Bobby Flay will keep cooking for Food Network
Bobby Flay on Oct. 16 at the Keep Memory Alive "Power of Love Gala" benefit for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health at Resorts World Las Vegas. Credit: Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive/Bryan Steffy
Following stalled negotiations, New York-native celebrity chef Bobby Flay has signed a new three-year contract with his longtime TV home, Food Network.
"I'm thrilled to extend my relationship with Food Network and [its parent company] Discovery," Flay, 56, said in a statement Monday. "Although these talks to renew took a little longer than expected, the important thing is that both sides are happy that we can now build on an already rock-solid foundation. Stay tuned for some incredibly exciting new shows as I promise to take food and cooking to places we've never imagined before."
"Here's THE bell from the Beat Bobby Flay set," he added on Facebook, posting a photo of the boxing-match bell used on that Food Network culinary competition, which has run on the network since 2013. "Just when we thought we taped the last episode ever … Guess I’m gonna have to bring this back."
A shorter version of this post on Flay's Instagram account prompted a supportive comment from fellow celebrity chef Michael Symon, who wrote, "Don't call it a comeback."
Flay, whose first Food Network series, "Grillin' and Chillin'," premiered in 1996, told Variety in a story published Monday, "I have an amazing family at Food Network and a great foundation. And I have a sizable library of food television here." He added, "I'm a lucky person. I grew up in a time when this country finally decided that food was important."
The chef-restaurateur, who formerly had Bobby's Burger Palace locations at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove and the Roosevelt Field mall in Garden City, will host a new show next year with the working title "Bobby and Sophie on the Coast," featuring his daughter, Sophie Flay, who also is his "Always Hungry" podcast co-host.
