Bobby Flay Shares Sweet Photo From Childhood

Food Network star Bobby Flay is took his fans on a nostalgic walk down memory lane on Friday — and he brought his favorite furry friend along with him.

The 60-year-old took to Instagram to share a rare photo of himself as a child holding his family cat, Cocoa.

The sweet snap shows the Beat Bobby Flay host sporting floppy red locks of hair and and an adorable flower-print bathing suit while nestling Cocoa outside.

“#Throwback to a not-so-recent summer, hanging with Cocoa,” Flay penned. “Growing up an only child, my cats were like my siblings.”

The Bobby Flay: Chapter One author has always been vocal about his love for felines, most notably for his beloved pet cat Nacho Flay who died in October 2023 at 9 years old.

The chef took to social media at the time to mourn the loss of the legendary Nacho, who became the face of his own cat food line and amassed over 269,000 Instagram followers during his life in the spotlight.

“It is with an absolute broken heart that I report Nacho has passed away peacefully,” the chef lamented on Instagram about the orange Maine Coon cat. “Nacho had a magic about him that was truly special. He came into my life when I needed him most and brought joyful moment after joyful moment to my household.”

Flay had a reason to smile this week: his new relationship with fellow Food Network star Brooke Williamson, which PEOPLE confirmed exclusively on Monday, March 28.

“They have been friends for a while and recently decided to jump in,” a source told PEOPLE on Monday. “Her divorce last year probably gave them some additional shared experiences and over the last few weeks, love bloomed.”

PEOPLE also learned that Flay flew to Los Angeles on March 17 to surprise Williamson at the No Kid Hungry Dinner where she was being honored alongside actor Jeff Bridges. The pair was photographed together at the event.

Neither Flay nor Williamson have publicly commented on the romance.