The celebrity chef has been a staple on Food Network since 1994.
It's the end of an era for Bobby Flay. ET has learned that after 27 years, the 56-year-old celebrity chef will be parting ways with Food Network. The decision was made on Thursday after Flay and the channel couldn’t come to an agreement on his contract.
Flay's current contract goes through the end of the year, meaning he will continue to shoot with Food Network through the rest of 2021 while banked programming will air in 2022.
A source tells ET that the reason for Flay's exit may be because he was looking for a similar pay raise as the one fellow celebrity chef Guy Fieri received. In May, Forbes reported that Fieri, who is repped by the same agency as Flay, landed an $80 million, three-year deal with Food Network. The source says that Fieri's deal was based on ratings data which proved his worth to the channel.
ET has reached out to Food Network and Flay for comment.
Flay first made his mark on Food Network in 1994 when he starred in The Main Ingredient With Bobby Flay. That same decade, he went on to head Food Nation With Bobby Flay, Hot Off the Grill With Bobby Flay, and Grillin' & Chillin'. Flay found additional success competing on Iron Chef, Chopped, and other programs.
Most recently, Flay has gone head-to-head with other chefs on Beat Bobby Flay and given fans recipes to indulge in on Brunch at Bobby's. Beyond his work on Food Network, Flay has penned more than a dozen cookbooks and is the owner of restaurants all over the country, including multiple locations of his famous Bobby's Burger Palace.
Flay has not spoken out about his departure from Food Network. On Instagram, he continues to plug his shows including this week's episode of Beat Bobby Flay. On Wednesday, he wrote: "There’s an all-new episode of #BeatBobbyFlay happening TONIGHT (the same day the Beat Bobby Flay Cookbook was released 🥳)… tune in to @foodnetwork at 9pm tonight to see if @guarnaschelli and @iamhusky4life can get me beat."
Additionally, Flay is currently promoting his newest book, the Beat Bobby Flay Cookbook, which was released on Oct. 5.
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