These Pioneers Popularized “Celebrity Chefs” to the World

Celebrity chefs are all the rage these days. From food bloggers with passionate online followings to chefs who star in highly-rated television programs, there are all kinds of celebrities who share their passion for cooking with loyal fans on a daily basis.

If you flashback to 50 years ago or even just a decade ago, these celebrities were much more difficult to find. Check out these three pioneers who popularized and established the concept of a “celebrity chef” to the world.

Julia Child

Julia Child was arguably the first true “celebrity chef” as she rose to enormous popularity in the 1960s and 1970s. She showed ordinary people how to prepare once-inaccessible high-class French dishes on her beloved television show, showing that making delicious cuisine was possible for everyone.

Bobby Flay

In the 1990s, Bobby Flay revolutionized the concept of what a celebrity chef is. Rising to popularity on the nascent Food Network in the United States, Flay made a transition from Cajun chef into a cooking mogul, hosting a variety of cooking and food programs as well as publishing best-selling cookbooks.

Anthony Bourdain

Before Anthony Bourdain’s untimely passing in 2018, he was truly the king of the celebrity chef world. After starting as a chef at Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City, Bourdain wrote a tell-all book called Kitchen Nightmares that showed the less glamorous side of these kitchens to the world. Next, he starred in television programs that showed off food from around the world to audiences who loved his ability to tell stories through the food of local communities.