was there a little bit. Um, you know, I studied abroad in, in Spain during college, and then I traveled for a few months after that. And yeah, I spent about two weeks in Italy at the, at the time. Um, so I was definitely down on the Amalfi Coast as well. And it was, I mean, so stunning and I definitely need to go back. And, uh, but it seems like your, your restaurant kind of tries to encapsulate all that.
Bobby Flay (24:06):
I mean, what other country can you, you know, can you sip an espresso for three hours?
Jaymee Sire (24:38):
Uh, no, it's so wonderful. I think, I think they need to give you like an honorary like Visa or something like that. Yes, please. Bobby gives us the scoop on his latest food network show, Bobby's triple threat coming up next. And speaking of, uh, all of the food network programming that you appear on, you have a shiny brand new show, Bobby's triple threat, and this time you're actually letting other people kind of do the cooking. So, so give us the premise of this show and what makes you so excited about it?
Bobby Flay (25:16):
I got the idea of this show, Like, people ask me all the time, like, how do you come up with all these show ideas? And it's never from a food idea. Like, I never wanna do, I never, a lot of times in every genre, right? Jamie, every network has a hit show, and then everybody tries to do a version of that hit show. It's never as good as the original. Mm-hmm.
(25:40):
Um, in this case, um, triple threat started from a movie. Okay. Uh, it was the remake of Color of Money with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman. Oh, okay. And it's about Paul Newman is, is a guy who is a, uh, let's just say a veteran pool shark
Jaymee Sire (26:30):
Bobby Flay (26:31):
And I'm gonna handpick three chefs to be the House chefs, and then I'm gonna act like a matchmaker, and I'm gonna bring in one chef a night to take on these three chefs. And if they can beat them over the night, they get to take home $25,000 and it's in a bag and it's cash, and they can walk out with it.
Jaymee Sire (26:49):
They’re. So that's not just prop money, they're actually walking out with that money.
Bobby Flay (26:53):
Uh,
Jaymee Sire (26:55):
Okay.
Bobby Flay (26:57):
You can't, you can't use real money.
Jaymee Sire (26:58):
Okay. But, but, but they are getting $25,000.
Bobby Flay (27:02):
Oh, no, no. We, no, We're writing in the writing in the real mindset. Don't, don't worry about that.
Jaymee Sire (27:06):
Bobby Flay (27:09):
You love behind the scenes stuff so much.
Jaymee Sire (27:10):
I know, I know. I do. I do.
Bobby Flay (27:12):
Um, yeah, the vibe, the vibe is really great. And so basically I handpicked these three chefs. So it's, it's people that you've seen on the network before. Michael Voltaggio from la um, uh, Brooke Williamson from, uh, Southern California, and, uh, Tiffany d from Dallas. Mm-hmm.
(28:01):
What? And then we, we, and then Yeah. And we made it come to life. I mean, it's, it's been, this is a passion project. I've been working on this show for a couple of years. Um, it's been, um, it's been really fun. And I think it's, I think it's a beautiful show and it's, it's, and it's, it's amazing cooking. It's all about the cooking. There's no gimmicks, there's no gummy bears anywhere in sight. There's none of that. It's, it's, it's hardcore cooking. Everybody's nice to each other, but at the same time it's, it's, you know, they go at it. Yeah. It's great.
Jaymee Sire (28:31):
I, I love that you mentioned the Open, because I actually posted that in my story the other night when, uh, when I was watching the, the premier. And I, you kind of get chills. It's just, it's shot really well, It's fun. It's like dramatic. Um, no, I think it's, I think it feels fresh. And I, and I you mentioned like this speakeasy vibe that you tried to go for. It, it feels like that, it feels like this exclusive club that we all got invited to. Um, there's even a full bar with a bartender. And by the way, if Steven ever calls out sick, I am ready to hop in there. Um,
Bobby Flay (29:23):
Well, first and foremost, they have to be amazing cooks. Period. Okay. There's no, like, no one here got picked because, like, they fit into the suit. Mm-hmm.
(30:24):
And the thing I love about Michael is he doesn't, he, he's gonna take the risk every single time. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (31:15):
And so you weren't, you weren't in disguise. You weren't like?
Bobby Flay (31:17):
She didn't even, she didn't even come to the table. What? No. She was like, okay. She was in the kitchen as a small restaurant. So I was watching everything she was doing and we had, I'm not, I'm not just saying this, one of the best meals in memory, really. And here's the thing, I didn't know about her until I talked to her. So then I went, of course I went into the kitchen and I was like, How's it going? She's like, What are you doing here? And I'm like, I'm here because I haven't eaten your food and I'm considering you for a really big deal. And she then came out to the table and um, she described to me her life and part of her life is travel. Mm-hmm.
(31:59):
And she's like, I've been everywhere. She's like, I've been in China. I've been, I mean she went on and on and on. And as she's saying this, I'm thinking about the food I just ate, which is this foundation from the south. Cause that's where she's from. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (32:46):
Bobby Flay (32:47):
She, she is scary, dangerous cuz she's got so many arsal, the three of them combined. I'm, I'm serious. They are tough, tough, tough to beat. And um, you know, we were very concerned. We've shy six episodes so far. We were concerned that they were just gonna crush everybody. You know, one chef comes in and don't forget that one chef has to go up against each one of them. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (33:22):
Okay. So there's some upsets.
Bobby Flay (33:24):
There's some upsets and, and man, it's emotional. I mean, it's like these people don't wanna lose. But one of the things I said to them from the very beginning was, I just want you to understand something. You guys win every day, every day of your life. You guys win in some way, shape or form. You have great careers, you have a great life, You're not gonna win every day here. And they were like, What do you mean? I was like, I'm just telling you, that's just the way it goes. And as you know, my shows are completely legit. So we, there's no, there's no game playing, but I know somebody's gonna come in here and catch you up balance. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (34:12):
Bobby Flay (34:30):
Well, it's a great question and I'm always surprised at now why they pick people, but they have to pick somebody. You know, basically what happens is I give them ingredients and there's two in, in the first two rounds, I give them two ingredients and they, and the ingredients make sense to each other. It's like potatoes and chives or red snapper and mangoes. Like things. It's, it's not like I'm not trying to throw you off. I'm trying to make you think about 30 different things you can do and make you pick the right path.
Jaymee Sire (34:56):
Bobby Flay (34:56):
So it's almost, it's almost like an opposite sort of con in a way. You know what I mean? So I'm not trying to throw you off. I wanna, I wanna see beautiful food. And that's what the chefs really appreciate all of them. Okay. They all appreciate the visiting chefs and the, and the house chefs. They all appreciate the fact that they're just able to cook the best food that they can. Now, just so you know, in the first two rounds, it's worth 10 each mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (35:33):
So they can make it up. Yeah.
Bobby Flay (35:34):
So if I, if it was me, I would, would pick the person that I was least worried about for the last mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (35:42):
Yeah, that's true.
Bobby Flay (35:44):
So that, but you know, who knows why people pick
Jaymee Sire (36:00):
Okay. Um, I, I, and here's another thing I I was curious about, which I feel like I already know the answer, but I, I know one thing that you really pride yourself on for Beat Bobby Fla is that all of the dishes are judged hot. And my eagle eye watching, you know, how many dishes do they have to prepare for each round? I is, I assume that's the case here as well. Right?
Bobby Flay (36:18):
It's 100%. It, um, they, they, the, the, the judges taste them off the line 100% off the line. It, they taste them immediately.
Jaymee Sire (36:28):
Why is that so important?
Bobby Flay (36:30):
Well, because it's so important because the chefs are cooking them as if they were gonna feed you. Right. Right now. Right. I mean, that's what we do. We cook, we don't, we don't, we don't cook in our restaurants so we can, so you can eat it 45 minutes later after the cameras are turned around
Jaymee Sire (37:15):
Oh yeah, that's right. That's right.
Bobby Flay (37:17):
There's only one judge a night and they only, they don't know who the judge is until after the first round.
Jaymee Sire (37:22):
Bobby Flay (37:22):
So then, then the judge comes out, reveals who they are, tastes the dishes, and they, they can listen to what the judge is saying. So then they can, they can use that as strategy going into the last two rounds.
Jaymee Sire (37:34):
Yeah. I love it. I love it because it's, yeah, your strategy might change after that first round. Know, knowing who it is, you know, knowing what their, their feedback was and that kind of thing. No, it's a, it's a great show. I hope everybody checks it out. Um, it's, it's, it's awesome. It's so exciting and so fresh and fun. Um, and speaking of Be Bobby Fly, we can't have you on without asking, you know, at least a couple questions. Um, so on a scale of one to 10, how tired are you of getting asked if you know the chef signature gestures beforehand? 10
Bobby Flay (38:06):
Yeah. 10, 20, 30, 40. You know, it's like, it, listen, everybody always wants to know the behind the scenes stuff. And I, and I, and I totally get it, but like, you know, we've been doing that show for, I think we've had four and 50 episodes or something like that. Wow. How many is it? It's like four 50 or something like that. It's crazy. Yeah. I mean, look, look, and, and also we do the same thing there that we do it on Triple Threat, which is that the chefs, the the judges eat the food right off the line. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (38:43):
Bobby Flay (38:44):
That's it. Cause we don't want them saying, Oh, I wanted to vote for this person instead or anything like that. Because now that food is a little bit colder than it should have been, but that's just TV food. They've already eaten it, tasted it, and we've, and we've documented all their comments so that when, if they forget to say something, we tell 'em in your ear, Don't forget, you said this was like a little too overcooked. Yeah. Or whatever, whatever, whatever it was.
Jaymee Sire (39:06):
No, I I think it's, Yeah. It's a great show. It's a great show. I think it's brilliant. Yeah. Um, I mean, and at this point it is so synonymous with Food Network. When you started this, you know, 450 episodes ago or whatever it was, did you ever think it would have the longevity that it, that it's had?
Bobby Flay (39:22):
No, I mean, I, I was hopeful that it would have longevity. I mean, I think it's been 10 years mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (39:58):
It’s wild. It's wild. You shoot for I'm just two a day for like six weeks. It's wild.
Bobby Flay (40:03):
Exactly. And I just, I just get into that zone where I'm like, Okay, so I have to host and I have to cook, you know, two shows a day for the next, however, and let's go, let's go do it. And I, I actually have a Blackboard in my apartment and I just, I just click one off every time I come, come home and, and you know, I just count them down. But, um, it's a, it's such a fun show and the, the team that we have there is so great. And the thing that I love about it, um, this is a little behind the scenes stuff, is that people like you come on, um, you know, we have other, other celebrities as well that come on. And of course a lot of the Food Network chefs come on and they all tell me the same thing.
(40:44):
Um, Rock Shrimp, which is my production company that runs be Bobby Fla. Like, they're like, it's so organized here. You guys are so great to us. It's so on time. And it's because I'm standing, you know, because it's my production company and I'm, and I'm the talent, so to speak, but they know I'm standing and watching every single thing
Jaymee Sire (41:41):
Yeah, I know. I mean, I, I agree. It's a, it's a well-oiled machine. In fact, that just reminded me the very first time I did the show, I, I had done sports that in the morning from seven to 10, you guys sent a car, picked me up at the studio and drove down to New York for the afternoon session, and we got stuck in a little bit of traffic. And I felt so terrible because I know like how on time you guys saw It's okay. It was, it wasn't too late. But, um, no.
Bobby Flay (42:07):
We, we invited you back.
Jaymee Sire (42:08):
You did. I mean, yeah. So apparently it didn't hurt my chances of coming back. No. It was a lot of fun.
Bobby Flay (42:12):
How many times have you done it?
Jaymee Sire (42:13):
I've done it six. The sixth one has not aired yet, so, Okay. Yeah. No, it's a cool, it's always a blast. But now that you've kind of done both, you know, you've done the hosting and cooking and now you're just hosting and mentoring, which, which do you like better?
Bobby Flay (42:28):
I like 'em both actually. I mean, I have to say, like, you know, cooking is my number one love and passion for sure. And sometimes it's hard for me, like on Triple Threat not to grab a saute Pan
Jaymee Sire (42:42):
You ne Oh, you, oh, is that a fun teaser? You never know. Oh, okay.
Bobby Flay (42:45):
Listen, I don't want people to think I'm never gonna get back in the kitchen in that show. I mean, I'm still doing bead Of course. Yeah. And a co and a bunch of other, you know, things. But listen, you, you, if you ever stove turned on and I'm, and I'm nearby, there's a chance I'm gonna put my apron on.
Jaymee Sire (43:00):
Bobby Flay (43:13):
I mean, honestly, I've had so many great shows. I, I, I miss doing the, the straight up cooking shows. You know, we had Boy Me Grill, which was one of my first cooking shows, my first grilling shows that was so successful, um, you know, throw down. And I, I really believe kind of changed my TV career a little bit, um, in, in the best way. Um, Beat Bobby Fla has been, I mean, just, you know, a remarkable part of my career. And I'm really excited about triple threat and anything I do with Sophie. Yeah. I mean, you know, anything I can do with Sophie is, is not work. So to me that's like, you know, I'm getting paid for not even doing anything.
Jaymee Sire (43:53):
Well, we have obviously enjoyed watching you over the years and we'll continue to do so in many years to come. And, uh, I could sit here and talk to you about TV and food and sports for that matter, for, for days. But we are running, uh, towards the end of our time. So we're gonna finish things off with little rapid fire round, and then we have one final question for you on Food Network. Obsessed. Okay. All right. So when you're short on ingredients at the house, what do you throw together that always hits the spot?
Bobby Flay (44:19):
Uh, zucchini pasta. Okay. So it's like, it's toasted zucchini. When I say toasted, toasted in a pan, Parmigiano reggiano cheese, uh, spaghetti, uh, salt and black pepper. And some, some fresh herbs like basil if you have it.
Jaymee Sire (44:33):
That's it. That sounds delicious. Um, alright. Names you call Nacho besides nacho?
Bobby Flay (44:38):
Jaymee Sire (44:43):
Yeah. Um, speaking of nachos, it is football season. So what's your favorite way to make nachos?
Bobby Flay (44:50):
Um, I always make my own queso sauce. Okay. Cause to me that's what it really, nachos is about, Agreed about the cheese. So I always feel like, like when you melt cheese, it's not, I don't know, it's not as satisfying enough. I want a cheese sauce I make,
Jaymee Sire (45:03):
I am the same way.
Bobby Flay (45:04):
Okay. So I make a caso sauce with lots of pickled jalapenos, pickled onions. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (45:44):
Sure.
Bobby Flay (45:53):
Oh, one thing.
Jaymee Sire (45:54):
Only one thing.
Bobby Flay (45:56):
Um, oh God. That's such a hard question. A cheeseburger.
Jaymee Sire (46:02):
Cheeseburger. Okay.
Bobby Flay (46:04):
Yes, for sure.
Jaymee Sire (46:05):
Bobby Flay (46:10):
Uh, I'm gonna use two words. Okay. Exciting and exhausting.
Jaymee Sire (46:16):
Bobby Flay (46:23):
Sophie. I mean, no question about it. I mean, you know, I, I've had some wonderful mentors in my life, like, you know, Joe Allen, Jonathan Waxman. Um, but you know, when it gets right down to it, why do I do it all? For Sylvie. For sure.
Jaymee Sire (46:39):
I love that. Um, alright, our final question, we ask everybody this question on food network obsess. Everybody has a different answer. So what would be on the menu for your perfect food day? So, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert. There are no rules. Calories don't count. You can time travel, regular travel. Anybody can cook this for you. Uh, yeah, it's your day. We just wanna hear your ideal meals on it.
Bobby Flay (47:00):
Oh, I have to pick a chef too?
Jaymee Sire (47:01):
No, you don't have to, But if you wanna, Okay. If you, if you have a specific dish that's only prepared by this one person, I mean, that's fine, but it's just basically No, no rules. It's your day.
Bobby Flay (47:11):
I, I'll tell you right now, I want Michael Symon to cook for me. Okay. Because I, because I mean, some people know this, some people don't. We're like best of friends.
Jaymee Sire (47:19):
Yes, you guys are BFFs.
Bobby Flay (47:20):
And so I, I, so besides the fact that I, he's a great chef, I know that he'll cook this with some serious love. So I will say, um, for breakfast, I either want a breakfast sandwich or eggs Benedict, I'll let him decide. Okay.
Jaymee Sire (47:39):
So he's cooking all the meals or are you?
Bobby Flay (47:41):
No, yeah, he's, Well, and then I'm gonna go for lunch. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go to past and have steak free. Okay. I just love that place.
Jaymee Sire (47:55):
Dinner, we wanna know dinner.
Bobby Flay (47:56):
Oh, for di oh, dinner. Um, so, so for dinner I'm gonna go to Las Scolio, um, in the, in neuro on the, on the mouthy coast. And there's a pasta called, um, well it's spaghetti, but there's, there's a, there's a, there's a Cru station called Chila, which looks like a snub nose lobster. And it's only in that region. And, uh, so I, I'll have low scolio make me the, uh, spaghetti with chila. They know that, They know, they know. That's my call. And then for dessert, I'll go to my restaurant a mouthy and have Bobby's pistachio Sunday, because that's why it's called Bobby's Pistachio Sunday.
Jaymee Sire (48:34):
What's on a Bobby's Pistachio Sunday?
Bobby Flay (48:38):
So it's, it's homemade pistachio gelato. Mm-hmm.
Jaymee Sire (48:45):
Oh, okay.
Bobby Flay (48:46):
And then a pistachio chocolate sauce. And then, uh, those amran cherries from, from the south of Italy. So good.
Jaymee Sire (48:54):
Hm. Oh my gosh.
Bobby Flay (48:54):
The whip and whipped cream of course, of course. I, I'm a pistachio gelato feind
Jaymee Sire (49:01):
Yeah. No, I, I like, I love gelato. I love a pistachio gelato as well. Um, no, it sounds like a perfect Bobby Fla Food day. And, um, so many exciting things going on right now. We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to chat about them with us. And so looking forward to the rest of Bobby's triple threat.
Bobby Flay (49:21):
Thank you so much, Jamie. It's always good to hang out with you.
Jaymee Sire (49:28):
Uh, catching up with Bobby was everything I hoped it would be, and I hope you guys enjoyed it as well. You can watch his new show, Bobby's Triple Threat Tuesdays at nine eight Central on Food Network and streaming on Discovery Plus. And of course, pick up a copy of his new book Sundays with Sophie Fla family recipes for any day of the week, which is out October 11th. Make sure to follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And if you enjoy today's episode, please rate and review. We love it when you do that. That's all for now. We'll catch you foodies next Friday.