Food is the one thing we can’t go a day without. The sheer aroma of it makes our mouth salivate. In a world as big as ours, there’s bound to be a variety of cuisines.
These 20 Famous Chefs on TV does it almost all. We are talking Italian, American, French, Indian, Spanish, Greek, to name a very few. It almost feels like you want to lick the TV while you glare at the amazing food they make in their kitchen.
Culinary experts around the world have an ongoing debate about who out of these chefs can cook the best dish with all the different delicacies, spices, and cooking styles coming to play.
We read it, we watch it on TV, and a few lucky ones even get to meet them. Don’t we all want to make that perfect meal at the dinner party? Or at the barbecue? Or for your family gathering?
Read about how these 20 popular chefs became icons over the years. And how they dealt with adversities and the journey they had to take to get to where they are today.
Without wasting any more of your time, let’s have a read about the 20 famous chefs.
20 Famous Chefs On TV
1. Marco Pierre White
Marco Pierre White is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. Marco’s often regarded as the godfather of contemporary cuisine.
Marco began classical training at La Gavroche under French maestros Albert and Michel Roux. He also went on to work under Michael Lawson in the box tree.
He starred in TV shows like Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef Australia. Considered to be one of the first celebrity chefs, he put the British culinary scene back on the map.
He won his first Michelin Star at Harvey’s in London. He almost immediately won another star the year after that. The third followed after he became chef-patron of The Restaurant Marco Pierre White.
He was the youngest chef to accumulate three Michelin Stars.
2. Sanjeev Kapoor
Sanjeev Kapoor is an Indian celebrity chef, entrepreneur, and icon in Indian television.
In his early years, Sanjeev enrolled in the Pusa Institute of Hotel Management- Catering and Nutrition in New Delhi.
Sanjeev became a household name in every Indian family. For every occasion, his recipes are always a handful.
He hosted the popular TV show Khana Khazana, which ran for 18 years, making it a record. He’s also the first chef in the world to launch his own food channel.
Considered the fourth highest national honor, Sanjeev won the Padma Shri award. The International culinary panel of Singapore airlines also made him a key member.
He represented India as a food ambassador and authored bestseller recipes and cookbooks. Sanjeev is the go-to man for fine Indian cuisine.
3. Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay is a British chef, reality TV personality, writer, and restaurateur. In his outstanding career as a chef, he’s won seven Michelin Stars.
In his early days, Gordon was into football, but that halted when he injured his knee.
Gordon got inspired to work for Marco Pierre at Harvey’s, London. That didn’t last for too long because a couple of years later, Gordon had a fallout with Marco Pierre.
He went on to star in plenty of cooking shows, Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen nightmares, to name a few. Famous for his wild temper and use of expletives, the shows were a hit.
Gordon even founded his global restaurant group called Gordon Ramsay restaurant. This chef also runs a successful chain of restaurants all over the world.
4. Julia Child
Julia Child was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She’s considered the original TV chef who paved the way for others to excel.
Recognized for bringing French cuisine to America, she became a household name. Julia learned and perfected her trait from the famous Cordon bleu.
She also starred in The French chef, her television program that debuted in the year 1963.
In 1993, Julia became the first woman inducted into the Culinary Institute Hall of Fame. Julia also received the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest honor.
Her cooking shows were among the most-watched shows back in the day. She made people love and appreciate fine dining.
5. Paula Deen
Paula Deen is an American chef, cookbook author, and TV personality. She’s known for her home-based catering business, The Bag Lady.
The rising popularity of The Bag Lady forced her to expand beyond her kitchen. This decision led her to open one of the most popular restaurants in Savannah, The Lady, and Sons.
Paula starred in culinary shows like ‘Paula’s Home Cooking,’ ‘Paula’s party,’ ‘Top Chef’ and many more. She won a Daytime Emmy for ‘Paula’s Home Cooking’ in the category of outstanding lifestyle host.
She was a mainstay on the food network for more than a decade.
6. Catherine Ann Cora
Cat Ann Cora is an American professional chef, author, and TV personality. She enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
She was a co-host of the Food Network shows Kitchen Accomplished. She launched her own cookware with starfruit, Canada’s leading purveyor of food products.
Ann was the first female Iron Chef on the first season of Food Network’s ‘Iron Chef America.’ She got inducted into the American Academy of Chefs Hall of fame in 2015. She was the first female chef ever to achieve this honor.
7. Anne W. Burrell
Anne W. Burrell is an American chef, author, and television personality. Burrell got herself enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America. She graduated in 1996 with an Associate in Occupational Studies.
She’s also a former instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education.
Burrell contested for the fourth season of the Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs but got eliminated in episode 6. She went on to win the fourth installment of the Chopped All-Stars Tournament.
Anne became a sous chef at Felidia, owned by Lidia Bastianich.
At the peak of her career, Burrell became the executive chef of Centro Vinoteca in New York.
8. Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay is an American chef, restaurateur, and reality TV personality. Flay was among the first graduating class of the French culinary institute.
Flay was a contestant on the show Iron Chef America and came up against Masaharu Morimoto.
He went on to lose the battle. Feeling unsatisfied, he challenged Morimoto in a rematch and managed to beat him.
His hit show, Throwdown! Bobby Flay showcased his talent and versatility. Bobby was also featured on the Great Chefs television series. He hosted many cooking shows and specials on the Food Network.
Flay’s chain of restaurants is present in all four corners of the world. He’s a proud holder of a Michelin Star.
9. Giada de Laurentiis
Giada is an Italian-American chef, writer, and television personality. She also studied at the famous Cordon Bleu.
She became a professional chef at Spago, one of Wolfgang Puck’s famous restaurants.
Laurentiis began hosting Behind the Bash. It was a program that examined the catering process behind big events like the Grammy’s. She was also featured in the Iron Chef with Bobby flay.
Giada’s the founder of the catering business GDL Foods. In 2014 she opened her first restaurant, GIADA, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It includes Italian cuisine with Californian influence.
10. Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver is a British chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author.
He gained experience preparing Italian cuisine at Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Street restaurant.
Jamie got noticed by Patricia Llewellyn of Optomen while serving as a sous chef at the Royal Café. The BBC aired ‘The Naked chef,’ and he immediately made a mark with his cooking show.
Jamie initiated a food revolution by introducing the “Feed Me Better” campaign. It’s a cause for implementing healthy food habits across schools in the UK. The government also pledged to address the issue.
Jamie is the second-best-selling British author only behind J.K. Rowling.
11. Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck is an Austrian chef, author, and restaurateur. He trained under Raymond Thuilier at Hotel de Paris in Monaco.
Puck moved to Los Angeles to become a chef and part-owner of Ma Maison restaurant. In 1982, Puck opened the famous restaurant Spago on the sunset strip.
Puck was one of the first chefs to turn their celebrity status into a brand. He introduced French cooking to his American audiences.
He was the official caterer for the Governor’s Ball at the academy awards. His success also enabled him to launch the Wolfgang Puck companies. Wolfgang Puck is also a holder of two Michelin Stars.
12. Joseph Bastianich
Joe Bastianich is an American restaurateur, winemaker, author, television personality, and musician. Before becoming a full-time chef, Bastianich was a bond trader on wall street.
Joe co-owns thirty restaurants in four countries with his mother, Lidia Bastianich. Their restaurant, BABBO Ristorante, in New York, received a Michelin Star.
He co-authored two award-winning books on Italian wine. Restaurant Man, his memoir, became a New York Times Bestseller.
Bastianich was a judge on the MasterChef America and MasterChef Junior series. As of 2020, Bastianich will be serving as a judge on Italia’s Got Talent.
13. Curtis Stone
Curtis Stone’s an Australian celebrity chef, author, and television personality.
Stone moved to London to pursue his career as a chef and started cooking under Marco Pierre White.
He became a sous chef at Mirabelle’s and helped to create the “Mirabelle Cookbook.” Curtis went on to become head chef at Marco Pierre’s restaurant Quo Vadis.
His influence on the show ‘Take Home Chef’ mirrored how well it did worldwide. He featured alongside celebrities like Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, and Ellen DeGeneres.
Stone featured in an episode of MasterChef with his mentor Marco Pierre White. He’s a proud holder of three Michelin Stars.
14. Graham Elliot
Graham Elliot is an American chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality. He attended culinary school at Johnson & Wales University. Graham Elliot is a two-star Michelin chef.
He’s also known to be the youngest chef in America to receive four stars from a major publication. He’s famous for being a judge on MasterChef America and MasterChef Junior.
Graham has also been a contestant on the popular cooking show Iron Chef. The show paired him against Bobby Flay, but he would go on to lose the cook-off battle.
He made it on the Chicago Business list of “40 Under Forty”, alongside President Barack Obama. Graham went on to cook for Barack Obama on his 49th birthday.
15. Bruno Barbieri
Bruno Barbieri is a famous Italian chef, cookbook author, and personality on television. He’s regarded as one of Italy’s best and most popular chefs.
His experiences working at major restaurants in Italy made his skills as a chef a cut above the rest.
Bruno felt he had accomplished so much. He now wanted to conquer the world.
He was part of the judging panel on MasterChef Italia, Junior MasterChef, and Celebrity MasterChef.
Bruno also opened many restaurants in Italy, and he went on to win seven Michelin Stars.
16. Carlo Cracco
Born in Creazzo, Italy, Carlo Cracco is an author of various cookbooks and a two-starred Michelin chef.
Dubbed as the father of modern Italian cuisine, Carlo learned a lot from him. It was working with Marchesi when he won his first Michelin Star.
Under his leadership and direction, Enoteca Pinchiorri, in Italy, went on to receive two more Michelin Stars.
It was at Cracco where Carlo honed his talent and perfected his culinary skills. His restaurant got rewarded with two Michelin Stars for his hard work and desire to improve.
Carlo currently has 3 Michelin Stars to show for his culinary skills.
17. Emeril Lagasse
Emeril Lagasse’s an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author.
Lagasse went on to graduate from the culinary school Johnson & Wales University. He became an executive chef at Dunfey’s Hyannis Resort.
In 1990 he opened Emerils in New Orleans, which got dubbed as “Restaurant of the Year” in Esquire magazine.
He put a food network on the map with series like “Essence of Emeril” and had a self-titled sitcom too.
He was well known for his famous catchphrases “Kick it up a notch!” and “Bam!”
Emeril is the executive chef and proprietor of thirteen restaurants across the world.
18. Guy Fieri
Guy Fieri is an American restaurateur, author, and Emmy award-winning TV presenter. He moved to France as a foreign exchange student and developed an interest in food and cooking.
On TV, Fieri won the second season of the Next Food Network Star on April 23, 2006. He was featured in one of Rachael Ray’s series, Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off. The winner cashed out $50,000 and donated it to charity.
Guy Fieri is also an author. He has several top-notch cookbooks and one that’s been a bestseller for over 33 weeks.
Guy Fieri’s show also attracts more male viewers than any other Food Network.
19. Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson is a British food writer and TV cook.
During her early years, she was a book reviewer and a restaurant critic. She later became the deputy literary editor of the Sunday Times.
Nigella was the best-selling author of many cookbooks. Simply Nigella, How to Eat, Nigellissima, to name some.
She also launched a cooking show series “Nigella Bites” in 1999. Lawson doesn’t think of herself as a ‘celebrity chef,’ but her culinary expertise disagrees.
She was one of three judges on a special battle of Iron Chef America, ‘The Super Chef Battle.’ She also starred with Anthony Bourdain in the reality show ‘The Taste.’
20. Aaron Sanchez
Aaron Sanchez is an American-born Mexican chef, Television icon, and also author of famous cookbooks.
Sanchez is the son of another renowned Chef, Zarela Martinez. His specialty in cooking Mexican cuisine came from helping her mother’s catering business.
Aaron finished high school and went on to work for Chef Paul Prudhomme, who was also his mentor. He went on to work as an executive chef in some of America’s most exclusive restaurants. Notably, the Mexican restaurant Johnny Sanchez.
He joined MasterChef America alongside judges like Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi. He featured as a judge on Chopped and Chopped Junior.
Aaron has also won a James Beard award for the Television studio program.
Conclusion
Now that it’s done, what are you cooking tonight? Will it be Chef Ramsay’s Beef Wellington or Marco Pierre’s ham sandwich? Why not both, right?
Explore your culinary arts and devour in the variety of flavors your food offers. Get ready to impress in the next family cookout with your skills.
Think about our 20 Famous Chefs on TV as you rule your kitchen tonight. Have fun, and make sure you are creative with it!
It might not be perfection, but at least you will get a full stomach out of it. Like Guy Fieri would say, ‘Next stop, Flavortown!’
