Bobby Flay hated filming on the Food Network show

Food Network is arguably the most successful and popular source of cooking entertainment. It has produced some of the world’s most famous food personalities, including Ina Garten, Rachel Ray and Guy Fieri, and is known for its captivating, informative cooking shows and competitions. But according to one of the network’s very famous chefs, it wasn’t always the high-quality programming that viewers have become accustomed to today. In fact, he hated one of his earliest programs.

Bobby Flay, the legendary Iron Chef, restaurateur and, more recently, host of mega-pop shows like “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” recently sat down with chef David Chang for “The Ringer” to talk about to speak about his situation’s impact on the culinary world. But as Flay and Chang discuss innovation in food TV, Flay discusses how hard it was and how much he hated filming his earliest Food Network show – Grillin’ & Chillin‘.

Media moguls Food Network, founded in 1993, had no idea how big their humble cable channel would become. In the beginning it was mainly the classic, educational cooking shows, such as the short-lived “Emeril & Friends” with chef Emeril Lagasse. The 1996 classic “Grillin’ & Chillin” was created there.‘”moderated by Flay and his colleague Jack McDavid, enters. As the title suggests, the two grilled various foods and, well, chilled. But for Flay, filming this show was anything but that, according to his interview.

Without the enormous production budget, shows like “Chopped” and “Guy’s Grocery Games” are now “Grillin’ & Chillin.”‘”was filmed on a real live tape. There were no editors or fancy food styling, it was entirely up to Flay to not only address commercials but also time the food he prepared to coincide with the live recording. From preparing the food to grilling and serving, everything happened in real time. A far cry from the seamlessly shot and edited cooking shows on channels like Netflix. Although Chang claims he loves the show, Flay proclaims, according to The Ringer, “You loved it because it was so bad.”

As Chang further describes, today’s magic of food TV has, in some ways, removed an important element from the viewing experience – the ability to watch real, talented chefs cook. “The first generation of Food Network was people who could cook,” Chang said. In order not to outdo the current cast of extremely talented Food Network personalities, in 1996 Flay didn’t have the editors and food stylists on set to prepare the dishes they have access to today. He had to do it from start to finish all by himself. Yes, Flay may be a popular figure in the world of food, but his roots in even his most hated show prove how talented a chef he really is.