Bobby Flay and Steve Ells on America's Next Great Restaurant: Mentors, Investors, and the Search for the Next Chipotle

Bobby Flay and Steve Ells said it plainly: "Almost every single person has said at least one time in their life, "I have a great idea for a restaurant." This was a …" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

On February 9, 2011, NBC Universal hosted a press call with Bobby Flay and Steve Ells ahead of the premiere of America's Next Great Restaurant , set to debut Sunday, March 6 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The show placed four investor-judges — Flay, Ells (founder of Chipotle), Curtis Stone, and Lorena Garcia — in the role of real-money backers who would fund the winner's restaurant concept across three locations. Premier Guide Miami's Daedrian McNeal was among the journalists on the call.

What makes a great restaurant

Flay laid out his formula plainly: "Terrific food, which is more important than ever. Great service — because service can actually deter people even more than the food sometimes. An environment that people are going to enjoy. And then value. People want good food, good service, a good environment, and they want it to cost the right amount of money in their own minds." Ells, speaking from his experience building Chipotle, framed the show's target differently: "We're looking for a concept that elevates the typical fast food experience. We seek out the very best quality, sustainably raised ingredients — ingredients normally found in high-end restaurants — and make them available for everybody in a very convenient format."

Investors, not just judges

Both men were emphatic that the investor framing was not a TV conceit. "We're not just a panel of judges deciding people's fate week to week — we're investors," Flay said. "We're putting our money up to open this next great restaurant." The challenges were designed accordingly: menu development, slogans, logos, uniforms, interior design — all real-world skills required to open a restaurant. "They're all basically geared to real-life issues that come up when opening a restaurant," Flay said. Ells added that the competitions also served as character tests: "Not only are we looking at how well they competed, but you really got an understanding of their passion for the restaurant business, their ability to use judgment and think on their feet."

Premier Guide Miami's Daedrian McNeal then asked the following questions:

We're interested in how and why you decided to back this show. Can you explain why you decided to back it?

Bobby Flay: I get pitched a lot of ideas for television. And while there are a lot of good ones, this one really stuck out for me. It's a really simple reason. I have spent my entire adult life in the restaurant business. I dropped out of high school and went to work in a restaurant and I've been there ever since — cooking for 28 years. This is a great way to mentor people who are looking to get into the restaurant business. Almost every single person has said at least one time in their life, "I have a great idea for a restaurant." This was a perfect opportunity for anyone, no matter who you are, to come and pitch your ideas to four people who have had success in the restaurant business. I like taking that role. I've made a lot of mistakes through the years — why not pass down those mistakes so people who are really passionate about opening a restaurant don't have to make them again? And then also to be able to invest my own money and be partners with people like Steve and Curtis Stone and Lorena. Sometimes partnerships come out of nowhere and they work really well. Steve Ells: As the contestants were pitching their ideas on the first episode, it took me back over 18 years ago as I was describing the idea for Chipotle. I was in their shoes. I had this idea, and most people I talked to gave me all the reasons why it was the wrong thing to do. But I was very persistent. And now we have over 1,000 restaurants. Having been involved in taking something from just an idea — maybe even an idea that's not thought to be such a great one — and turning it into a success has been exciting. To be able to share that experience with these contestants was really a pleasure.

As a follow-up — will the mentoring aspect of the show set you apart from the other restaurant shows out there?

Ells: I think that's part of the brilliance of the show. Because we are investors, we have this vested interest in making sure that the person who wins really is going to be successful — as opposed to a reality show where there's a prize and then that's it. This is an ongoing prize. The winner wins more than just these three restaurants. They win the ability to continue to grow this business and turn it into something that could be quite large and quite valuable. The magnitude of what's at stake here makes this a really different show.

What they looked for — and what worried them early on

Flay admitted the panel had real concerns in the early weeks: "First of all, people will try anything to garner attention. And unfortunately for this show that doesn't cut it because we need quality. We need something that's going to work. We need a concept that's actually going to be viable." But the field sharpened as the competition progressed. "The stronger pitches and the stronger people just get stronger as time goes on. They start developing their concept more based on the skills that we gave them." Ells echoed the sentiment: "We came to a place where we had to make very tough calls because each of the finalists had certain qualities and certain aspects of their restaurants that were quite appealing."

The question behind every pitch

For Flay, the most important thing a contestant could demonstrate had nothing to do with food: "First and foremost — why do they want to do this? Did they want to do this because they wanted to be on television, which obviously was not going to work for us? Or is this really a lifelong dream? The real question is why were you doing this and what is driving you to basically commit your entire career and the rest of your life to making this work." Ells framed it in terms of character: "The really good ones asked us a lot of questions. They were curious. They were adaptable. You really got an understanding of their passion for the restaurant business."

Bobby Flay on food, television, and one word

Asked how he balances his restaurants, television work, and personal life, Flay was characteristically direct: "Sleep is overrated, I can tell you that much. My entire life is about food — it's about one word. My restaurants are the most important thing to me. And then I shoot television when I can. But basically it all works in unison. The stuff I do on the Food Network — I've been doing it for like the last 16 years — it gets people to know who I am and more importantly to know what my restaurants are. Writing cookbooks, doing television, the restaurants — it all revolves around one word, which is food. I don't think of it as business versus personal. To me it's all one life."

America's Next Great Restaurant premiered on NBC on Sunday, March 6, 2011. Bobby Flay, Steve Ells, Curtis Stone, and Lorena Garcia served as the investor panel. Daedrian McNeal noted to Flay during the call that she was looking forward to seeing him at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival.

For more upcoming events across South Florida, visit the Premier Guide Miami Events Calendar .