He took a position as a chef working for restaurateur Jonathan Waxman at Bud and Jams. Flay quit when he realized he was not ready to run a kitchen. At the Brighton Grill on Third Avenue, Flay was handed the executive chef's position after a week when the executive chef was fired. After culinary school, he started working as a sous-chef, quickly learning the culinary arts. The proprietor, Joe Allen, was impressed by Flay's natural ability and agreed to pay his partner's son's tuition at the French Culinary Institute.įlay received a degree in culinary arts and was a member of the first graduating class of the French Culinary Institute in 1984. He then took a position making salads at Joe Allen Restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District, where his father was a partner. He has said his first jobs in the restaurant industry were at a pizza parlor and Baskin-Robbins. Careerįlay dropped out of high school at age 17.

Despite his father's objections, he received them both. At age 8, Flay asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas.

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