The Children's Toy We Can Thank For Bobby Flay's Career
The show "Beat Bobby Flay" may never have happened if its namesake's culinary imagination wasn't sparked by a beloved children's toy: Hasbro's Easy-Bake Oven. Count this among the five things you didn't know about Bobby Flay. The Iron Chef shared with Today that his intrigue with this toy started when he was really young. Flay said, "I think I was like 5 or 6. I was watching the commercials during cartoons and after school specials and stuff like that. And I could not believe that you could actually bake a cake from a light bulb. I needed to see it for myself. I asked for an Easy-Bake Oven and my parents got it for me."
This toy set everything in motion for the celebrity chef. He started watching Julia Child and "The Galloping Gourmet," and eventually joined his mom in the kitchen where his love of ingredients and recipes grew. If you are unfamiliar, the Easy-Bake Oven looked like a mini-oven with a slot to insert a mini pan of cake mix that would cook by the heat of a light bulb that could reach a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
You can still buy one
What happened to the Easy-Bake Oven and Bobby Flay's love for it? The cookbook author didn't forget how this toy planted the seed for his culinary adventures. There's even an Easy-Bake Oven cookbook that includes Flay's recipe for queso fundido with roasted poblano vinaigrette. And as the design of the toy evolved over time, the chef and entrepreneur didn't forget its power. Flay was so inspired by this toy that, in 2012, he joined a 13-year-old girl's petition for its toy maker to make it gender-neutral so boys with a penchant for cooking would feel at ease asking for one.
You can still purchase one of these ovens that bake up both savory snacks and sweet desserts. You can opt to buy the many mixes that sell along with the oven to make soft pretzels or ultimate oven cheese pizza, or you can get creative whipping up your own recipes. Try your hand at making a classic buttermilk vanilla cake recipe in this contraption or some chocolate chip cookies. It will make you feel like a kid again.