I am in the same boat, i.e, first time growing EG.

As I have heard, you can/should cut the flower stem to make the bulb grow but do not cut the leaves.
Another thing that I have learned here is that althoug EG looks like and has the texture of garlic
but is more like onion in taste and flavor. You can use it in you sandwich, in saladS, in yogurd dip(chopped or crushed) or in frying oil.
VERY INTERESTING. I WILL PLANT MORE OF IT THE NEXT TIME.

Well, I did it! We'll see what happens... Good luck with your EG :-)

Elephant garlic is actually in the same species as leeks (I have no idea how they determined this, but that's what I've been told), so it has a milder flavor than true garlic.

I'm growing EG for the first time too and went ahead and cut my scapes. They were great stir-fried! Texture of green beans with a garlicky flavor.

I'm growing a variety of garlic this year, and the elephants are the only ones that have put up scapes. The hardnecks haven't and look like they never will. I guess it's my climate. I plan to plant a lot more elephant garlic next year so I'll get even more scapes, if it turns out that they're the only garlic that grows scapes for me.