The One Food Bobby Flay Simply Can't Stand

Everyone has that one food that is their absolute kryptonite. You know what we are talking about — that one food that makes you break out into an "SNL" retching skit at the mere thought of it. As it turns out, celebrity chefs are no different. Amanda Freitag, a judge on Food Network's "Chopped" would never eat monkfish liver terrine, and "Good Eats" host Alton Brown has said he's not a big fan of pineapple. In fact, Brown Tweeted that "pineapple destroys 72.6% of every dish it touches." What can we say, pineapple lovers? To quote Taylor Swift, "Haters gonna hate."

Even everyone's favorite Iron Chef who recently announced he is parting ways with Food Network, Bobby Flay admits to having a food he won't touch. Don't worry fans of "Bobby and Giada in Italy," it isn't anything Italian. You can still enjoy that anchovy butter he whipped up while filming, and not feel the slightest tinge of guilt because it's not the pungent mini fish he hates. Nor is it a food Flay would be seen throwing on the grill or cooking up in one of his famous episodes of "Throwdown!" In fact, Flay's least favorite food is one that often shows up in those mystery food baskets on "Chopped," as The Recipe notes, and makes everyone on the show break out their nose clips. If we were comparing it to high school stereotypes, this food would be like the stinky kid who refuses to shower after gym class, and gym class is first period.

Flay revealed to People he does not like the tropical fruit durian and its distinctive odor. As he said, "It's awful; I don't want to be around it." To be fair, the co-creator of the podcast "Always Hungry with Bobby Flay and Sophie Flay" is not alone in his dislike of durian. Aarón Sánchez and Marc Murphy agree with Flay — and to be fair, durian really has a bad odor. Per Yahoo, this spiky Asian fruit can cause quite a stink. As they report, in 2018, it even grounded a passenger flight from Indonesia because the plane contained durian in its cargo and the stench was so overwhelming, passengers didn't want to fly. Culture Trip shared that the stench from durian is so real, it's actually a banned substance on public transport in Thailand, Japan, and Hong Kong.

But durian isn't the only food Flay isn't fond of. He also told the New York Times of his disdain for one particular legume. "Whenever I tell somebody I hate lentils, they're shocked. There are a lot of lentil fans out there." However, we think Flay may have softened his feelings on lentils because just last year he Tweeted a promoted post for Barilla Red Lentil Penne, saying, "What pairs nicely w/ my Eggplant Bolognese sauce? Perfectly al dente @BarillaUS Red Lentil Penne made w/ 1 ingredient: red lentils." So, poor hated durian, maybe there's hope. But we wouldn't hold our breath.

We can certainly understand why Bobby Flay always says no to durian. After all, who wants something that smells like what CNN describes as "raw sewage, rotting flesh, and smelly gym socks?" Delightful, right? Of course no one wants to have to experience, let alone tolerate such a smell when they are eating. Yet, it's more difficult to understand why Flay can't stand lentils. Lentils are awesome and can be used for so many things like soups, salads, and pastas. 

Though Flay doesn't go into much detail in the New York Times article about why he hates lentils so much, if you check out this thread from The Perfect Pantry, you'll discover a lot of people that actually like these tiny legumes. However, one forum responder apparently agrees with Flay, writing about lentils, "I don't like them. The mouthfeel is disturbing to me and they don't taste like much. There are lots of foods that don't taste like much (like tofu) that are great ingredients. For me, lentils are just disturbing." 

Some on The Perfect Pantry forum suggest that maybe minds can be changed about the food, as one person says, "I must be the odd vegetarian who prefers just about any legume over the common brown/green lentils — [it's] mostly about texture, I think. But I make wonderful meals and more with the splits aka dal, in many colors and genealogies. But keep the ideas coming ... You may convince me yet." Perhaps that's true of Flay, too. He just needs some more convincing. The chef clearly straddles the line on lentils. Per Cooking Channel, Flay's Lentil and Split Pea Dip with roasted garlic naan is amazing, and can turn any hater into a lover of this ingredient.