He took a position as a chef working for restaurateur Jonathan Waxman at Bud and Jams. Flay quit when he realized he was not ready to run a kitchen. At the Brighton Grill on Third Avenue, Flay was handed the executive chef's position after a week when the executive chef was fired. After culinary school, he started working as a sous-chef, quickly learning the culinary arts. įlay received a degree in culinary arts and was a member of the first graduating class of the French Culinary Institute in 1984. 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. He then took a position making salads at Joe Allen Restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District, where his father was a partner. He has said his first jobs in the restaurant industry were at a pizza parlor and Baskin-Robbins. Career įlay dropped out of high school at age 17. Despite his father's objections, he received them both. Īt age 8, Flay asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas. He is a fourth generation Irish American and was raised Catholic, attending denominational schools. He was raised on the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. Early life įlay was born on December 10, 1964, in New York City to Bill and Dorothy Barbara (McGuirk) Flay. 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 is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's Burgers, and Amalfi. Robert William Flay (born December 10, 1964), is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality.

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