How Ina Garten Really Feels About Bobby Flay
When it comes to the culinary world, there may not be two people more different than Ina Garten and Bobby Flay. The celebrity chefs have two wildly different approaches to cooking, with Garten sticking to simple meals and recipes sans "fancy ingredients" on her wildly popular program, The Barefoot Contessa, per Showbiz CheatSheet, while Flay tends to take a more out-of-the-box approach to dishes, much in part due to his affinity for the spiciness of Southwestern cuisine (via Insider).
But it's not just their cooking that puts these two Food Network staples on opposite ends of the spectrum — it's their attitudes as well. Garten seems to have stayed relatively humble throughout her illustrious career, so much so that she won't even watch herself on television. Flay, on the other hand, tends to err more on the arrogant side — something that has gotten him into trouble more times than one.
With all that being said, you may be wondering if two people as wildly different as the much-loved Garten and somewhat controversial Flay could actually stand being around each other in a kitchen, let alone be friends. And as it turns out, they absolutely can.
Ina Garten has plenty of nice things to say about Bobby Flay
Even Ina Garten has chefs that she looks up to, one of them apparently being Bobby Flay. "How does he do it?" she said to Food Network about the Iron Chef. "He blows me away. He has restaurants all over the world, cookbooks, television shows. I can't imagine how he does it, and he does them all well."
Sure, Flay is a successful chef, but Garten shouldn't be selling herself short either. The 73-year-old has 11 cookbooks with another one on the way, according to Delish, as well as her iconic television show, the 26th season of which premiered last October (via People).
The relationship between Garten and Flay goes beyond publicly complimenting each other, as the former White House employee once invited her "good friend and neighbor" Flay (via Food Network) to whip up a Thanksgiving meal. The pair put together some incredible dishes, including orange honey-glazed carrots and 11-layer potato gratin. Flay also made a smoked turkey for the decadent dinner, which Garten said on her website was "so delicious."
Flay has also returned the favor, inviting (or rather, challenging) his pal to find a suitable competitor for him more than once on Beat Bobby Flay (via IMDb). Spoiler alert: she hasn't, which could be the key to their friendship remaining intact.