Waltham Native Goes Head-to-Head Against Bobby Flay

WALTHAM, MA – Very few can beat Bobby Flay at his own game, but for Ed Cotton, it was another milestone in a storied culinary career.

The Waltham native recently bested the celebrity chef and restauranteur on The Food Network's "Beat Bobby Flay." It was a return to TV for Cotton, who narrowly missed out on the $125,000 first prize in season 7 of "Top Chef" and spent six seasons as Chef Cat Cora's sous chef on "Iron Chef America."

Cotton cut his teeth in the kitchen before he was old enough to vote. The 39-year-old studied Culinary Arts at Minuteman High School in Lexington, graduating in 1996. While still at Minuteman, he worked at Olives in Charlestown under Todd English, eventually helping English open Figs in Wellesley.

"Everything comes back to my original training," Cotton said in a statement.

Cotton graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and has worked in eateries across Boston, New York and Las Vegas. He was most recently named executive chef at Tavern62 in New York.

On "Beat Bobby Flay," Cotton went up against chef Omar Zerrai before taking on the show's namesake. Cotton and Zerrai were tasked with preparing a dish that highlighted butternut squash, the central ingredient chosen by Flay.

Cotton prepared a roasted butternut squash soup, garnished with cinnamon-spiced cranberries, to edge out Zerrai. The final round consisted of Cotton and Flay preparing the former's signature dish, turkey cacciatore.

While there was no cash prize to beating the world-famous chef, Cotton was satisfied with winning "bragging rights."

“It was a good time," he said in a statement, downplaying his star turn. "I got to do what I love to do.”

Photo Credit: Ed Cotton