5 of the most famous chefs in the world
In our (wonderful) Dutch culinary bubble, we can be incredibly proud of the chefs who are part of our national gastronomic heritage. This list is by no means complete, but just to name a few: Nel Schellekens, Soenil Bahadoer, Joris Bijdendijk, Margot Reuten, Jonnie Boer, Dennis Huwaë… Proof of what a small country can achieve! We therefore think they deserve a place on lists of the best chefs in the world, but there are always a few who are even more famous:
Because the people who consistently appear on the list of the most famous chefs in the world are, of course, a few of the usual suspects. But for us Dutch people, there are also always names of chefs we know less well—or perhaps do not know by name at all—who nevertheless have a large following and run highly successful restaurants. Or who focus mainly on television work and cookbooks, thereby achieving widespread fame. These are five of the most famous chefs in the world:
1. Gordon Ramsay
Probably no surprise that this British chef, whose TV shows feature an awful lot of bleeping, tops the list. Ramsay also owns and/or runs countless restaurants all over the world, and if you include the Google search results from people who are angry that he calls this pasta dish carbonara, the tally is bound to go up quite a bit too.
2. Guy Fieri
Never heard of him? Here too, the number of times his name has been searched on Google indicates that this American with wild hair is a hugely famous chef. He won an Emmy Award for his TV show, has written several cookbooks, and reportedly owns more than 70 restaurants and 14 brands. What is still missing? A Michelin star.
3. Michael Caines
Another British chef on the list; this time in third place. In 2017, he opened Lympstone Manor in East Devon, a hotel and restaurant in a historic country house that he had spent three years working on, and promptly earned it a Michelin star after just six months. He also cooked for the British Prime Minister—and the most remarkable thing? He did and still does all of this with one hand. He lost his right arm in an accident in 1994.
4. Jamie Oliver
Mr. Oliver has by now become such a household name that people may not even need to look him up on the internet anymore. Still firmly in the top five of the world’s most famous chefs, we sometimes wonder who doesn’t have one of his cookbooks on their shelf.
5. Vikas Khanna
Sorry, Google, we’re playing a wild card here. Although the American Bobby Flay officially ranks fifth (also known from TV and cookbooks in America), India’s most famous chef is Vikas Khanna. And because India has a much larger population than the United States, we’re putting this hugely respected chef from India in the spotlight. Michelin star, books, MasterChef India judge—and someone who also makes documentaries and supports charitable causes. Go Vikas!
Except for our number 5, this list was compiled by the Chef’s Pencil platform, based on 12 months of Google Search results through January 2022.
Read also:
- What (Michelin-starred) chefs always have at home
- Jamie Oliver has known it for years: this is how you make the perfect omelet
- Michelin-starred chef Joris Bijdendijk: ‘No-shows are destroying our business’
