Bobby Flay Says Girlfriend Christina Pérez Makes 'Everything Look Amazing' at Their Joint Holidays

Christina Pérez/instagram

When hosting for the holidays, Bobby Flay's ace-in-the-hole is his girlfriend, Christina Pérez.

During a tour of the new Food Network test kitchen in New York City, the celebrity chef and restaurateur told Entertainment Tonight that Pérez is "really into making sure that the tablescape is gorgeous and that the house looks festive and beautiful."

Flay, 57, and Pérez, 41, a writer who has been published in Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, and more, were first introduced to each other through mutual friends. They went public with their relationship in November 2021 after the chef's horse, Pizza Bianca, won the Juvenile Fillies Turf at the Breeders' Cup.

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Now entertaining is a team effort for the pair. "It's a 50-50 job for sure," he told ET. "I take care of the food and Christina takes care of making everything look amazing,"

Christina Pérez Instagram

Pérez is Flay's shoulder to lean on during the holiday season — and beyond. "My life is so crazy hectic, and she's always the light at the end of the day for me," Flay told PEOPLE in December 2021.

For the couple's holiday plans last year, Flay planned to make Puerto Rican dishes on Christmas Day to honor Pérez's heritage. "She's half Puerto Rican and I love those flavors and that cuisine, so I want to make sure she feels represented at Christmas," he told PEOPLE at the time.

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Pérez is a pescatarian so naturally her food preferences have "influenced my cooking a lot," Flay told PEOPLE in August. "She doesn't eat meat. She eats fish. So I cook a lot of vegetables and fish. And she's like, 'My favorite meals are when you make a lot of vegetable and salad dishes.'"