The Unexpected Thing These Celeb Chefs Have In Common With Bobby Flay

What's the unexpected thing celeb chefs have in common with Bobby Flay? And have you ever wondered what goes on in a chef's life beyond his or her culinary prowess? The magical meals they make in the kitchen may be great, but what happens when they take off their aprons? Who or what do they go home to and do for fun, and how do they bond over anything besides cooking? Well, you'd be surprised to learn that Flay and some of his compatriots have some interesting and eerily similar housemates. 

Flay is known in the cooking world for his bold flavors, bubbly personality, and of course his own show, Beat Bobby Flay. His colleagues at Food Network may have mixed opinions about the chef, but Flay's friends — like Michael Symon — seem to agree that "he's very outgoing on television, obviously — but in real life he's a pretty quiet guy," he explained. "Pretty to himself, quiet guy." 

So what does this quiet guy have in common with his fellow chefs, besides of course, the obvious collective love of cooking on television?

In what seems to be a true Food Network trend, Flay and other Food Network stars, including Anne Burrell and Ted Allen, have a soft spot for cats — and not just any cats, but Maine Coons. Allen claims to have started the trend, too. "We have three," he revealed. "We were the first Food Network people to have Maine Coon cats, and now since that time Bobby Flay has copied us, and Anne Burrell has copied us." The article adds that Sunny Anderson may be a part of the Maine Coon cat club too! 

Regardless of where the trend started, it would make a pretty fun playdate getting all those Maine Coon cats and chefs together in one room for some cooking and cat-time. And it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Flay's a cat-lover, considering he went so far as to name a restaurant after a cat he didn't even own, Gato.

Among the other chefs who share in their love of animals (but maybe not to the same extent) are Ina Garten, who has a dog; Damaris Phillips, who went far enough as to take in five kittens and take in a stray rescue cat; Katie Lee, who has an adorable chihuahua; Giada De Laurentiis, with a dog and cat; and even Alton Brown and his pup. So there's really only one question left to ask: how do you score an invite to this exclusive pet club?