BOBBY FLAY RETURNS FOR MORE HEATED CULINARY BATTLES AND SPECIAL GUEST STARS IN SECOND SEASON OF "BEAT BOBBY FLAY"

Thirteen-Episode Season Premieres Thursday, July 31st at 10pm ET/PT

NEW YORK - June 30, 2014 - A brand-new roster of chef competitors battle for the opportunity to cook against culinary icon Bobby Flay in Beat Bobby Flay season two this summer, with new episodes kicking off Thursday, July 31st at 10pm ET/PT. In each thirty-minute, two-round episode, Bobby is joined by two culinary contenders who think they have what it takes to Beat Bobby Flay, along with a rotating cast of special guest duos who know him well. In front of an audience, the visiting chefs compete against each other in round one using an ingredient of Bobby's choice - and it's the special guest's job to hand pick the contestant they believe can defeat him in his own kitchen. In round two, the winning chef battles Bobby with a distinct advantage - the challenger makes their signature dish, which will not be revealed to Bobby until the beginning of the round, and he must immediately come up with his own version. A judging panel then determines the winner based on a blind taste test - does the challenger have the chops to Beat Bobby Flay or will Bobby's food reign supreme?

Season two episodes include:

Premiering Thursday, July 31st at 10pm ET/PT - SEASON PREMIERE "They Must Be Giants" Crab claw king Andy Saint-Ange stands against tattooed butcher Bruce Kalman in this battle of the big guys - but who gets the chance to beat Bobby on his own turf? Restaurateur Scott Conant and Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian are the special guests who decide.

Premiering Thursday, August 7th at 10pm ET/PT "East vs. West" Giada De Laurentiis and Iron Chef Michael Symon hold nothing back in their attempts to get Bobby beat! They bring in two heavy hitters to battle it out, with former Iron Chef America winner Neal Fraser from Los Angeles taking on Jason Santos, a Boston big shot with blue hair.

Premiering Thursday, August 14th at 10pm ET/PT "Bring Home the Bacon" Guest stars Sunny Anderson and Jet Tila cause a ruckus as they conspire to pick a contender to beat Bobby. They bring in two New England chefs: fusion chef Matthew Britt and rebel chef Tyler Anderson to duke it out. Will one of New England's finest take down Bobby, the quintessential New Yorker?

Premiering Thursday, August 21st at 10pm ET/PT "Battle of Brooklyn" Young buck Jordan Andino and industry pro Jennifer Cole Ruiz, both Brooklynites, duke it out for the chance to get in the ring with Bobby. Special guests Anne Burrell and Chris Santos, both New Yorkers, are hell bent on choosing a contestant who can knock Bobby to the mat.

Premiering Thursday, August 28th at 10pm ET/PT "Out of the Pan and Into the Fire" New Jersey food truck master Carlos Serrano and Rina Younan from Los Angeles battle it out, but things nearly go up in flames as the chefs start to improvise. Luckily, Alton Brown and Daphne Oz are the special guests to ring the alarm and find a contender to smoke Bobby in the competition.

Upcoming season two guest stars include: Ted Allen, Brooke Burke-Charvet, Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, Katie Lee and Marc Murphy.

Beat Bobby Flay is produced by Rock Shrimp Productions.

# # #

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and up to 35 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine's rate base has grown tenfold and is now the second largest monthly magazine on the newsstand, with over 11.6 million readers. Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24-hour networks in the United Kingdom, Asia, and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also owns and operates Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com) and Great American Country (www.gactv.com), is the manager and general partner.