Bobby Flay

Robert William Flay (born December 10, 1964) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, food writer, and reality television personality.

Flay is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's Burgers, and Amalfi.

Flay was born on December 10, 1964, in New York City to Bill and Dorothy Barbara (McGuirk) Flay.

He was raised on the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.

He is a fourth generation Irish American and was raised Catholic, attending denominational schools.

At age 8, Flay asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas.

His father thought that a G.I. Joe would be more gender-appropriate.

Despite his father's objections, he received them both.

Flay dropped out of high school at age 17.

He has said his first jobs in the restaurant industry were at a pizza parlor and Baskin-Robbins.

He then took a position making salads at Joe Allen Restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District, where his father was a partner.

The proprietor, Joe Allen, was impressed by Flay's natural ability and agreed to pay his partner's son's tuition at the French Culinary Institute.

Flay received a degree in culinary arts and was a member of the first graduating class of the French Culinary Institute in 1984.

After culinary school, he started working as a sous-chef, quickly learning the culinary arts.

At the Brighton Grill on Third Avenue, Flay was handed the executive chef's position after a week when the executive chef was fired.

Flay quit when he realized he was not ready to run a kitchen.

He took a position as a chef working for restaurateur Jonathan Waxman at Bud and Jams.

Waxman introduced Flay to southwestern and Cajun cuisine, which came to define his culinary career.

After working for a short time on the floor at the American Stock Exchange, Flay returned to the kitchen as the executive chef at Miracle Grill in the East Village, where he worked from 1988 to 1990.

He caught the attention of restaurateur Jerome Kretchmer, who was looking for a southwestern-style chef.

Impressed by Flay's food, Kretchmer offered him the position of executive chef at Mesa Grill, which opened on January 15, 1991.

Shortly after, he became a partner.

In November 1993, Flay partnered with Laurence Kretchmer to open Bolo Bar & Restaurant in the Flatiron District, just a few blocks away from Mesa Grill.

He has worked with Food Network since 1995, which won him four Daytime Emmy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Flay established the Bobby Flay Scholarship in 2003.

This full scholarship to the French Culinary Institute is awarded annually to a student in the Long Island City Culinary Arts Program.

Flay personally helps select the awardee each year.

Flay opened a second Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2004, and in 2005 he opened Bar Americain, an American Brasserie, in Midtown Manhattan.

He continued to expand his restaurants by opening Bobby Flay Steak in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

This was followed by a third Mesa Grill in the Bahamas, located in The Cove at Atlantis Paradise Island, which opened on March 28, 2007.

Bolo Bar & Restaurant closed its doors on December 31, 2007, to make way for a condominium.

Aside from his restaurants and television shows, Flay has been a master instructor and visiting chef at the French Culinary Institute.

Although he is not currently teaching classes, he occasionally visits when his schedule permits.

The Las Vegas Mesa Grill earned Flay his only Michelin Star in 2008, which was taken away in the 2009 edition.

Flay opened Bobby's Burger Palace (BBP) in Lake Grove, Long Island, on July 15, 2008.

The restaurant is located at the Smith Haven Mall.

A second location opened on December 5, 2008, at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, New Jersey, and a third location opened March 31, 2009, in The Outlets at Bergen Town Center in Paramus, New Jersey.

His fourth shop opened at the Mohegan Sun Casino in southeast Connecticut on July 1, 2009, which is also the location of his second Bar Americain, which opened on November 18, 2009.

Michelin did not publish a 2010 or 2011 Las Vegas edition, so the star could not be re-earned.

His fifth location of the burger chain opened in Philadelphia's University City on April 6, 2010.