Food Paparazzi

Iron Chef and Food Network Star Bobby Flay was in town promoting his new book based on another one of his popular shows, "Throwdown," and on Sunday he was at the flagship Williams-Sonoma store at Union Square in San Francisco signing books. (And according to Twitter he also stopped by Tartine Bakery.)

The signing was scheduled for noon and I got there early at 11 a.m. thinking I could get near the front. But there were 100-plus people ahead of me. That was fine, because Chef Flay got there early (a first I think for cookbook author signings) and he graciously started signing books around 11:30 a.m. I got my book signed and out of there by 12:15 p.m.

I've watched Flay from his early days at the Food Network and I think he's just amazing with his food. And he's pretty much everywhere. Along with "Iron Chef America" and "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," he also stars in "The Next Food Network Star," "Boy Meets Grill" and "Grill it! With Bobby Flay."

I'm actually a big fan of "Throwdown." In the show, Flay travels to various cities to challenge regular people in cooking their specialties. I like watching the people get surprised when Flay shows up to challenge them, and he always looks like he's having a lot of fun. The cookbook includes recipes from challenges from seasons' past, and photos of previous Throwdown competitors. It's part cookbook and part fan book of the show.