Who is your favorite celeb chef? - Page 2

Emeril, merely combining ingredients?!  You've got to be kidding.

BDL

   I wasn't aware that Eric Ripert had a new cooking show.  Hopefully PBS or Netflix will pick it up. 

  Who is my favorite (living) celebrity chef?

   That's a tough one.  John Folse, John Besh, Lidia Bastianich come to mind for well known celebrity chefs.  Could we include in this group some of the wonderful producers that make the ingredients I so enjoy?  Some wonderful Iberico producers come to mind, some of the worlds better olive oil producers, two balsamic producers come to mind (one of whom I've already met),  how about some of the cheese producers!  Heck, KYH and his tomatoes would be up there on my list.

   But, for me...to really quantify things into what I would want... I would ask myself what celebrity chef would I like to meet.  Very few come to mind...and I can't say that I would actually talk about cooking or technique with any chef that I would meet.  What I would really like to do, is eat with a few of them rather than cook.  While I certainly have much to learn about cooking, I believe I could gain more knowledge eating and tasting with them rather than a short cooking class.

  What chef would I like to eat with?   For this I would keep John Folse, John Besh on the list and add Thomas Keller, Rick Bayless and at the top of the list would have to be Jose Andres.  To me...eating with any of these chefs would be priceless!

    dan

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonefishin 

   I wasn't aware that Eric Ripert had a new cooking show.  Hopefully PBS or Netflix will pick it up.

Hey Dan, it's a great show (I just discovered it myself a few weeks ago). You can watch it there:
 

http://www.hulu.com/avec-eric

    Thanks FF!

Dan, the show is on PBS. It's called Avec Eric. Basically, he wanders around, seeking inspiration from the people who produce great food. That is, not necessarily cooks and chefs (although they're included), but the people who grow the olives, and tend the sheep, and harvest the oysters.

Unfortunately, our local affiliate doesn't buy anything that costs more than 50 cents an episode. So I miss out on most of the great cooking shows. Lidia (yay!) is about the only one we get.

So, now I'm in a strange position. I have the companion book, also called Avec Eric (and it's a great book, btw), but have never seen the show.

KYH, I just shared the link to the show online. You can watch it now!

And while there's some fishing, foraging, talking with food professionals etc... in every show Eric cooks, inspired by his wanderings.

   KYH, I couldn't find the show in my Chicago PBS line up.  Although French Fries link, to Hulu, will be perfectly fine for me though.

 dan

chuck hughes, eric ripert, daniel boulud, jose andres, ferran adria, grant achatz, michael voltaggio.
 

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Originally Posted by nancya 

 who is your favorite celeb chef and why?
 

 

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by iconoclast 

chuck hughes, eric ripert, daniel boulud, jose andres, ferran adria, grant achatz, michael voltaggio.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by nancya 

 who is your favorite celeb chef and why?
 

 

 

 

   nice list!

Robert Irvine  As he does it every day, and can really pump it out.  And Rippert for being the class act.

i don't watch any cooking shows, but rick bayless, eric ripert and mario batali are real teachers in my book...there is absolutely no gag factor with any of them..and jacques...well, he's plain and simple a national monument...

joey

Thanks for the warm welcome, Tyler M!   I wandered onto this site by accident and this topic came up.  Of course I had to add my 2¢ worth.

Is Michael Voltaggio really considered a "celebrity chef" now?  While he has gotten known from Top Chef, he doesn't have any books, shows, licensed products etc.  I will get to Volt one of these days, it's only about 45min from where I live...

When I think "celebrity chef" I think of who's out there in the media, in the spotlight, well known by those outside the industry as well as in...that's "celebrity" to me.  So for me right now I'd say Batali, Ripert, Ramsey (though I hate HK) and I'll add the beautiful Nigella to break up the boy's club heheh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

The question is, what makes a chef a celebrity? Having a TV show? Or having a great reputation in the field? Or being a cookbook author?

I once had a marketing professor that liked to say that "A celebrity is someone who is well-known for their well-knownness." Meaning, it doesn't matter what makes someone a celebrity, as long as they are known as one.

For example, Bobby Flay became famous for TV, with Iron Chef, Iron Chef America, and his litany of shows. On the other hand, much of Wolfgang Puck's fame came originally from the popularity of Spago and his ability to schmooze with LA elite. Later came the shows and other restaurants that built the empire. All that to say, if you've heard of a chef, and he's well-known for his well-knownness, then I guess they are a celebrity chef.

Well, let's see, what makes a celebrity? Hm, Paris Hilton IS one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gobblygook 

He seemed like a food snob. 

He is, and rightfully so. As someone mentioned earlier, he is one of the top 2 or 3 chefs in America right now.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerm713 

 

For example, Bobby Flay became famous for TV, with Iron Chef, Iron Chef America, and his litany of shows.

   Lol!  I can't think of Bobby Flay without thinking of that young city boy who used to get mopped up by Jack McDavid, on the show "Grillin' & Chillin'"    He has come a long way.

 dan

WOW, I'm just so glad I'm not French................     such animosity to another nationality

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ishbel 

WOW, I'm just so glad I'm not French................     such animosity to another nationality

I don't think that's fair - one person's negative comment compared to all the people who listed Ripert and Pepin as their favorites...

Why are you glad you're not French? Because of that one comment???
 

Errrm - that was IRONY - it obviously went WHOOSH....

I just found it objectionable that  a sweeping statement was made about someone's nationality - as if that gave carte blanche (yep, a French expression)  

jazzcook,

think perhaps you may have mistook the tongue and cheek humor..

joey

btw....where oh where are the female chefs? please don't say rachael, paula or giadia...they are not chefs...no way, no how

Heh, yeah I guess I suffered a knee-jerk mis-reaction there, apologies.  It just struck me as such an odd comment, after all the accolades...should've figured it was in jest.

(now where is that "doh!" emoticon?) ;-)

It wasn't in jest, more like disbelief that it was considered an acceptable thing to say.

Oh, and for the record - I visit France at least twice a year, and have done for more than half my (long) life....   love the food, the culture and yes...  most of the French people I've met!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzcook 

...should've figured it was in jest.

  

Quote:

Originally Posted by durangojo 

btw....where oh where are the female chefs? please don't say rachael, paula or giadia...they are not chefs...no way, no how

One of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans, Bayona, was started and is run by a very talented (and James Beard Award winning) female chef, Susan Spicer. She also has a very good cookbook called "Cresent City Cooking."

Jacques Pepin is my hero. He taught me so much.

Angela Hartnett in the UK.  Outstanding protege of Gordon Ramsay, now in her own restaurant.

Skye Gingell - an Australian in the UK who has a restaurant in a garden nursery and has written a couple of great cookbooks.

Thomasina Miers - owns a couple of Mexican restaurants, one of which is called Wahaca.  I don't like Mexican food,but she filmed a TV series about the cuisine of Spain and the book which accompanied it is interesting and I've used quite a few of her recipes.

Any Celeb Chef that uses the stage as an interesting teaching platform, not for their own entertainment, Pepin comes to mind...............Chefbillyb

where oh where are the female chefs? please don't say rachael, paula or giadia...they are not chefs...no way, no how

Have to disagree slightly. As much as I dislike her style, Giada is classically trained, and worked many years as a personal chef. Hard to believe, I know.

That aside, there are many great female chefs, but few of them have reached celebrity status of the kind that's being discussed. A few that come to mind just off the top of my head: Ana Sortun, Mary Sue Milliken, Michele Bernstein, Shirley Corriher, JoAnne Weir, Sara Moulton, Durangojo, Lidia Bastianich,....the list goes on and on.

Sara Moulton probably comes closest to the rubric, as an early Food Network star, restaurant chef, cooking instructor, cooking editor of the Today show, and executive editor of Gourmet magazine. Donatella Arpia (sp?) also comes close, even though she's never, to my knowledge, had her own TV show. Lidia, unfortunately, falls into the "world famous in Krakow" category. Amazing, to me, how many foodies do not know who she is.

The most powerful influence on celebrity status remains television. And, unfortunately, women are generally chosen for that media not so much for their talent but on the basis of how well they fill (or spill out of) a D cup.

Two other notable female chefs that come to mind are Alex Guarnaschelli and Amanda Freitag.

How could I have left out Amanda Freitag? You're right, she definately belongs on the list.

As for Alex G., I've never been impressed with her. Always seemed to be an FN created personality with no real talent. Maybe if she removed the maize core from her nether regions I could judge better?