The Chef That Bobby Flay Looked Up To Who Changed The Game In America

Long before Bobby Flay was a celebrity chef, he was just a kid who was interested in food. He even asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas one year, which was the childhood toy that eventually led to his culinary success. By the time Flay was in his late teens, he had dropped out of high school to pursue his nascent culinary career. The chef who inspired Flay in those early years was Wolfgang Puck. 

Puck opened his first restaurant, Spago, in Los Angeles in 1982 and caused an immediate sensation by fusing French, California, and Asian cuisine. One of the first gourmet dishes Flay made, a shrimp-forward plate featuring mustard, cream, and fresh tarragon, came out of Puck's very first cookbook. In the ensuing years, Flay's own star rose with the inception of his first restaurant Mesa Grill, not to mention numerous Food Network shows, cookbooks, and an entire culinary empire to follow. Throughout all that time, Puck continued to hold a special significance for Flay. "It took an Austrian guy to revolutionize food in America," Flay told Food & Wine in 2024. "I have great respect for Wolfgang because he just was so dynamic when he started doing this."

Bobby Flay may be inspired by other celebrity chefs, but it's Wolfgang Puck who has always been especially important to him. Flay said on "The Dave Chang Show" that Puck brought a unique energy and fun to fine dining. He changed the culinary game by putting unlikely ingredients like smoked salmon and duck sausage on pizza. "I want to be Wolfgang," Flay recalled thinking when he was younger. 

Both chef-restaurateurs are now renowned in the culinary world and beyond. Puck might be the only one who currently holds Michelin stars, but both Puck and Flay have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They've also gotten to know each other personally over the years. Puck was a guest judge on the Food Network show "Beat Bobby Flay" in 2021, where he and Ted Allen of "Chopped" had to choose two chefs to pit against Flay. Puck and Flay also opened restaurants in the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City back in 2006. Over the years they took part in the casino's annual "Savor Borgata" culinary event, hosting cooking demos and tastings. Unfortunately, both restaurants later closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Today, Flay continues to look up to the chef who helped change America. He once even told USA Today that he'd put Puck on his dream dinner guest list. That's some high praise indeed.