Why Bobby Flay Doesn't Think He Needs To Go Head-To-Head With Ina Garten In A Cooking Competition

If you're a Food Network fan, you've seen your favorite celebrity chefs go head-to-head time and again in a variety of cooking competitions. "Beat Bobby Flay," in particular, invites other Food Network champions to try to show up the master of the grill, but Flay isn't willing to have a showdown with just anyone. He isn't willing to try to hold his own with the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten — because he doesn't believe he could win. 

"I would get killed," said Flay in an interview with Tasting Table when asked if he would ever consider going against Garten in a cooking competition. "Ina is the queen. I love her so much. And I'll tell you what, she's already beaten me." Flay went on to explain that years ago, his daughter took the time to cook him breakfast on Father's Day. When he glanced at the counter to see which of his cookbooks she pulled, he had to laugh when he noticed it wasn't one of his at all. "And of course, she was using Ina Garten's," Flay said. "There's only one Ina." Garten's many cookbooks are highly praised, so we can only guess which of the many breakfast recipes Flay's daughter chose to make from Garten's catalog.

The respect that Bobby Flay has for Ina Garten goes both ways. The two have long worked together on the Food Network, and Flay has also appeared on an episode of Garten's latest TV show, "Be My Guest." The two spent a day at Garten's barn in the Hamptons, where they worked together to make one of Garten's favorite treats — Cherry Pistachio Biscotti. After the two discussed Flay's celebrated career, he taught Garten how to make Fresh Fettuccine with Anchovy Butter and Chives — one of his favorite pasta recipes.

In a particularly moving part of the episode (via Facebook), Garten was brought to tears as Flay described how he got his unexpected start in the culinary world. Flay said that he was kicked out of high school, and his father told him he needed to get a job. He began filling in as a busboy at Joe Allen, an uber-famous restaurant in New York City. "I was literally walking out of the front door, and the chef said to me, 'Hey Bobby, do you want a job in the kitchen?'" As Flay recalled the story to Garten, she fanned her eyes in amazement at what the chef unknowingly did for Flay in that moment, opening up the door to a decades-long career.

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