Bobby Flay, famous for his grilling expertise and sizzling Southwestern cuisine, likes color -- and lots of it. When asked to create a tabletop inspired by the host of Boy Meets Grill and FoodNation with Bobby Flay, Food Network design director Wendy Waxman decided to focus on just that. Since Bobby prepares a lot of saucy dishes, Wendy found a brightly colored oil cloth table covering that would make it easy to clean up any sudden spills, and topped that with simple white plates and other colorful elements.
Watch the slideshow below and click on any of the smaller images for more detail. Information on the products Wendy used can be found at the bottom of the page.
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Play the slideshow below and watch as the table is set.
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Bobby prepares a lot of saucy dishes and hand-held foods that might need to be wiped up if anything spills, so Wendy found a newly released Marrimekko (Norwegian design company) oil cloth tablecloth that would make this possible.
Since Bobby always decorates his plate with beautiful sauces and uses creative presentations, Wendy chose Nambe white plates in interesting shapes from Macy's. She didn't want it to look too severe and austere, but more like the bold patterns and splashes of color prevalent in Bobby's restaurants.
Wendy used Tampopo mugs from Dean & Deluca for hot beverages such as cider or mulled wine, or even regular wine.
Wendy found Leonardo Champagne glasses at Barney's and decided to use three red and one orange to match the tablecloth, but also because she didn't want to do things too symmetrically.
Wendy found rubber red and green sauce boats at Environment 337 in Brooklyn (337 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY, 718-522-1767) and paired them with vintage espresso spoons from a local flea market.
Bobby and other chefs sometimes use little casserole pots in restaurants. Wendy found these rich red ones from Staub and believes they would work well for holiday souffles and other foods that need to stay hot.
Wendy chose stainless vintage flatware from a flea market to break up the table's bold colors. The forks are an odd shape, which spices up the table even more. Wendy explains that she set out to make Bobby's tabletop Southwestern, and ended up using flatware from an Austrian company. "The fact that it works so well proves that you don't have to stick to one type of design," she says. "Have fun and play!"
Because there was already so much color on the table, Wendy wanted to take the boldest color and just have things melt into it, which is why she snatched up the red napkins at a local flea market.
Rather than flowers, Wendy gathered a bunch of peppers in a clump for the centerpiece. "They're colorful and Bobby loves to use them in his food, so why not on his table?" she asks.
Wendy suggests using the Art deco sugar bowl from Mood Indigo for sugar, salt, pepper, or condiments.
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