On the second episode of his new podcast Bobby on the Beat, host Bobby Flay sat down with his girlfriend and fellow chef Brooke Williamson for a candid conversation about what it was really like competing on Bravo's Top Chef — and how dramatically different it felt compared to cooking on Food Network.
Williamson has appeared on Food Network for years and currently stars as a Titan on Flay’s cooking competition series Bobby’s Triple Threat. But before she ever became a familiar face on the network, she was immersed in the high-pressure, stripped-down world of Top Chef, where she competed twice — finishing as runner-up in season 10 and returning in season 14 to win the entire competition.
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When Flay asked her what separates Top Chef from Food Network competitions, Williamson didn’t hesitate.
She said the two experiences are “completely different beasts”, explaining that the show removes contestants from their routines entirely.
"Top Chef versus the shows that I've done on Food Network ... They're completely different beasts. Top Chef, you live in a house with all the contestants. It's almost like they take you out of your real life and put you into this mind-screwing scenario where the only thing that matters is winning. And I'm not saying that I don't feel that way about the other competition shows, but I am in a very different headspace when I compete on Food Network," said Williamson.
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She added, "We didn't have any contact with the outside world. We didn't have phones. We didn't have internet. I mean, they really kind of put you in this bubble. It was actually really my first experience with being on TV at all. You know, my nerves were at their highest probably in my entire life."
By comparison, she told Flay that cooking on Food Network now feels far more grounded because she’s doing something that comes naturally.
"When I'm cooking, I'm doing what I inherently do. So it doesn't feel like I'm performing. I actually have, you know this about me, I have terrible stage fright. I'm terrified of getting up in front of a crowd and speaking and performing. I have since found that if I am cooking and I'm doing what feels comfortable to me, I actually don't even notice the cameras. That's very different than say doing like a live TV segment. Live news still terrifies me," said the Top Chef champ.
Why Food Network Feels Different for Her
Flay noted that Top Chef always seemed more dramatic, and she agreed — it’s built like a reality show, not just a cooking contest. Food Network competitions, she said, put her in a calmer, more focused headspace because she’s not removed from her life. She’s still cooking, still working, still herself.
That difference shows up in the way they both approach challenges. When Flay sees ingredients like bacon and eggs, he immediately thinks about how to impress the judges. Williamson, however, thinks first about how she wants to eat the dish.
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“I don’t think about the judges really,” she told him. “I think about making good food.”
She also revealed that she visualizes every dish before she makes it, building flavors, textures, and presentation in her mind before she ever starts cooking.
Her Career Before and After 'Top Chef'
Williamson started cooking professionally at 17, took a single year of college, and then launched into a career as a chef, eventually opening multiple restaurants across Los Angeles.
Flay marveled at how extensive her résumé is for someone still relatively young: executive chef roles, catering businesses, restaurants in Venice and Playa del Rey, a poke shop she still misses, and even an ice cream shop.
Williamson said she feels strongly that chefs who appear on TV need to have real experience to back it up. “I need to have something to legitimize my TV presence,” she said. “You can’t just step onto TV and expect to be respected unless you’ve been through it.”
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Flay used the moment to reflect on his own career, telling Williamson that despite all his television work, restaurant cooking remains his deepest passion. Putting on a chef coat, he said, has always felt like “a shield from the world,” and he believes the restaurant industry “saved my life in many ways.”
Williamson understood that instinct completely — and the conversation made clear that even after decades on TV, both chefs still see cooking as their foundation.
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