Bobby Flay Says He's 'Relaxed' on Dating After His Recent Breakup: 'Still Kind of New' (Exclusive)
The 'Beat Bobby Flay' host caught up with PEOPLE at the American Century Championship on July 10
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Bobby FlayBobby Flay isn't in a rush to find summer love.
On Wednesday, July 10, the Beat Bobby Flay host, 59, addressed his newly-single status during the first day of practice for the upcoming American Century Championship presented by American Century Investments. (PEOPLE confirmed in June that Flay and his girlfriend, Christina Pérez, had split after three years.)
"I'm just relaxed right now," Flay tells PEOPLE when asked if he is dating post-split. "I mean, I don't really have anything to say about that. It's still kind of new for me, and I'm just looking forward to playing golf this week."
This is the third time Flay has competed in the annual Lake Tahoe celebrity golf tournament, which kicks off on Friday, July 12, and runs through Sunday, July 14.
"It's very nerve-racking, because this is not what I do, obviously," he says. "But I love to play golf, I love Lake Tahoe. I mean, it's a great week here. With so much going on in my life, it's always nice to get out to a beautiful place like this for four or five hours. It takes you away."
"It's like, last night I was playing next to Miles Teller, and I was hanging out with Colin Jost," he adds. "It's so fun. It's such a great way to spend a week."
Related: Bobby Flay and Girlfriend Christina Pérez Split After 3 Years of Dating: Sources
Flay has a full slate with his Food Network shows — BBQ Brawl and Bobby's Triple Threat had back-to-back premieres on July 8 and 9 respectively. And after the golf tournament, Flay will head to Paris later in July for the Olympics with his daughter Sophie, 28.
"She claimed to be my plus one about two seconds after I got the invite," he tells PEOPLE. "Sophie knows everybody at the Olympics, because she's worked it twice. So she knows all the NBC people over there. So I'm basically going to be following Sophie around."
Flay says Sophie, who works as a reporter for ABC7 in Los Angeles, is his "best recipe ever."
"I mean, she's a father's dream," he says. "She's amazing. She is the full package when it comes to a daughter and a person, because she has a great work ethic. First of all, she's a sweetheart. I always use the word inclusive with Sophie. She makes everybody feel included. She always brings people together. She's got great energy, great spirit. She's a nice person, and she's smart, she's savvy."
"I mean, look, obviously, I'm biased," he adds. "But I wake up every day feeling blessed to have a daughter like her. And she's doing so well. She does everything from restaurant openings to triple homicides, but that's the news business, and what a great training ground."
Flay also spoke about releasing his first coffee table book, Chapter One, in the fall.
"It's basically the first half of my career," he says. "In some ways it's a retrospective of a hundred of my best and favorite dishes over my career that I've retooled. So it's good to look back and take a new look at something that's worked for a long time but also keep up with the change of times, even with food."
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