What Chef do you look up to?

[PastaKing]

For me, I look up to alot. I learned alot of my cooking from my Grandmother. As a formal way of cooking, i learned from a guy named Sal who was once the private chef to Donald Trump, and has cooked for a few Presidents.

I like watching Giada and Ramsey as well. I learned a lot from Giada.
But who do you guys look up to as a chef?

 

[CanadianMeg]

My grandmother taught me to bake when I was a kid. I loved baking long before I taught myself to cook as an adult.

For professional and/or celebrity chefs, one of the first I really admired was Anna Olson. She's a pastry chef and does both the ordinary and fancier. I could relate to the things she was making. The things I learned from her shows were more readily tried.

Nowdays as I'm learning more and more to cook, I'm like Ina Garten and Tyler Florence because they make food that I could actually eat. I find tips that are useful.

 

[shortchef]

Paul Prudhomme (whom I have met twice, he is a very nice gentleman); Jacque Pepin (met him, too, and he didn't laugh at my bad French) and Julia Child, whom I always wanted to meet and never did. I feel these people taught me to cook. My grandmother died before I got interested in cooking and my mother didn't like to cook, but she was always working. But I got a good education anyway.

 

[GotGarlic]

I'm pretty much self-taught, although my mother always said, if you can read, you can cook

I discovered fresh herbs in the early '90s, which ramped up my cooking a lot. Then I discovered the Food Network in 2002 when I was home recovering from surgery. Rachael Ray actually has lots of great shortcut tips that we use regularly now, and I like a lot of her recipes. Shirley Corriher's book "Cookwise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed," is another great source of general cooking info. And I've been getting Cook's Illustrated magazine for several years now and love that, too. So I have a lot of influences

 

[babetoo]

i wouldn't say i look up to him, but i think tyler florence is very knowable. he makes straight forward dishes.

i don't like the new show the neeleys. all that hugging, kissing, by play , i find annoying. save it for the bedroom.

babe

 

[kadesma]

I don't have a favorite chef, PBS and Julia were a favorite and so easy to learn from and follow..Jaques, and even the knew crop of food tv chefs have something to give us..It is up to us..We learn from each other right here at DC..For me, having one of you make a suggestion about a recipe or post one I think I'd like, that is a favorite chef right here at home..The main thing is having the love of cooking and enjoying watching others enjoy what you've fixed..Then, we just love cooking in general and appreciate those who inspire us to do more.
kadesma

 

[jkath]

I always looked to my Mom & Grandma for great cooking lessons. Now (I know she's not particularly a "chef", but) I wish I could cook alongside Martha Stewart. I like Giada a lot & Alton Brown (have learned so much!).

 

[kitchenelf]

The chef/cook I look up to is the one that can provide me with a recipe that is easy and delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, there are many!

 

[smoke king]

"Papa Doc" Duvalier is the chef I most look out for.......whats that ? Oh, the chef I most look up to (that does make a lot more sense now that I think about it!)
Since my interest in cooking is still sort of new (5-6 years) I am absolutely blown away by so many of them that it is hard to choose. The chef that made the biggest impression on me would have to be Wiley Dufrane-I just find the whole "mad scientist" thing so friggin' cool!(most likely a guy thing)

Oh yeah, and also my nana............

 

[Bilby]

My mum taught me the basics and my SIL showed that there were other ways of doing things.

My earliest cookbooks were my mums and the earliest cooking show I remember is Josphine Farley, so Josphine Farley and Margaret Fulton were my earliest professional inspirations. Since then, no one chef/cook has inspired me over and above another. Watching a range of shows taught me techniques more than recipes, and reading menus has given me more inspiration than any cookbook or cooking show.

Out of the celebrity chefs around these days, I really like Gordon Ramsay, George Colombaris, Geoff Jansz, Manu Fidel and Gabriel Gate. Think I might be liking Matt Moran as well. Haven't seen much of the US chefs to comment on them.

 

[Loprraine]

My favourite Chef is my fiancee.

 

[buckytom]

very tall ones...

 

[JoAnn L.]

very tall ones...

Alton Brown is my favorite chef but buckytom, you are one of my favorite people.

 

[Weeks]

I look up to guys like Bourdain. He's been through the worst of what the industry can throw at him and is still kicking (amazingly). Classics from Escoffier find their way into my cooking a lot, and I'm always poking through my Julia Child, The Joy of Cooking.

 

[Robo410]

Well, as far as TV personalities go:

I grew up with Julia Child and with mom, cooked many of the French classics as best as we could in the limitations our home kitchen.

Currently I like to watch Tyler Florence, Mario Batali, Tony Bordain when he's cooking or "teaching" not just being snide, Sara Moulton.

I have had some great chefs as teachers at CIA. The passion, knowledge, and skill of these chefs is inspiring.

My favorite local chef is Nick Garyantes of Restaurant 821 in Wilmington DE ... very creative ... another local of national renown is David Leo Banks of Harry's Savoy and Seafood Grill.