Being a chef is not easy; it requires time, hard work, and dedication. For one thing, you must attend culinary school, which can take up to four years, depending on your specialty. Not only that but the job itself can also be physically demanding with long hours.
Having said that, it can be gratifying if you have the drive to succeed. In fact, culinary professionals are highly sought-after worldwide. Depending on your experience, you may even be invited to work at high-profile restaurants.
Who are the best chefs in the world? What are they known for? Let’s find out.
Best Chefs in the World 2024 – Top List
Without further ado, here are some of the top chefs in the world.
10. Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain was a celebrity chef who hosted a number of TV shows including A Cook’s Tour, The Layover, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Uknown. Not only that but he was also a judge on the reality series The Taste. He even appeared as himself in the 2015 comedy-drama film The Big Short.
Aside from his travel adventures, he also authored a number of books including the bestseller Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, A Cook’s Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal, Medium Raw, and Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical.
Despite a successful career, however, he struggled with his fame as well as relationship problems. In 2018, while filming an episode of Parts Unknown, he died of an apparent suicide in his hotel room. He was 61 years old. Following his death, he was posthumously given the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Series.
Born and raised in Manhattan, he developed a passion for food as a teen during a family vacation in France. After graduating from a college-preparatory day school, he worked at a number of seafood restaurants, before attending The Culinary Institute of America. He then ran a number of successful restaurants in New York City including Sullivan’s and the Supper Club. From there, he worked as an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles.
9. Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck is one of the world’s most successful chefs. Not only is he known for his culinary excellence, but he is also business savvy and owns more than a dozen restaurants including Gato, Bobby Flay Steak, and Mesa Grill. In total, he holds three Michelin stars, one at CUT, which is located in Singapore, and two at his flagship restaurant Spago.
Like many celebrity chefs, he has also starred in a number of television shows over the years including Top Chef: Last Vegas, Celebrity Cooking Showdown, Hell’s Kitchen, The Next Food Network Star, The Chef Show, and Masterchef. In 2021, he also starred in the documentary film Wolfgang, which centers around his life and career.
Born in Austria, Puck learned how to cook at a young age from his mother, who worked as a pastry chef. He later trained in Les Baux-de-Provence in Monaco, under Raymond Thuillier, before moving to the U.S. at the age of 24. After two years of working in Indianapolis’ La Tour, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he became the co-owner of Ma Maison. Not long afterward, he published his first cookbook titled, Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen.
8. Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray is a celebrity chef and television personality who’s known for her “quick and easy” cooking style. Since 2006, she has been the host of the syndicated talk show Rachael Ray. She is also the host of the Food Network series 30 Minute Meals, which features convenient 30-minute recipes for those with minimal time to cook. For her work on the show, she has received two Daytime Emmy Awards for Best Outstanding Service Show and Talk Show.
In addition to that, she has also starred in the shows $40 a Day, Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels, Rachael Ray’s Kids Cook-Off, and Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off.
She has also written a number of cookbooks including Rachael Ray’s Open House Cookbook, Veggie Meals, Cooking Rocks: 30-Minute Meals for Kids, Comfort Foods, and Yum-O! The Family Cookbook. In 2005, she also launched her own magazine called, Every Day with Rachael Ray, which features recipes, DIY ideas, money-saving tips, health advice, and celebrity interviews.
7. Rick Stein
Rick Stein is one of the most recognizable chefs in England. Not only does he operate a number of seafood restaurants across the UK, but he also owns a number of shops and hotels in Padstow. On top of that, he is the co-owner and head chef of the Rick Stein at Bannister’s restaurants in Port Stephens and Mollymook, Australia.
He has also published a number of cookbooks over the years including Good Food Award Best Cookery Book, Rick Stein’s Complete Seafood, My Favorite Seafood Recipes, and Rock Stein’s Guide to the Food Heroes of Britain. In 2013, he also wrote a memoir titled, Under a Mackerel Sky.
As a television presenter, he has also hosted many shows including Fishy Treats and Simply Eats, Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey, Friends for Dinner, Rick Stein’s Seafood Odyssey, and Rick Stein’s Tastes the Blues.
Since 2021, he has been starring in the UK food lifestyle series Rick Stein’s Cornwall, which follows Stein as he travels through his home county of Cornwall while trying different local dishes. The third season, which consists of 15 episodes, recently premiered in February 2023.
6. Giada De Laurentiis
Giada De Laurentiis is an Italian-American chef who’s best known for hosting the Food Network series Giada at Home, for which she has received two Daytime Emmy Award nominations. Not only that but she is also a guest co-host on NBC’s morning television show Today.
Her first restaurant, Giada, which is located inside The Cromwell Las Vegas hotel, was opened in May 2014. She later opened a second restaurant called Pronto by Giada in early 2018. That same year, she opened a third restaurant called GDL Italian by Giada.
Aside from her restaurants, she also has a line of cookware that’s made exclusively for Target. The product line includes ceramic pans, dishes, bowls, whisks, and other kitchen utensils.
Born in Rome, Italy, De Laurentiis grew up spending a lot of time at her grandfather’s restaurant in Italy. Following her parent’s divorce, she and her siblings moved to California, where she attended Marymount High School. From there, she studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, before attending Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
After returning to the U.S., she worked as a professional chef in various restaurants including Wolfgang Puck’s Spago.
5. Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay is a celebrity chef and restauranteur. He’s currently the owner and executive chef of many restaurants including Bobby’s Burgers and Bobby’s Burger Palace, the latter of which has several locations across the United States. Not only that but he also owns a stand-alone restaurant called Amalfi, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Since 1995, he has also worked with Food Network and the Cooking Channel on a number of TV shows including Hot Off the Grill with Bobby Flay, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Beat Bobby Flay, BBQ with Bobby Flay, Worst Cooks in America, and Bobby Flay’s Barbeque Addiction. He was also a judge on The Next Iron Chef, The Next Food Network Star, and Wickedly Perfect.
He has even taken on a couple of acting roles in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and in the Disney original movie Eddie’s Million Dollar Cook-off.
Outside of television, he has also published a number of cookbooks including Bobby Flay’s Throwdown, Bobby Flay’s Grilling for Life, Bobby Flay’s Bold American Food, and Fearless Flavors from My Kitchen.
4. Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver is a British chef who rose to fame after starring in the BBC cooking program The Naked Chef. Premiered in 1999, the series followed Oliver as he prepared and cooked a variety of dishes for different individuals. Not long afterward, he launched the Feed Me Better campaign, which aims to provide school-aged children with healthier foods.
In 2008, he opened his first restaurant, Jamie’s Italian, in Oxford, England. Since then, a number of franchise locations have opened in Canada, Hong Kong, Russia, Ireland, Turkey, Taiwan, and Iceland. He also opened a barbecued meat-based restaurant called Barbecoa in 2011.
Aside from The Naked Chef, he has also hosted a number of food-oriented shows including Jamie’s Meat-Free Meals, Jamie: Keep Cooking and Carry On, Jamie’s Quick & Easy Food, Jamie Oliver: Together, Jamie & Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast, and Jamie’s Comfort Food. He also presented Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution- a show that discussed the issue of childhood obesity- for which he received a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award.
For his contributions to the hospitality industry, he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2003.
3. Michael Caines
Michael Caines is one of Britain’s most celebrated chefs and is often credited with introducing modern British cuisine to the world. He currently holds two Michelin stars and is the owner of Lympstone Manor Hotel, Restaurant and Vineyard, The Cove Restaurant and Bar, Cafe Patisserie Glacerie, The Harbourside Refuge, and Mickeys Beach Bar and Restaurant.
Born in Exeter, England, he attended Exeter College in Devon, where he studied catering. He later worked at the Grosvenor House Hotel and at Oxfordshire’s Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons under Raymond Blanc, who acted as his mentor. From there, he studied under Joel Robuchon and Bernard Loiseau in France.
In 1994, he became the head chef of Gidleigh Park. Not long afterward, he lost his right arm in a vehicle accident and became an amputee. However, that didn’t stop him from continuing his culinary dreams.
By 1999, he had received his second Michelin star (he is one of only a few Black chefs to have received a star).
2. Guy Fieri
Guy Fieri is one of the most popular television personalities in the food industry. Throughout his career, he has been featured in a number of shows including Minute to Win It, Diners, Guy’s Big Bite, Drive-Ins and Dives, Guy’s Grocery Games, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Guy’s Ranch Kitchen, and Ace of Cakes. In fact, he’s often referred to as the “face of Food Network.” Just a couple of years ago, he signed a new $80 million contract with the network, making him the highest-paid celebrity chef on television.
Aside from being an award-winning TV presenter, he also co-owned California Pasta Grill, which had three locations in California. In 2012, he also opened a restaurant in New York City called Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar; it later closed in 2017. In addition to that, he also owned Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen and Bar and Guy Fieri’s Baltimore Kitchen & Bar.
He has also authored a number of cookbooks over the years such as Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Guy on Fire: 130 Recipes for Adventures in Outdoor Cooking, and Guy Fieri Family Food.
1. Gordon Ramsay
Raised in Stratford, he developed an interest in cooking as a young teen. By the time he was in his 20s, he was working as a commis chef at the Wroxton House Hotel. He also ran the 60-seat dining room and kitchen at the Wickham Arms. He later moved to London, where he worked in a series of restaurants.
Wanting to advance his career, he later moved to Paris, where he studied French Cuisine. Upon returning to London in 1993, he was offered the position of head chef at La Tante Claire, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Chelsea. After working there for several years, he opened up his own restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in 1998.
As of 2024, he owns 35 restaurants, which are spread across North America, Australia, Asia, and Europe. He has also been awarded a total of 16 Michelin stars.
Gordon only has 4 children. Megan, Jack, Holly and Matilda. Tana had a miscarriage with their 5th.
like Gordon kids is the main issue about this list
This is literally one of the worst list I have ever seen in my entire life, how could you forget for the love of god spanish chefs like Ferran Adriá or Arzak, do your research before making this lists
This was such a poor list with no proper research done beforehand. On what grounds are they even ranked ?
marco pierre white trained ramsey are you stinking kidding me?
If the list is “who make more money ” then yes but best ? Don’t think so