127 Quotes by Bobby Flay

I was hired as a sous-chef at a restaurant on the Upper East Side. The chef liked to drink – some mornings we would find him sleeping. Two weeks after its opening, I became the chef. I was 20 years old, and way over my head. I had to hire the cooks and do the menus.

Don’t underestimate the importance of having enough room to work. Grilling is much more relaxing when you are not trying to juggle a whole collection of plates and bowls as you do it. If your grill doesn’t have enough workspace – and they almost never do – set up a table right next to your grill.

Lime juice makes things taste fresher. I use it for drinks, salsas, relishes, soups, and sauces. You want some give to your limes – firmness means the inside is dry – and they’ll stay softer longer if you don’t refrigerate them.

I can’t grill vegetables, shellfish or steaks without tongs. Don’t bother with those long-handled grilling tongs normally found in the BBQ section of your home store. Get intimate with your grill and opt for the regular stainless steel tongs.

When I’m hiring a cook for one of my restaurants, and I want to see what they can do, I usually ask them to make me an omelette.

I wasn’t passionate about food until I’d been cooking for a while. I started long before food became part of the mainstream media. I just wanted to cook, period.

Most of the time, I grill over high heat. I like things to move fast. I like the sound and smell of a very hot fire. I gravitate towards dishes that you can get on and off the grill as quickly as possible. After a while, you’ll know without thinking about it how hot the fire is.

My contribution I hope is to get people to eat full-flavored food. If I could come away with that alone, that would be a fantastic accomplishment. I’m also very proud of being a very American chef.

Basically, there are two things we know: Everybody has less time, and the general public is demanding better food – better in terms of quality and better in terms of flavor.