Star Kitchen: Bobby Flay

When Bobby Flay found his current apartment, in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood, it wasn’t exactly move-in ready. Located in a former tea and coffee warehouse, it had plenty of space—but zero personality. “I got this as a vanilla box and then I turned it into what I wanted,” he says. First on his list: an industrial-style kitchen with loads of storage. He teamed up with his restaurant design partners, Rockwell Group, who started the project by blowing out a wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the apartment. “Some people don’t want to see their kitchen,” Bobby says. “But I think kitchens can be beautiful, so I wanted mine to be wide open.” He installed custom walnut cabinets and professional-grade appliances, including a BlueStar stove, a Sub-Zero fridge, a wine fridge and two dishwashers. Everything is situated around a 14-foot marble- top island that can seat 10 — a New Yorker’s dream for dinner parties. “It’s really perfect,” Bobby says. “I have no excuses — if the food coming out of here isn’t good, it’s not the kitchen’s fault.”

Fellow Food Network chef Michael Symon stayed at Bobby’s apartment for a month while he was redoing his own home. As a thank-you, he bought Bobby this ECM espresso maker. “I’m a bit addicted to it now,” Bobby says.

Bobby chose a 12-burner BlueStar stove and double oven, which comes in handy when he hosts parties, like his annual pre–Belmont Stakes breakfast.

Bobby likes a lot of light in his kitchen, so he commissioned this mercury-glass fixture to hang over the island. “It helps this big space feel a little more intimate,” he says.

Bobby seats people at his extra-large island when he hosts dinner parties, but he also uses it for food prep. “I like a lot of landing space,” he says.