The Genius Way Bobby Flay Organizes His Pantry

Bobby Flay has hosted and/or appeared on a bazillion cooking shows, but perhaps his next television endeavor should be "The Next Iron Pantry" or "Bobby Flay's Pantry Addiction," because the man has the same level of intention towards organizing his pantry as he does crafting a throw-down dish. A virtual walk inside Flay's pantry, courtesy of an Instagram reel from Misfits Market, reveals a mini version of what his restaurant pantries must look like.

All items live on commercial wire shelving and are sectioned not only by product category, but also according to cuisine — Italian ingredients on one shelf, Spanish ingredients on another, and space even dedicated to his line of cat food, "Made By Nacho," which is inspired by his late Maine Coon, Nacho Flay. For open packages of ingredients, such as pasta, Flay stores each type or shape in their own clear container with a sealed lid and a label, and places them with other Italian ingredients.

So what about ingredients that are frequently used in cooking and baking, or appear within multiple cuisines? Flay keeps these items on a shelf organized by product category and positions them at eye-level, which allows them to be accessed with ease. For example, all of his unopened condiments are on one section of the shelf and grouped according to their specific type (e.g., Flay keeps all of his mustard varietals together).

Flay applies this same concept is applied to dry goods with various uses across cuisine types, like rice, flour, and even water. His bottom shelf is filled with multiple rows of San Pellegrino sparkling water in one-liter glass bottles; it's an ideal place for something fragile like this, because it's within easy reach, and being close to the ground lessens the risk of the bottles toppling over and breaking. While small kitchen appliances are obviously neither ingredients nor used for only one type of cuisine, Flay also has shelving solely dedicated to such devices, which do not belong on our kitchen counter tops.

So why did Flay chose to organize his pantry in this way? Flay's culinary career has always been cuisine-centric, rather than a fusion of ingredients from different cultures. This type of set-up seems to makes the most sense for him, because he can directly access one specific pantry shelf or section to get what he needs for a dish. 

You don't have to be an Iron Chef like Flay to steal his pantry organization hack. Your pantry should be organized in a way that allows ease of access to the ingredients you use the most in order to assemble a quick weeknight meal. This helps create a more stress-free and enjoyable cooking or baking experience.