The Adorable Christmas Gift Bobby Flay Wanted When He Was 8

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Culinary star Bobby Flay was approaching 30 years old when he became famous, but his foray into cookery began much earlier. Like so many children of the 1960s and '70s, young Bobby wanted an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas, and he got one when he was 8 years old (though he says, via the "Today" show, that his father tried to steer him toward a baseball mitt instead). But Flay had seen the Easy-Bake Oven advertised in TV commercials as he sat watching cartoons, and he was fascinated by the concept that a cake could be baked using just a light bulb. He wanted to find out for himself if it really worked (which it did!). This endearing childhood holiday memory was just a foreshadowing of things to come for a young boy who would grow up to be a successful restaurateur and Food Network star.

In his younger years, in addition to making sweet creations with his Easy-Bake Oven, Flay also developed a penchant for watching cooking shows, like Julia Child's "The French Chef" and Graham Kerr's "The Galloping Gourmet." He had no idea, of course, that he would one day follow in the famous footsteps of those culinary giants and become a TV chef himself. Julia Child, incidentally, continues to be one of the celebrity chefs that Bobby Flay derives constant inspiration from.

Flay has, of course, long since graduated from the Easy-Bake Oven. These days, his kitchen tools are much more sophisticated than that childhood gadget, and he's also cooking much more than just one tiny cake. He's the entrepreneur behind various successful restaurant brands, including his own burger restaurant chain, Bobby's Burgers, through which his signature food creations have been served to countless customers.

Love of food and cooking is a family affair in the Flay household and something grownup Bobby Flay now shares with his daughter, Sophie. While it isn't clear whether he continued the tradition and ever gifted an Easy-Bake Oven to his daughter, he has collaborated with her on various food-related ventures.

The father-daughter duo appeared in a 2016 miniseries for Food Network called "Cooking with Kids," on which they prepared some of Sophie's childhood favorites, including chocolate chip pancakes (an Easy-Bake Oven didn't make an appearance, though — Bobby Flay cooked the pancakes the old-fashioned way, on a stove). This show was followed up with a 2019 Food Network series called "The Flay List," in which Bobby and Sophie sought out the best cuisine in New York City. In 2022, they appeared in another Food Network series called "Bobby and Sophie on the Coast," this time taking their cuisine hunting to California. The pair have additionally collaborated on a podcast called "Always Hungry" and a cookbook entitled "Sundays with Sophie: Flay Family Recipes for Any Day of the Week."

Sophie Flay isn't a professional chef like her dad, but she did follow in his footsteps into the television world. She's a broadcast journalist and works as a TV news reporter for ABC7 in Los Angeles, as of November 2025.

While 29-year-old Sophie is far past the age of wanting an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas, she could have one if she wanted — the appliance has been revamped and rereleased for the 2025 holiday season by a company called Just Play, in partnership with Hasbro. Gone are the lightbulbs Bobby Flay cooked by, though — the updated versions bake goodies using mini heating elements.