Bobby Flay is one of the most successful, accomplished, and best-known chefs in the culinary world. He currently owns two elevated dining destinations, Brasserie B and Amalfi, as well as an entire chain, Bobby’s Burgers. He is the chef-in-residence for Misfits Market, founded Made by Nacho cat food, has penned 18 best-selling cookbooks, and has starred in numerous television shows. But don’t let that intimidate you: Everyone has to start somewhere, and Flay had as humble a beginning as any of us might. His first job working with food was scooping ice cream at a Baskin-Robbins.
Flay loved food from the beginning and requested an Easy-Bake oven as a child. At 17, he left high school to get his hands dirty learning everything he could about working with food, and that took the shape of jobs at one of the country’s most popular ice cream chains as well as at a pizza shop. This was in New York City, where Flay was born and raised, around 1981. Baskin-Robbins had been going since 1945, so it would have already been a classic by the time this aspiring chef picked up the scooper. Despite 31 flavors to hold his interest, Flay soon moved on to work at NYC institution Joe Allen’s before heading off to study at the French Culinary Institute. By 1991, he’d opened his first restaurant, The Mesa Grill.
Read more: 13 Popular Vanilla Ice Cream Brands Ranked By Ingredient Quality
Ice Cream Fan Bobby Flay Is One Of Many Big Chefs Who Started Small
Hand reaching to scoop ice cream at Baskin-Robbins – pimpampix/Shutterstock
Flay’s time at Baskin-Robbins can’t be overlooked, as it was one of many stepping stones on his way to creating one of the most illustrious culinary careers to date. But whether the chef has harbored a love for the chain ever since is hard to say. Flay has in the past called himself “an ice cream fanatic,” and his love of the cold, sweet stuff has been well documented on his Food Network shows. So the Baskin-Robbins gig was a perfect fit. But today, Flay proclaims a love for the Graeter’s black raspberry chocolate chip. He’s also a fan of gelato, which is like ice cream, but different, with a lower fat content and richer texture. He posted on X that L’Arte del Gelato, a New York City chain significantly smaller than Baskin-Robbins, is the best.
Flay isn’t the only culinary icon who started from the bottom in restaurants. Rachel Ray was a dishwasher at a Howard Johnson’s location, and Alice Waters worked at an Indiana hot dog stand. Guy Fieri ran his own pretzel cart as a kid, Gordon Ramsay washed dishes at a curry shop in England, Duff Goldman cleaned at a Virginia bagel spot, and Marcus Samuelsson’s journey to world-renowned chef started with humble apprenticeships throughout Europe. Their success proves that every gig has value in a long career.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
