Ep. 455: Carson Kressley Mini-Series Pt. 3 - Bobby Flay

0:00Carson Kressley:Hey, Will here. You may remember me from our yearly trends report episodes. I'm one of the in-house product designers for Ballard Designs. One of my favorite pieces that I designed that's launching this spring is the Maris desk. I was in an antique store a couple of years ago and I saw this beautiful little detail on this desk and it instantly was like the most unique detail that just spoke to me. I took that detail, added a contemporary finish with these graceful sweeping cabrio legs and a very seamless silhouette, bringing a touch of Parisian chic to any home office. So, go check out all of our latest arrivals at BallardDesigns.com slash new.

0:36Carson Kressley:I have a feeling you're going to find some pieces you really love. Alright, let's get back to the show.

0:44Carson Kressley:Welcome to How to Decorate from Ballard Designs, a weekly podcast all about the trials and triumphs of decorating and redecorating your home. I'm Caroline. I'm on the marketing team. And I'm Taryn, and I'm a product designer. I'm Liz. I head up the creative team. We're your hosts. Join the expert team at Ballard Designs for tips, tricks, and tales from interior designers, stylists, and other talents in the design world. Plus, we'll answer your decorating dilemmas at the end of each episode. We love answering your questions, so don't forget to email us at podcast at ballardesigns.net. Now, on with the show.

1:16Carson Kressley:Okay, we're back for week three of the Carson Kressley miniseries. Of course, if you have not already listened to episodes one and two with Tom Felicia and the John Gypsies, then you got to go back and listen to those because you don't want to miss them. But before we get into the show, Carson, why don't you tell us about the delightful guests that you brought to chat with us? Oh, well, thank you so much. I would love to. Yeah, I feel like we've, you know, done City Chic with Tom Felicia and then we did Texas Boho with the Junk Gypsies. And now we're going back to New York City live from the set of Beat Bobby Flay.

1:51Carson Kressley:I had a little chat with my friend, the Iron Chef himself, Mr. Bobby Flay. And here's a little twist. On his podcast, he always cooks for his guest. He made me a pork chop and it was delicious. It looks good. It was like beyond. Everything he makes is like just flavor explosion. But I actually dared to cook for Bobby in this episode. I actually baked. I'm more of a baker. If you know me, you know I'm Amish adjacent. So I'm very good at the baking from my childhood in Pennsylvania with my almost Amish grandmothers. And we'll see what he thinks about my concoction. I was very impressed, Carson. Well, not only because you and Bobby have such a great repartee, but I did not know that you were a baker.

2:44Carson Kressley:So that was really fun to learn. And the pies looked beautiful. So, yeah, we talked about Bobby's own kitchens and how he likes to outfit them for entertaining. We talked about his orange glow, the orange glow. So you'll have to watch out for that one. I loved that conversation because that is a topic that we talk about a lot on the podcast. And so I think we should just jump into the conversation. Yeah, let's let's eat. Make some noise for Bobby Flay, everybody. Woo! Yay, the crowd goes wild.

3:18Bobby Flay:Welcome, welcome.

3:20Carson Kressley:Yeah, thanks for joining us. Food writer, television personality. But today we're going to talk about something that I don't think you've talked about on many podcasts, which is design. And I know you have an eye for design because you always compliment my tasteful outfits. I know you know what good stuff is. And I've been to a couple of your homes and they're exquisite. So I just wanted to kick that off. Are you a design lover? And I am. What do you love about it?

3:55Bobby Flay:When you want your spring break to feel like And your kid's pool day to feel like. And your hotel bed to feel like.

4:08Carson Kressley:Ooh, and room service to feel like. Because at Hilton, hospitality feels like. Your cabana's ready. Would you like fresh towels? It matters where you stay. Book now at Hilton.com. Hilton, for this day.

4:26Bobby Flay:well i mean you know especially in i guess in my in in my home and in my restaurants obviously they're incredibly important for uh happiness right i mean you know when you when you think about when you think about restaurants you know there's obviously the menu which is important to me as a chef of course and the cuisine etc you know the food and the service obviously are the first thing that people think about, but design is just as important. Um, because not only do you want people to walk in and say, this is beautiful, this is cool, this is comforting, this is warm, this is exciting or whatever it is, or, um, but you also, um, want to make sure that people feel like they look good in the room too, which is, which is something that I think sometimes restaurateurs don't think about.

5:21Bobby Flay:And, you know, we do, you know, a handful of things to make, to sort of guarantee that so that everybody feels good about themselves and the restaurant that they're in.

5:31Carson Kressley:Yeah, and what do you do? Because I think that's great takeaway for listeners in their own home. Because like, I've always heard like, don't paint your dining room like baby blue because it makes your food look green. And don't paint your dining room green because it makes your food look green also. Yeah. So what are some of the tricks? Lighting, color, et cetera.

5:50Bobby Flay:It's lighting. Lighting is a very, very, very important thing that doesn't get the headlines on the billboard. But it's so incredibly important. I mean, I've had restaurants like Bar American, for instance, that was in Midtown that had 1 ,500 light bulbs. You just didn't see most of them. And we had this, we created this base, we call it the Orange Glow. My restaurant, Brasserie B in Vegas, has it for sure. And everybody feels like they have the most perfect hand and they feel it. And they enjoy themselves sitting in your dining room. They feel good about having people kind of glance at them across the room.

6:31Bobby Flay:And all that, all while they're dining on your food and drinking your cocktails, etc. and you know all those things that they either think about or don't think about subconsciously add up to you know the next day when they think about whether or not they had a good time it's

6:48Carson Kressley:all part of it right and they look they look good in their selfies like lighting is important in that way and they're going to promote the restaurant that way are you having your

6:56Bobby Flay:lunchtime bourbon no it does look that way it's actually iced tea i got we got what kind of tea Jesus? Moroccan mint tea from Shuka.

7:07Carson Kressley:Oh, wow. Is that Shuka like Aisha rare?

7:11Bobby Flay:Aisha. Yeah, he's the best.

7:13Carson Kressley:You got to watch listeners. You got to watch Triple Threat and see Aisha and the whole. Yeah. So, yeah, I think you're in the hospitality business first and foremost. And that's about that's about making people feel comfortable or at ease or sexy or like they're in France or your restaurant Amalfi in Las Vegas makes you feel like you're in Italy. Um, so they're really transformative spaces. And I think the design, you know, we always say we eat with our eyes first. I think when we go to a restaurant, we start the dining experience. We walk in the door. Uh, yes, for sure.

7:53Bobby Flay:That's for sure. And, and, um, I actually, I'm, I'm sort of in the design business adjacent, I like to say, because there's a woman named Olivia Jane, who I partnered, I helped sort of launch her design business. And she was working for Rockwell, David Rockwell, for like many years out of school. And I met her because she was designing my restaurants. And then I hired her to do one of my homes and that's how we met originally. And at some point I said to her, like, when you're ready to go on your own, let me know and I'll help you launch your business. And so we launched that business about three years ago and she's done just a great job.

8:39Bobby Flay:And so it's nice to have sort of, you know, an in-house designer because, you know, I love projects like that. Right.

8:47Carson Kressley:And it's consistent and she knows, I think if you have a vernacular or a lexicon of words that she totally understands. If you say, I want my restaurant to feel this way, she knows what you want. And your home, speaking of which, Bobby Flay has an amazing podcast called Bobby on the Beat, I believe. It's very highly rated. And I had the pleasure of doing it. What's great about doing Bobby's podcast is you get to go to his apartment in Manhattan. Fabulous. Yeah, the actual address is No, but it's a downtown. It's all the downtown coolness. And it is very chic. I would say it's like a mid-century Parisian, definitely a man's apartment with a lot of, you know, statement leather sofas and big, beautiful, like, sculptural French.

9:45Carson Kressley:which almost looks like it was from a beautiful hotel in France that's the anchor lighting fixture in your living room. The most beautiful bathrooms you've ever seen. There is more marble in there than the Vatican. Yeah, every bathroom is a different stone. Yeah, thank you.

10:03Bobby Flay:And I love vintage furniture also. I mean, it's where I gravitate towards.

10:08Carson Kressley:And do you actually go and search for that, or does your designer do that?

10:13Bobby Flay:No, no. So usually when we start a project, she comes over to my house, we open a bottle of wine, and in four hours we have a template for what we're about to endeavor. And it's, you know, we go on first dibs a lot, I'm not going to lie. Okay. Right for the source. I'm slightly addicted to it because you can find spectacular things there. I mean and she's very resourceful you know as as being somebody who's in the interior design business she has all kinds of resources in terms of you know furniture people to build things mill workers all those kinds of things I mean it's it's uh that's that's that's really truly the luxury that I have is being her business partner which is that for resourcefulness is really second to none right right yeah she knows where to get the good stuff and usually what happens as, I mean, I want to like, you know, she has all kinds of clients.

11:11Bobby Flay:She has some clients where they just say, just do it. And, and they, she just picks because they may not, they may not have confidence in their own taste and style as much as they think that she does, which is why a lot of times people hire a designer and they'll, and they'll, you know, I'm thinking of one client in particular and he's just, is like, just, just let me know when it's ready. And she just goes out and buys stuff and he gives her, you know, somewhat of a budget and she, she buys and fills his house. And that's the end of it. I want to, I want to be involved in picking out every single thing.

11:47Bobby Flay:So like, for instance, it could be, you know, a dining room table and she'll say, all right, for what you want, here's five ideas. And she'll send me five ideas to look at. And if there's something that really strikes me, I'll be like, I like B and then we'll buy it. If there's nothing that I like, she'll give me five more the next couple of days. So it's a process of rolling through it.

12:11Carson Kressley:Yeah, back to the drawing board. And when you're sourcing these antique pieces that you really resonate with and I've seen in your home, do you actually go to some of the places? Have you been to the Paris flea market? I know you're such a big traveler. Do you buy things when you're in Italy? I know that's a favorite place. I know you have a home in London. Are you out there looking? He sounds so fancy, doesn't he? But he's very, he's very modest. I promise. So fancy. Have some bourbon. Yeah. But do you actually like to go to like flea markets? Like, have you been to any amazing destinations where you're like, this is a great design place to visit?

12:50Bobby Flay:Yeah. I mean, I actually have been to the Paris flea market. To be perfectly honest, I'm intimidated by places like that because I don't know exactly what I'm buying. I mean, if there's something that just strikes me, I don't really care about it. Like I always want to buy things of quality. And so in a place like that, sometimes I'm concerned that I'm not really buying what I think I'm buying. So you have to be kind of careful, especially if it's something that is costly, you know? Yeah, that's a great tip. And so I'd rather have somebody like Olivia kind of vet the furniture that we're going to buy.

13:26Bobby Flay:You know, it's like, I think, you know, when you buy from some place that's reputable, like there's some confidence there. Right. You know, whether it's a retail, you know, store or whether it's even like a place like First Dibs. I mean, they've, you know, I mean, nothing's perfect, perfectly, you know, nothing's perfectly safe. But, you know, for the most part, like a place like First Dibs has vetted their vendors, you know, and they have reputations. And if they mess up once, they're done. So, I mean, I feel like if I'm buying a expensive chandelier from Norway, like it's really vintage. Yeah.

14:09Carson Kressley:You'll actually receive one. Oh, yeah. Yeah, exactly. It's in the crate. Yes. I bought some rugs in Morocco one time that never showed up. So there you go. Right, of course. I have this whole list of questions. I was so prepared. What would you say in all of your travels is your favorite design city? I mean, I know you love Italy, but is that probably where you love the vibe the most?

14:35Bobby Flay:It's very interesting. You know, I've been in love with Rome for a long time, but I don't look to Rome for a lot of design inspiration in my house. You know, I really do love London and I love Paris for design as well. I think that, you know, I'm a New Yorker, so I gravitate towards big cities like that. I don't like things that are too, like, ornate, you know. I like a little flash here and there. But for the most part, I buy for design, but I also buy for comfort. Like, I want functional furniture. I don't want just a piece, so to speak. Like the piece has to be comfortable to sit on and, and make sense in, in the, in the bigger scope of what I'm trying to create, whether it's like in a living room or a bedroom or whatever it is.

15:33Bobby Flay:Um, and so, yeah, that, that, that's like, and I don't, I don't mind taking risk. Um, but usually I take pops of risk here and there, you know? and then everything else is, I wouldn't say, you know, pedestrian or ordinary, but it's like, like it kind of makes sense. Like I'm not trying to like make a statement in every foot of my, of my home.

16:00Carson Kressley:Bobby, do you entertain a lot at home?

16:03Bobby Flay:Do I entertain? Yeah. I entertain all the time. It's really the thing I love to do most. And, you know, my house, whether it's in New York or the Hamptons or whatever. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's created to house entertainment. Like, in other words, like I cook for people all the time and, you know, sometimes it's sizable amounts of people. Um, so I'm ready.

16:30Carson Kressley:Right. This man is the ultimate entertainer because I visited him in LA and I visited him in New York and like, it's the first thing, you know, you're like, what would you like to drink? Oh, by the way, I'm making pizza, um, in LA. And he was like in his backyard with the pizza oven. And then he came in with his beautiful pizza. And same in New York, the downtown apartment, you walk through a beautiful kind of French bistro inspired metal vestibule with antique glass and, you know, mirrored mercury glass walls. And then you're in the kitchen, which is a very handsome kitchen. But your spaces are all geared towards, again, hospitality and that graciousness of like, I'm going to make you feel so welcome because I made you this drink and this delicious food.

17:15Carson Kressley:And and that's really that's entertaining at its best. Truly, we've certainly talked a lot about kitchen design, but never from the point of view of a professional chef. So I'd be curious to hear how you might set up your kitchen differently. You know, not only knowing you're hosting lots of people, but just because you're in kitchens all the all the time. So does your kitchen at home look like do you want it to be more of a restaurant kitchen or like a homey spot?

17:43Bobby Flay:it's a great question i you know in my in my um new york apartment i have an 18 foot island it's very long because i want i want a lot of workspace and it also doubles it as a place to like sit and have a casual meal or sit and have a drink or whatever it is um and then it kind of spills in without any walls into the dining room and the living room so the dining room the living room in the kitchen or basically one, one big room without walls. Um, and I like it that way because I can be cooking in the kitchen. I can be talking to people in the dining room. I can be talking to people in the living room all from behind the Island, which is really, really great.