Bobby Flay says he owes his career to an Easy Bake oven

Welcome to Dining With the Stars, a series where we sit down with celebrities and chefs to discuss all things food. Sit at our table and learn about favorite restaurants, your dream dinner party guest list, and other delicious details.

For 30 years, Bobby Flay has invited millions of home cooks and professionals into his kitchen through shows like Grillin' & Chillin, Boy Meets Grill, Beat Bobby Flay and Iron Chef America.

Flay, who turns 60 in December, has been interested in food for most of his life. After dropping out of high school after his sophomore year, Flay got a job as a busboy at a restaurant in Manhattan's theater district for two weeks. The waiter returned, which should have been the end of Flay's kitchen career.

Little did he know that those two weeks were just the beginning of a remarkable cooking career.

“'Do you want a job in the kitchen?' I heard it from afar,” writes Flay Flay in his new cookbook, “Chapter One,” out October 29th. “With one foot literally out the front door, I turned around and responded unenthusiastically, 'Sure.'”

Flay sat down at our table for this edition of “Dining with the Stars” to talk about his first memories of cooking, what he thinks chef-led television shows do right about the industry, and the ingredients he always uses his pantry (and why the answer). is tequila).

As a child, you are known to have been given an Easy-Bake oven. What is your earliest memory of cooking?

I think I was about 5 or 6 years old. I watched the commercials during cartoons and special events after school and things like that. And I couldn't believe that you could actually bake a cake with a light bulb. I had to see it for myself. I asked for an easy bake oven and my parents got it for me.

Was it just pure intrigue?

Pure intrigue. I don't know when I started watching, but I started watching some cooking shows like Julia Child and The Galloping Gourmet.

Just like all children do.

I was interested in her. I still don't know why, but it was me. And there was definitely something there, but I wasn't quite cooking yet. I did start to cook a little more with my mother, but not very much.

“Chapter One” is part memoir, part cookbook. How did you decide to organize and write your story this way? And why did you think now, at this stage in your career, was the time to write it?

Well, I don't really think of it as a memory. I wrote essays about all of my restaurants, some shows, and things that were really important to my career. But that's exactly it. They are, so to speak, very focused essays about these things. There aren't a lot of detailed, “never heard before” things. Maybe there is, but it's nothing like that. I'm not talking about a bad childhood or anything like that. Because honestly, I didn't have one.

Because you had an Easy-Bake Oven.

It's really about the 100 dishes, which were basically the 100 most important dishes of my career, and bringing them to life, updating them for today's modern cuisine, and then adding some text to them.

You reduce the thousands of recipes you've developed down to just 100. Is there a recipe that you feel embodies your style and approach to cooking?

It actually wasn't that difficult and I'll tell you why. Because when I started looking through all the recipes in my database, I immediately noticed the important ones. It was just like that of course, yes, absolutely. It was a little difficult to get to 100, but it wasn't hard to pick the ones that were important.

What would you say to someone thinking about a career in the restaurant industry?

Well, it depends on how old they are and where they are in their life. Let's just say someone who's in high school, because that's where I started. Take summer jobs. Don't drop out of high school like I did. Stay in school, but take summer jobs at restaurants in your community that you think are good and that you like, and see if you like the restaurant business. It's a very, very specific type of business. I think it's a great place to learn how to work with other people. It gives you discipline. It allows you to be creative. This will bring real joy to the people you serve or cook for. But I think practical experience in a restaurant is really important for the next decision because it's not for everyone. But if so, it's good to know.

How do you think shows like “Iron Chef” or “The Bear” accurately describe the industry and life as a chef?

Well, I think “The Bear” does a great job. I thought the producers were incredibly smart. They definitely brought in some real people to consult and get a sense of what it's like in the kitchen. I don't like some of the negative things that go on in this show, but I also love the camaraderie, pride and sense of teamwork as a brigade.

I think (being a chef) is an exhilarating thing. For me there is nothing better than working at the border. I'm a line cook at heart and that's why I can cook all of this quickly and accurately on all of these competition shows because I've basically been a line cook for most of my career. Even in my restaurants, I always cook.

Iron Chef was obviously a competition show, so there was a lot of trauma and intrigue there, but the kitchen was all real.

Favorite food for the soul?

Cheeseburgers.

Cooking at home or eating out?

Oh, wow. I mean, both. I like doing both. I like going to other people's restaurants and eating in a way that I don't have to do the dishes, so to speak. But I also love cooking at home. I cook at home all the time for my friends and family.

Favorite food city in the world?

New York. Number two is London.

Dream guest list for a dinner party?

Muhammad Ali, Michelle Obama, Michael Jordan, Miles Davis, Wolfgang Puck, Julia Child. I actually ate with almost all of the people, not all of them, but a good amount.

Pantry essentials?

Great olive oil, a handful of different vinegars, capers, anchovies, olives (green and black), arborio, rice and tequila.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.