New series 'Bobby Flay's The Line' serves culinary battles that reflect high pressure of real-life restaurant service

Series premieres Tuesday, Sept. 8, on Food Network

Food Network press release & photo

In restaurant kitchens around the world, elite chefs must work as a team every night to perfectly execute their dishes under intense pressure. In the new competition series “Bobby Flay’s The Line,” the culinary icon pulls back the curtain on the high-stakes reality of working on a restaurant line. 

Each week, Flay leads his hand-picked home team of extraordinary chefs Antonia Lofaso, Michael Jenkins and Claudette Zepeda against some of the country’s most acclaimed restaurant staffs to execute a flawless dinner service – all for real diners in real time. The dueling lines must deliver dishes to diners and VIP guests, who rate each plate. After the ratings roll in, the lines can then choose to pivot their strategy based on that feedback. The home team’s reputation is at stake to secure the win, but if the visiting team prevails, they will win $25,000.

“Bobby Flay’s The Line” premieres Tuesday, Sept. 8 (9 p.m. ET/PT), on Food Network, following the season five return of “Bobby’s Triple Threat” on Tuesday, Aug. 25 (8 p.m.), with both series available to stream next day on HBO Max.

“I consider ‘The Line’ the project that Food Network audiences have been waiting for – it combines high-end restaurant cooking, exhilarating competition and behind-the-scenes moments in real time,” Flay said. “It's how the restaurants that we run work – and sometimes don't. ‘The Line’ is a real-life kitchen rollercoaster that the viewer will want to be strapped in for. Seat belts everyone – the kitchen is open!”

In the series premiere, Marcus Samuelsson surprises Faly by joining his restaurant Hav & Mar’s executive chef Fariyal Abdullahi and her line to go up against Flay’s home team in a global seafood battle. Unexpected problems force the chefs to improvise to get all their dishes out – but only one line overcomes the obstacles to capture the win. Upcoming episodes feature visiting teams led by culinary heavyweights Pig and Khao’s Leah Cohen, Good Stuff Eatery’s Spike Mendelsohn, and Kindling’s Jonathon Sawyer.

“Bobby’s life has been spent in restaurant kitchens, and this series offers an inside look at the pressure, teamwork and precision that define restaurant service,” said Betsy Ayala, president of Food Network. “Anyone who has ever wondered what it’s like to cook in a restaurant alongside Bobby Flay can tune in and watch the culinary magic happen.”

Fans can follow Food Network’s social pages using #TheLine to go being the scenes of “The Line” with Flay’s home team, learn what restaurant slang really means, tour the kitchen with Lofaso, and hear from visiting teams before they compete. For more, viewers can visit FoodNetwork.com to get to know the visiting teams and learn more about Flay and the home team’s restaurants.