Frankly, I don't personally think there are ANY "best" celebrity chefs today. I think they're all media puppets. I hate all the hoopla, the bands/music, the circles of "pseudo-friends" sampling the cooking - the whole deal. Also can't stand the pseudo-reality show chefs - aka Paula Dean & the Barefoot Contessa. And if I hear about just ONE more show starring Rachael Ray. . . . Who are they kidding with these - we're having a party, come watch our guests swoon over our food? What else are these guests going to do? Gag on camera? Lol!!
I'm sorry, but my HANDS DOWN celebrity chef will always be the late great Julia Child. She fully explained the recipe, the ingredients (& sometimes their history), how to best prepare them, & how to serve them - without a band, without an audience, without hoopla. Just serious cooking. Which is what a cooking show should be all about.
Not all this current culinary CIRCUS that Food Network feels everyone should be watching. When Food Network first came on the air, I watched it all the time. GREAT shows - all the golden oldies. Julia Child, Graham Kerr, & others - when cooking shows were COOKING shows - not a jump to primetime TV. I don't think Julia Child was all that interested in getting her own talk show. She was a SERIOUS cook - not a bimbo with a pan.