Bobby Flay Reveals Big Update for His Role at Food Network
What To Know
- Bobby Flay shared exciting news about his Food Network future on his Bobby on the Beat podcast.
- Flay has been a Food Network staple for 30 years, appearing on and hosting shows such as Iron Chef America and Beat Bobby Flay.
- Flay’s competition series BBQ Brawl will return for its seventh season next month.
Bobby Flay has appeared on Food Network for three decades, and he’s not stopping his relationship with the network any time soon.
Flay dropped some big news about his TV future on the Monday, April 13, episode of his Bobby on the Beat podcast. “I am starting a new series for Food Network that I can’t really tell you what it is,” he announced. “But it’s going to be, I think, the quintessential Food Network show.”
Flay went on to share the few details he could share about the show, telling listeners, “It’s going to be, obviously, about cooking. It’s going to have some sort of professional cooking environment in it, for sure. I think it’s going to answer a lot of questions of how do you do your job, so to speak, when it comes to chefs and cooks in the restaurant business. And so, [I’m] looking forward to that.”
According to Flay, the project has been in the works for around three years. “We’re going to pick up the cameras and we’re going to shoot it,” he stated. “That’s basically going to take up my April for sure.”
Flay began appearing on Food Network in the ’90s and debuted his first cooking show, Grillin’ & Chillin’, in 1996. He has continued to appear on and host several Food Network shows over the years, including Boy Meets Grill with Bobby Flay, Grill It! with Bobby Flay, Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, Iron Chef America, Bobby Flay’s Barbecue Addiction, Brunch at Bobby’s, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Food Network Star, Worst Cooks in America, Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, and Bobby’s Triple Threat.
Food Network
Flay will soon return to Food Network with Season 7 of the competition series BBQ Brawl. Flay and Maneet Chauhan will serve as team leaders alongside Flay’s girlfriend, Brooke Williamson, who formerly served as a judge on the show. News of Williamson’s role change comes one year after her relationship with Flay went public in March 2025.
“Brooke has been a judge since almost the beginning, the second season, and she’s always wanted to be one of the mentors and cook on the show, and there was never sort of an opportunity for that,” Flay told People in February. “But now, our rule between us is that we can’t judge each other, because how can we judge each other?”
He continued, “We can compete against each other in kind of friendly ways. She’s becoming one of the captains on BBQ Brawl, so I have to actually compete against her. And she, as you might imagine, is very competitive, so she’s tough to beat.”
Adrienne Cheatham, Rashad Jones, and Carson Kressley will serve as BBQ Brawl‘s Season 7 judges. The nine-episode season will end with only one pit master taking home the title of “Master of ‘Cue.”
“BBQ season is here and this year’s Brawlers are some of the best we’ve ever seen,” Betsy Ayala, President, Food Network, said in a press statement earlier this month. “Having Brooke join Bobby and Maneet as team captains brings a whole new dynamic to the Ranch – they are ultra-competitive and not afraid of a little good-natured trash talk.”
BBQ Brawl, Season 7 Premiere, Monday, May 11, 9/8c, Food Network, Streaming Next Day on HBO Max
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Though I'm always excited to see Bobby in any project he's been in, I've been a fan since the very beginning, I think many of us would love to see Bobby either compete or judge on TOC, and know why Bobby has never appeared in any of Guy's shows. I know fans have at one point in their lives asked why he had never shown up in any one of Guy's shows. I just feel like it's a missed opportunity for some of the most iconic people in the culinary world, especially since there's no history of bad blood between the two. It just doesn't make sense.
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W
Glad they brought back the brawlers who had gone home for the final judging
Wish the show has ended for the season and look forward to the next season
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W
Was a wonderful show last evening, got to see more of what the brawlers can really do. Sad we are almost to the end, and also who will win BBQ Master of Cue. Look forward to next year's show and hope we have the same Captains again, thought they actually did the best, and maybe now we can really, see the best of Bobby and Brooke since it doesn't take much to see that they love each other and enjoy working side by side. and a little joking don't hurt any relationship
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W
New season of BBQ Brawl Season 7 needs to bring back some of the previous seasons. They don't have the captions cook much anymore to get points for their teams. I feel like they don't work well together with the rest of the brawlers. I don't think Rashad was ready for the show like Rodney was. Most grillers know that it takes more than 90 minutes to fix food on the grill. Don't take the showoff just need to fine tune it a little so once again it is interesting, I do think keeping the same Captains was a good choice, so when new brawlers come on, they have some reference as to who they will be working with. Last seasons they cooked for the town, and the brawlers tried to compete more with each other's now
they are just in their little area and don't think there is any competition between all the brawlers.
Thanks for letting me air my thoughts
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