Gordon Ramsay Gets Honest About His Feud With Bobby Flay - Exclusive
Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay have been threatening the culinary version of The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin since at least 2013. That was the year when Ramsay allegedly chickened out of a charity cook-off against his rival, just months after the Michelin-starred chef touted his superior skills in Men's Journal. According to what Ramsay's right-hand chef Christina Wilson once told Tasting Table, we really were about to see Ramsay vs. Flay — and in a boxing ring, no less — around that time.
"It was on and off for a couple of years and they couldn't really negotiate the terms," Wilson remembered. "Gordon called him out ... anytime he was doing an interview. He would find a way to bring Bobby into it." Then, one day — probably 2016 or 2017, according to Wilson — Ramsay borrowed her knives, marched into Flay's LA restaurant, and tried to force the competition into happening. "It was all in good fun," Wilson said.
It turns out that Ramsay hasn't given up on the idea of a cook-off yet. As late as 2022, he told Thrillist that he'd love to have Flay guest judge on "Next Level Chef" for a long-awaited chance to butt heads with the Food Network star. "I know I would cook him under the table, head start included," he jibed, repeating his decades-old threat. But how does Ramsay really feel about his longtime rival? He spilled the beans to Tasting Table in a recent exclusive interview.
Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay are frenemies
If Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay are still working out the deets of their 1V1, Ramsay didn't let on. Their well-documented rivalry notwithstanding, it seems that the two actually enjoy breaking bread together, which puts them solidly in "frenemy" territory, don't you think?
Per Ramsay, they bumped into each other a day before Super Bowl 2023 in the same Arizona pizzeria. "I was sat in Chris Bianco's Pizzeria [Bianco] in Arizona on Saturday night with some friends, and Paul Rudd was behind me — I was talking to him," Ramsay exclusively told us. (Feel free to process the Paul Rudd part later.) "This guy came up and put his hands on my shoulder. I turned around and it was Bobby Flay, Uncle Bobby," Ramsay continued — and did you catch that? Ramsay even has a borderline affectionate nickname for his rival.
"We were sat in the same restaurant. We shared a pizza [and] had a good catch-up." Ramsay also admitted that he basks in a healthy culinary feud. "Listen, I love competition, and that's what makes this culinary world spin at a thousand miles an hour," he said. "I'm always checking out the competition."
Gordon Ramsay recently teamed up with Triscuit. His "Unapologetically Wholesome" content will air nationally across TV and will continue to roll out across digital and paid social channels. Additionally, the content will be amplified through various activations on Ramsay's TikTok, including him reviewing interesting recipes involving Triscuit in the duet style that he's known for — follow @GordonGram for campaign content. For more information, visit Triscuit.com and follow Triscuit on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.