Bobby Flay Tells Ina Garten That His First Food Network Show Was ‘So Bad That It Was Good’ — Watch (Exclusive)

Flay is Garten’s first guest on the upcoming season of ‘Be My Guest with Ina Garten,’ which will air on Sunday, Sept. 29 on Food Network

Ina Garten is rolling out the welcome mat for another season of Be My Guest with Ina Garten, and PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the season 5 premiere.

To kick off the season on Sept. 29, the Barefoot Contessa star invites fellow Food Network celebrity chef Bobby Flay to her home in East Hampton, N.Y.

“My friend Bobby Flay is here spending the entire day with me, which is so great,” Garten starts, smiling at Flay across the table. “I don't really need to introduce him because everybody knows who he is.”

In the clip, Garten asks him about Grillin’ & Chillin’, Flay’s first-ever Food Network series that premiered in 1996. As soon as Garten says the show title, Flay immediately closes his eyes and shakes his head.

Ina Garten, Bobby Flay and Fresh Fettucine with Anchovy Butter, as seen on Be My Guest with Ina Garten, Season 4.
Ina Garten invites Bobby Flay into her home for the new season of 'Be My Guest with Ina Garten'.

Food Network

“You were wearing sunglasses and Bermuda shorts,” she adds, prompting Flay to put his head in his hands.

“I’m so sorry for you,” he says jokingly.

Garten replies with a big grin, “Oh, I thought it was great!”

Flay composes himself and tells Garten that he will give her some background on the show.

“I know when that show was shot because my daughter Sophie, who's 27, was ten days old,” explains the father of one. He recalls how the show was filmed on the back lot of the Home Shopping Network: “We shot 42 shows in seven days.”

“That’s insane,” Garten replies with a look of amazement.

HOT OFF THE GRILL WITH BOBBY FLAY, Bobby Flay, 1998
Bobby Flay appeared on Food Network in 1994 but his first show, 'Grillin' & Chillin', aired in 1996.

Everett

Flay continues to provide more context on the show, explaining that he was the "city guy" and Jack McDavid was the "country guy." On the show, the cohosts demonstrated different barbecuing recipes using both a propane and charcoal grill.

“Before you got there, there was no editing,” he says, pointing out that Garten’s first Food Network series Barefoot Contessa, which started in 2002, was shot differently.

Taping a show so that it was able to air without editing shaped Flay’s current way of filming, he says. “That's why I shoot so fast these days. I learned how to do it that way,” he explains.

Garten asks, “Were you terrified?” Flay recalls, “I did have an anxiety attack the night before we started shooting.”

Despite his initial self-deprecating response to Garten bringing up Grillin’ & Chillin’, Flay does think of the show fondly. “It was really bad television,” he says bluntly. “But I really believe it was so bad that it was good.”

Of course, the celebrity chefs don’t just talk about food, they do some cooking, too. Garten shares her cherry pistachio biscotti and Irish coffee affogato recipes, which the pair enjoy while discussing their careers and friendship. Plus, Flay teaches Garten how to make his favorite pasta dish: fettuccine with anchovy butter and chives.

The latest episodes of Garten’s show mirror the format of previous seasons. The six-episode return will bring foodies and celebrities into Garten’s stunning home to eat and chat. In addition to Flay, guests include Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Colbert and his wife Evie McGee-Colbert, Wendell Pierce, Ann Patchett and Eric Ripert.

Be My Guest with Ina Garten premieres Sunday, Sept. 29, at 12 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network.

Comments
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. PEOPLE does not endorse the opinions and views shared by readers in our comment sections.

Related Articles