The Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay Has Always Admired - Tasting Table

"Flay recalled that in the 1980s, food culture wasn't really a hot-button concept. Since the internet had yet to push reels and viral campaigns were not encouraging dining trends, word of mouth promoted restaurants. Flay revealed this is how he learned about Puck's L.A. restaurant Spago, where Puck was known to get creative with recipes, like topping pizza with smoked salmon and duck sausage. Spago had sparked buzz among the celebrity circuit, and some of Flay's colleagues in the culinary world would get their hands on the restaurant's inventive menus and let him ogle the offerings."

"Wolfgang Puck's smoked salmon pizza was a revelation at the time and has since become not only one of his signature dishes but also a defining feature among the Californian dining landscape. Bobby Flay described Puck's efforts as "whimsical," "energetic," and "fun" - all words that could also refer to some of Flay's own recipes. In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, Flay talked about the espelette hot sauce he created with French pepper and his clams Barcelona, a cast-iron dish packed with gratined clams and flavored with smoked paprika and spicy chorizo."

""I have great respect for Wolfgang because he just was so dynamic when he started doing this," Flay said."

Bobby Flay combines classical French training with a focus on bold grilling and inventive recipe development. Wolfgang Puck's ambition and unconventional ingredient pairings, exemplified by Spago's smoked salmon and duck sausage pizza, influenced Flay's creative direction. In the 1980s, restaurant reputation spread primarily by word of mouth rather than viral internet culture, allowing chefs to discover each other's innovations through industry buzz. Flay emphasizes playful, energetic flavors and has developed items such as an espelette hot sauce made with French pepper and clams Barcelona, a gratinéed cast-iron dish seasoned with smoked paprika and spicy chorizo.

Read at Tasting Table