How Brooke Williamson’s Bobby Flay Romance Led to ‘BBQ Brawl’ Season 7 Role Change
What To Know
- Brooke Williamson will have a new role on Season 7 of Food Network’s BBQ Brawl.
- Williamson previously served as a judge on Seasons 2 through 6 of the cooking competition show.
- The role change comes one year after Williamson’s relationship with fellow Food Network star Bobby Flay went public.
One familiar face will be missing from BBQ Brawl‘s Season 7 judging panel.
On April 3, People reported that the Food Network competition series will officially return on May 11. The nine-episode season will see 12 new pitmasters go head-to-head at the Star Hill Ranch in Austin, Texas, in hopes of earning the title of “Master of ‘Cue.”
Bobby Flay and Maneet Chauhan will return to lead two of this season’s three teams. Brooke Williamson, meanwhile, will transition from her longtime role as a judge to become the leader of the third team of competitors. Williamson joined the series during Season 2 and has served as a judge ever since.
The role change comes one year after news broke that Williamson and Flay were dating. “They have been friends for a while and recently decided to jump in,” a source confirmed to People in March 2025. “Her divorce last year probably gave them some additional shared experiences, and over the last few weeks, love bloomed.”
Williamson was previously married to Nick Roberts from 2007 to 2024. Flay, for his part, has been married three times to Debra Ponzek, Kate Connelly, and Stephanie March, the latter of whom he divorced in 2015. (Flay shares his only child, daughter Sophie, with Connelly.)
Jeff Schear/Getty Images for FanDuel
Williamson and Flay’s relationship was public when BBQ Brawl aired its sixth season, which ran from June 2025 to July 2025. While Food Network has now confirmed Williamson’s role change, Flay previously teased the reason Williamson was stepping away from judging.
“Brooke has been a judge since almost the beginning, the second season, and she’s always wanted to be one of the mentors and cook on the show, and there was never sort of an opportunity for that,” Flay told People in February. “But now, our rule between us is that we can’t judge each other, because how can we judge each other?”
He continued, “We can compete against each other in kind of friendly ways. She’s becoming one of the captains on BBQ Brawl, so I have to actually compete against her. And she, as you might imagine, is very competitive, so she’s tough to beat.”
Carson Kressley will return as a judge for Season 7 alongside Season 3 winner Rashad Jones and Adrienne Cheatham. This season’s lineup of competitors includes Dakari Akorede, Morgan Bolling, Chris Farella, Raquel Fleetwood, Torrece “T” Gregoire, Vinny Mangual, Edith Mattiuzzo, Tim McLaughlin, Tung Nguyen, Braunda Smith, Blake Stoker, and Bob Trudnak.
Like last season, the winner of the Season 7 premiere will get to pick whether they want Flay, Williamson, or Chauhan as their team captain.
BBQ Brawl, Season 7 Premiere, Monday, May 11, 9/8c, Food Network, Streaming Next Day on HBO Max
