Date: Sunday June 25, 2000
Time: 11:00-12:00 a.m. ET

Food_Network: Welcome to FoodTV.Com's chat with Bobby Flay, host of "Hot Off the Grill", and Iron Chef challenger extraordinaire. You've just witnessed the ultimate battle on "Iron Chef New York"; Bobby Flay squaring off against the invincible Iron Chef Japanese, Masaharu Morimoto.

Food_Network: You've seen the thrills, spills, jeers and cheers. Here's your chance to ask Bobby what it was really like in Kitchen Stadium

Food_Network: Welcome to the chat, Bobby!
Bobby_Flay: Welcome everybody, and hope everybody enjoyed the battle!

MandiV: I love your show "Hot Off the Grill" and I am looking forward to your new show "Food Nation"! My question is, how do you prepare for something with the magnitude of Iron Chef?
Bobby_Flay: With Iron Chef there is no way to prepare, except bring lots of adrenaline and some sharp knives.

spacepac: Bobby, What was your biggest concern, if any, regarding this challenge?
Bobby_Flay: Thinking, hoping I could come up with some creative dishes at the spur of the moment, once I found out what the secret ingredient was.

Cannoli: Did you have any difficulty with language or cultural barriers while taking the challenge?
Bobby_Flay: No. Actually everybody who came from Japan spoke English, and with cooking it's just a universal language.

rivas-guest: Wow. How was it trying to prepare such sophisticated dishes in such a LOUD, boisterous atmosphere?
Bobby_Flay: I actually welcomed the raucous environment. It really got my adrenaline up and I felt like it helped me to rally in the end.

Mike: How were you chosen as a challenger, and what was your reaction when you found out you would be fighting the Iron Chef?
Bobby_Flay: I believe that Tim and Nina Zagat suggested me to the Iron Chef people, Fuji Television Productions. They suggested me to represent the United States in this battle. I was completely surprised. I felt like I wanted to take on the challenge.

wonk-guest: How do you feel about the support you are getting from NYC?
Bobby_Flay: I feel great about getting support from NY. As a native New Yorker with 2 restaurants, I feel like it's my hometown, my home territory. It makes me feel good.

EDyson-guest: Bobby, your style is Neo-American focused on the Southwest...what was your familiarity, if any, with the uncommon rock crab?
Bobby_Flay: Rock crab is just another name for Dungeness crab. I thought that Dungeness crab would be a very difficult ingredient. Because they're live and then you have to cook them, crack them and then get to the meat. With only an hour to create lots of dishes it would really be difficult.

vickiaz-guest: What were your feelings about the time constraint, and did you feel a lot of pressure since the audience seemed to be cheering for Morimoto?
Bobby_Flay: I felt like a lot of the crowd were Iron Chef fans, but I also had my own contingent as well. The time constraint was fine, we both had the same amount of time. It could have been 20 min, or 2 hours. As long as we had the same amount of time it was fair.

diz-guest: Were you pleased with the choice of ingredient, rock crab?
Bobby_Flay: I think the crab as a secret ingredient made for lots of creativity to come out. It's not a simple to use ingredient. I felt like it brought out the best in both of us.

guest-: Okay, Bobby what would be your dream ingredient to use on Iron Chef?
Bobby_Flay: Probably lobster.

karyn-guest: Who decides what goes in your pantry, I mean squid ink is not a common ingredient!
Bobby_Flay: We get to choose some of our own favorite ingredients to put in our pantries - the chefs.

ironchefette-guest: What was your main inspiration in the competition?
Bobby_Flay: I was really pulling from things, from ingredients that I had worked with before. Things I was well versed in but seemed exotic to some people. Things that might bring out excitement.

MattH-guest: How do the skills that the Iron Chefs have compare to the chefs here?
Bobby_Flay: I think the great thing about the Iron Chefs and the challengers is that you get to see a complete contrast in styles with the same ingredient.

Bobbi-guest: Bobby, you were great! Would you do it again? P.S., we love you in Boston!
Bobby_Flay: LOL I love Boston! Yeah, I would do it again if they asked me to have a rematch. I would surely accept.

tvboy12131980: Was it hard battling Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto, knowing that there was a 1 hour time limit? Did you have enough time to prepare all the meals that you had planned? Thank you.
Bobby_Flay: I had planned to make 5. I was happy making 4, because I thought the 4 we came up with were very good. You have to make 5 of each one, so 4 times 5 was 20 dishes. Enough to do in an hour. I felt like Morimoto had a slight advantage over me because he's done the 1 hour competition many times before. I wasn't sure what an hour would feel like when we go to the heat of the action.

kimberly_0916-guest: How was dealing with the "Cooking Arena" in comparison to your restaurant and TV studio? (I noticed there were difficulties with the kitchen set up and time limit).
Bobby_Flay: The water did leak from the sink and caused me to get an electric shock. But, the kitchens in the Kitchen Stadium are not my usual surrounding. So, it took me a while to find the salt! We both had the same disadvantage.

drow-in-ct-guest: What inspired you to become a chef, and how long is the waiting list for Mesa Grill? The last part of the question you really don't have to answer.
Bobby_Flay: I started cooking when I was 17, right after I finished high school. I fell into a kitchen job in a restaurant, and woke up one day and found I really loved it. The Mesa Grill is about 2 weeks with reservations.

wnnc: Do you talk with your kitchen assistants/sous chefs beforehand? How do you keep them in sync with what you're doing?
Bobby_Flay: Yeah, we created a game plan as soon as we knew what the ingredient was. And then we just go to work. My two assistants are both sous chefs at my restaurant Mesa Grill. It's sort of like playing basketball with childhood friends - you know where everyone is, and what their next move is going to be.

hodgy-guest: The dishes you made for the battle, were any of these first timers? Or have you prepared these before?
Bobby_Flay: They were all first time dishes. I had used a lot of the ingredients before, but in different ways.

FoodTV_Addict-guest: Bobby, what was more difficult, battling against the clock or trying to highlight the rock crab in all your dishes?
Bobby_Flay: I think battling against the clock. I cut my finger 5 minutes into the battle so I was working with one hand for almost the full hour. Using the crab in all the dishes was just something that had to be done.

Uncle_Flip: How is the process of cooking different when you are doing it for judges than it is when you are doing it for paying customers?
Bobby_Flay: Actually they are sort of one in the same. Customers are critics and judges as well.

korindeathscythe: When you were up against Morimoto-san, was there a great deal of competition between the two of you?
Bobby_Flay: Yes, I think the competition was very high-spirited and very healthy. I have great respect for him.

domesticchef-guest: As a follow up, when I cook, being very familiar with my kitchen is important for me to be in my element. Did they give you time to get comfortable with the environment?
Bobby_Flay: Yeah. I had some time before the competition began to get to know my environment.

kejret-guest: How do you think that competing in the Tokyo stadium would have been different?
Bobby_Flay: Well, I think I would have had fewer fans there. But I understand that the Kitchen Stadium in Tokyo is really a great place to cook.

MissQ: Did you and Morimoto know each other before the match?
Bobby_Flay: Yeah. I know Morimoto. He's the chef of my favorite restaurant in New York, Nobu. We've eaten at each other's restaurants.

Aries: Dear Bobby, how would you compare your style of cooking to Morimoto's, and how does it differ from yours?
Bobby_Flay: I think that our styles differ a great deal. It's really like comparing apples to oranges, which is really the part of the success of the show. They're showing two very different styles with one ingredient. One of the things he did was a crab brain dip. I would have never thought to have done that. Just different.

muk muk: Were the cameras intimidating, I mean, always being in your face?
Bobby_Flay: Actually I didn't really notice the cameras. We were working so quickly. We were very focused on the food.

Wes-guest: Bobby, it seems as though Morimoto's fans were very vocal during the taping, did that distract you at all?
Bobby_Flay: I think all the cheering from one side to the other was a little distracting. But, I welcomed it.

bootleg_allstar-gues: What did you think the secret ingredient would be? Bobby_Flay: I really didn't know.

Chococat-guest: What would you recommend to aspiring chefs who wants to learn how to create their own intricate and interesting dishes like they do in Kitchen Stadium?
Bobby_Flay: It takes a lot of experience and a very confident hand.

bluecalix-guest: What is the difference between Mesa Grill and Bolo? (I've been to Mesa Grill, and it was great!)
Bobby_Flay: Mesa Grill is an American Southwestern restaurant, and Bolo is a contemporary Spanish restaurant.

TuxedoMask-guest: Mr. Flay, just like you, I love watching "Iron Chef" and watch it every week. Knowing it is one of your favorite shows, what was it like being on it?
Bobby_Flay: It was kind of surreal because I never actually pictured myself as one of the competitors.

sande-guest: Hi Bobby, my son and I are enjoying "Iron Chef" right now. I hope you win the challenge. My question is this, how old do you think a child should be before a parent should get them involved in serious cooking. My son is 8 and you and Emeril are his favorites. Watching the Food Network is just as important to him as cartoon network.
Bobby_Flay: I think getting them involved in cooking in some way - 8 years old is fine. I think that if he's really serious about it, you should send him to culinary school when he's old enough.

skippypb: Hey Bobby! I think you were struggling under unfortunate circumstances. Do you think you deserve a rematch?
Bobby_Flay: I would like a rematch anyway. I think that the circumstances were difficult but fair.

chas_m-guest: I would like to ask Mr. Flay if working with an surprise ingredient was more of a challenge than he anticipated.
Bobby_Flay: No matter which ingredient is revealed it's still going to be difficult because you can't plan for it.

guest-Rockey: How did you come up with the squid ink?
Bobby_Flay: Squid ink is an ingredient that I've used in my restaurant Bolo.

ellenchef-guest: After battling a Iron Chef, do you want to visit Japan?
Bobby_Flay: I've never been to Japan. It's a place I'd like to go to soon.

guest-person: In the middle of the battle did you feel like you where winning or losing?
Bobby_Flay: In the middle of the battle I felt like we had some self-induced handicaps. I had one cut, one of my hands that was cut, and we got electrocuted a couple of times. I felt that we really rallied in the last 10 minutes.

guest-MysteryGirl: Bobby, you were chanting something as you were coming out into the Kitchen Stadium. What was it?
Bobby_Flay: I don't remember, I really don't.

guest-MysteryGirl: Bobby, how did doing this show differ from your regular "Hot Off The Grill" show? Were you able to prepare beforehand at all?
Bobby_Flay: We really couldn't prepare ahead of time until we knew what the secret ingredient was. It's in great contrast to my show "Hot Off The Grill", which is a casual and relaxed atmosphere.

jwfromnebraska-guest: My question would be, wasn't it exciting being around the culture, Kaga, enjoying his style and the show they created, and being part of that?
Bobby_Flay: Yeah. I was really happy to be chosen to challenge the Iron Chef and be part of what Iron Chef has to offer.

bootleg_allstar-gues: You seemed pretty calm throughout the whole thing. Were you nervous at all?
Bobby_Flay: Yeah, I was very nervous, especially in the beginning.

Iva-guest: Were there ingredients you wished you had had? And what?
Bobby_Flay: No, I asked for pretty much everything I needed in the pantry.

chas_m-guest: Mr. Flay, your dishes were very impressive. I enjoyed the look of your dishes. Will you (or do you) use any of the recipes in your restaurant?
Bobby_Flay: Actually I think that all of them could fit into one of my 2 restaurants. My favorite was the coconut and crab salad.

diva-guest: How did you visualize so many astounding dishes at once?
Bobby_Flay: Crab is actually one of my favorite ingredients. I used my many years of cooking experience to bring the crab into play. Using exciting and colorful and flavorful ingredients.

mango-guest: Where do you think the future food trends will be in 10 years as far as taste and availability of types of food?
Bobby_Flay: I think food is going to become simpler and cleaner and more and more about flavor.

Vegas_Girl-guest: If you could choose another profession (besides being a top chef) what would it be?
Bobby_Flay: Professional Golfer.

vwbug-guest: What do you eat, or fix, for comfort food?
Bobby_Flay: Comfort foods? I like spaghetti and meatballs, roasted chicken and mashed potatoes, and ice cream.

Food-guest: Do you spend more time at your restaurant or doing work for Food Network?
Bobby_Flay: Most of my time is spent at the restaurant.

Chill93-guest: Did you know what you were going to do immediately, or was it a progressive thing?
Bobby_Flay: Three quarters of the dishes were planned out at the very beginning of the battle, and we created one at the end.

Natalie-guest: Did you learn creativity with food and ingredients in cooking school or by experimenting?
Bobby_Flay: I think that you learn the basics in cooking school, and then you really learn your trade in the field.

Bolo: Bobby, you rock! I've learned so much from your show. If you were asked to join the Iron Chefs, would you?
Bobby_Flay: LOL! Sure, it would be a great honor, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon.

seeker: Bobby, I hear you have a new show coming up on Food TV. Could you tell us about it?
Bobby_Flay: It's called "Food Nation" and I go to different towns and cities all over the country. It's a magazine style show where I report on the food culture of America. I'm actually on my way right now to Chesapeake Bay to do a show.

Beachlover: How hard was it to prepare a meal in an unfamiliar kitchen?
Bobby_Flay: Familiar environments are easier to cook in but part of the challenge was being able to cook wherever you are, with any kind of equipment, and with any kind of ingredients.

Rivsum: On your TV program you are always so calm and collected, were you nervous in this competition?
Bobby_Flay: I was nervous for the first few minutes and that's when I cut my finger. My body was moving a lot faster than my mind wanted it to.

Mamey: How old were you when you decided on your career? What is your favorite dish?
Bobby_Flay: I started cooking when I was 17 and I don't have any particular favorite dishes. There's a signature dish at Mesa Grill which is a shrimp and roasted garlic tamale.

erik: All great chefs have their own influences. Who are yours?
Bobby_Flay: Wolfgang Puck is one of my mentors.

Iron_Fans_Online-gue: Have you visited any of the Iron Chef fan sites recently for any Iron Chef info to prepare for the battle, or just for your own interest?
Bobby_Flay: No, I haven't heard about them.

AlyssaM-guest: Hi Bobby! Great job! When you saw the rock crabs coming down to be "unveiled" did you very quickly jump to all three dishes or did you start with one and then move on from there?
Bobby_Flay: We made 4 dishes and they were all being cooked simultaneously.

zebra-guest: What made you jump up on the cutting board? Why was the reaction so negative?
Bobby_Flay: Towards the end of the competition my sous chef and I were so excited to have completed all the dishes we wanted to finish. It was actually a reaction of relief, and my sous chef picked me up and put me on the cutting board. We apparently offended Morimoto, which is the last thing we wanted to do. We were just trying to get the crowd going.

Bailey-n-Bree: Would you challenge an Iron Chef again? We are such big fans of both "Iron Chef" Hot Off the Grill"!!
Bobby_Flay: Thank you for being fans. Sure I would challenge the Iron Chef again, if they gave me the opportunity.

Food_Network: Bobby, thanks very much for being here tonight, and congratulations on your Iron Chef showing! Do you have any final comments for our audience, before we have to say good night?
Bobby_Flay: I want to thank everybody for watching and being supportive for myself and Morimoto. And, keep watching Food Network.

Food_Network: Thank you for chatting with Food Network's Bobby Flay. To watch Bobby dominate his own kitchen, tune in to "Hot Off the Grill" Monday through Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Food_Network: Bobby also hosts Food Network's brand-new "Food Nation," airing Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. And Bobby teams up with Jack McDavid for new episodes of "Grillin' & Chillin'," airing Thursdays at 10:00 p.m., Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. All times ET.

Food_Network: For more information on Bobby or his shows, visit www.foodtv.com. Thanks again, and check out FoodTV.Com for announcements about upcoming chats!

This has been a presentation of FoodTV.Com. Copyright 2000. All rights reserved.