Bobby Flay's love affairs with N.Y., food -- and politics?
By LYDIA MARTIN
lmartin@MiamiHerald.com
NEW YORK -- Bobby Flay, the native New Yorker who champions Southwestern cuisine and made his name by elevating chile peppers, cilantro and corn, may put his culinary career on the back burner one of these days, he says.
He's a high-school dropout with a fairy-tale trajectory that began when he was 17 and started cooking at famed Joe Allen's in Manhattan's theater district. Allen took a shine and offered to pay Flay's tuition to the French Culinary Institute.
Eventually, that formal training led to cookbooks, TV shows and a string of restaurants: Mesa Grill, Bolo and Bar American in New York; Mesa Grill in Las Vegas and Paradise Island; Bobby Flay Steak in Atlantic City -- and now Bobby's Burger Palace, which opened in recent months in Long Island and New Jersey.
He'll be in South Florida for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, grilling at Rachael Ray's Burger Bash Thursday, cooking at a dinner honoring Emeril Lagasse Saturday and hosting an Oscar-night screening and tasting party Sunday with his wife Stephanie March, an actress perhaps best known for playing Alexandra Cabot on
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
''All of it is great, but at some point I would like to run for public office,'' says the tall, flame-haired Flay, who is getting a lot of double takes (especially from women) while kicking back in the lobby of the hip Gansevoort Hotel in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.
``It would be hard to find someone who loves this city as much as I do. I'm basically in awe of it every day. The well-being of the city is very important to me.''
So what would he tackle first if he were elected?
''Because of my success, I have mentored some classes in public high schools, and that has opened my eyes,'' says Flay, who stars in
Boy Meets Grill,
Grill It! with Bobby Flay,
Throwdown with Bobby Flay and
Iron Chef America, all on the Food Network. ``Because I'm a high-school dropout, I know how important an education is. I got lucky. But I think a traditional education is not for everybody. I have lobbied in Washington for more funding for vocational education. There are people who are more cerebral and learn best from books. And there are people, like me, who can't learn that way and need to be active with their hands.''
But wouldn't bureaucracy bring him down if he actually got elected?
``My feeling is that rather than trying from the outside to get the bureaucracy to do something, I'd rather get into the bureaucratic position myself, and once you are there you can make the decisions. The first thing I would do is make sure every kid eats better in public schools. Even if there are people who serve kids the worst frozen s - - - for 12 cents a day who will try to kill me.''
But Flay isn't dumping his kitchens anytime soon.
POLITICAL AMBITIONS
''I would run for office maybe 10 years from now. But I'm a chef first. I do television on the side, and it has become an important part of my life. But there is no question about it; what's really important to me is that people come to my restaurants and love the food. That's the bread and butter of my emotions,'' he says.
As an Iron Chef, Flay may seem like a steely competitor, but he says he's mellowing. He gives the credit to his third wife.
''We'll be married four years in February. I feel like I have great support, a real partner. And I feel like she has taken a little bit of the edge from me. I have fought for everything I have ever accomplished. And I'm a New Yorker. There was a time when I was moving so quickly I didn't have time for anybody. But she has taught me to take a breath,'' Flay says.
Lately, he's even become a kinder, gentler Iron Chef, he says.
``It's hard to have my friends coming in to compete against me. I want them to have a great experience. Winning or losing is not that important to me.''
He's still raving about Miami star chef Michelle Bernstein's Iron Chef win in 2005.
``She beat me, and the ingredient was onions. How often do you make onion a focal part of a dish? I think Michelle is one of the best chefs in the country. She just has so much soul to her food. But she also has this pristine edge. It's not just soulful, but it has finesse. But I don't think she really believes all of this about herself. She is incredibly humble.''
After graduating from culinary school, Flay worked with Jonathan Waxman, one of the first chefs to take California cooking to the Northeast.
''That was the first time I was introduced to fresh and dry chile peppers, corn, even cilantro. We really didn't have that stuff on the East Coast. I fell in love with it all,'' Flay says. ``Later I went to the Southwest and worked at a bunch of restaurants. The colors and the flavors of the ingredients are so vibrant. When you know how to dial it up or dial it down, chile peppers are invaluable. People think they're either hot or not hot. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. They create unbelievable nuances in sauces, marinades, whatever.''
Flay has long been an advocate of American regional cuisine. He hates it when foodies look across the border for a great meal.
MAP OF FOOD
''I don't know what people are thinking about when they say they have to go on culinary trips to Italy, France, Asia to find fabulous food. This country may have the most diverse food in the world. But we don't get credit for it. People think American food is cheeseburgers, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese and meatloaf. When I look at a map of the United States, I don't see states; I see ingredients,'' Flay says.
``In the Pacific Northwest there's wild salmon, halibut, Dungeness crab, pinot noir. In the Southwest there are the red beans, blue corn, all the chile peppers. There's the barbecue belt of Kansas City, Memphis. In Miami you have all the tropicals, the Cuban food and Latin food, pork, plantains, mangoes, grouper. In the Northeast the chowders, lobster. We haven't even talked about Louisiana and the South, which to me has some of the best American food, period.''
While he's in Miami, Flay will no doubt find a way to take a break and drive to Palacio de los Jugos on Flagler and 57th Avenue, the Latin-flavored farmers' market that has become an underground favorite for visiting chefs.
``I love the flavor of Miami. Literally the flavor. I love Michelle Bernstein's place. I love Palacio de los Jugos. I always go there no matter what. I get the chicharrones, a bottle of coconut water, a tropical juice of some kind, roasted pork. I also go to Versailles and drink Cuban coffee with the guys hanging out at the window killing Castro every day.''
The other local spot he never misses: Joe's Stone Crab.
``I always host an informal lunch when I'm there. I take about 20 people. They have the perfect stone crabs and the perfect mustard sauce. Add some fried green tomatoes and creamed spinach. And a lot of wine.''
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