Why Gordon Ramsay Can't Stand Bobby Flay

Both Bobby Flay and Gordon Ramsay are successful chefs who have built an enormous presence on television. Oftentimes, famous chefs are friendly with each other and banter in good fun. When it comes to Ramsay and Flay, however, there's been a lot of smack talk over the years. Ramsay has had some choice words regarding Flay, and fans are probably curious what's behind this apparent dislike.

Flay has been a staple on Food Network for nearly three decades. As Variety detailed, he joined the network in 1994 and over the years created numerous hit shows. He's opened a variety of restaurants and released a handful of cookbooks, and he's probably one of the most well-known Food Network personalities.

On the other hand, Ramsay built his empire away from Food Network. Nerdy Foodies detailed that he was born in Scotland and after college, worked for some of Europe's best chefs. In 1998, he appeared on a British show "Boiling Point," and as IMDb noted, it followed Ramsey leaving one restaurant and starting another. Several appearances on "Masterchef" came along, and Ramsay kept busy with a variety of television projects until "Hell's Kitchen" debuted in 2004, detailed IMDb. That series was a huge hit for Fox, and Ramsay went on to headline quite a few other shows for Fox such as "Kitchen Nightmares," "MasterChef USA," and "MasterChef Jr." So what's the beef (Wellington) happening here?

The apparent friction between Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay initially went public in 2013 as the chef chatted with Men's Journal. When bragging about being able to whip dishes together at a moment's notice, he referenced Flay. "That's why I laugh when they say, 'Let's see if he's a real chef. Let's get him up against Bobby Flay on 'Iron Chef.” I'm like, 'F*****g do me a favor ... come on.' I've forgotten more than he's known!" Ramsay boasted. 

It didn't take Flay more than a day or two to respond to Ramsay's jabs via Twitter. "@gordonramsay01...disappointed but noted. Let's settle this like men, in the kitchen! No words, just knives. Show up or shut up," he wrote. At the time, Ramsay seemed to accept the challenge. Quoting Flay's post, he added, "1hr cook off you've got a 45min Head start!!!!! DONE!"

Soon after, Flay told Eater Vegas that his Twitter reply to Ramsay was "mostly in good fun." He explained, "He said something about me in a magazine. I thought it was a little bit of a cheap shot." Flay thought this was an opportunity to "do something positive" rather than "make something dumb and negative out of this." He suggested putting together a charity event at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, where they both had restaurants. However, Ramsay reportedly decided at that point he "wasn't interested," as Flay added. That wasn't the end of their medium-well feud either. 

The idea of a Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay battle arose again in 2016 during a Vegas Uncork'd event. As was shared on Instagram, Ramsay noted he'd admired Flay for years and insisted they were finally doing a charity cook-off. Us Weekly noted Ramsay admitted, "I do love the guy. I just can't wait to beat his a**." Unfortunately, no face-off occurred then either, but Flay addressed it during 2017's Uncork'd. He told FoodBeast, "Only if it's a Pay-Per-View event." As for other stipulations, Flay admitted, "I don't know. Gordon's going to cheat anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Ramsay even took to Facebook and streamed from Flay's Caesars Palace restaurant, teasing that the cook-off was finally happening. Flay wasn't there, but Ramsay had great fun autographing Flay's cookbook for a guest and hanging around. Ramsay also later told Quora the battle was truly in the works. The "Hell's Kitchen" star offered Flay "a ten minute head start and an extra sous chef," but supposedly Flay's agent backed him out a day later.

In 2019, Ramsey told Celebrity Page that Flay would join him for the start of "Hell's Kitchen" Season 19, which was filmed in Las Vegas for the first time. Flay played along when asked about it, but the battle still didn't happen. Will this cook-off ever actually take place? Ultimately, this all seemingly boils down to harmless banter. Though we'd love to see it!