My vote goes to Gordon Ramsey. I've had my share of his created dishes on my SQ flights and have found them to be excellent.

I must have missed the point of the question. I think Gordon Ramsey is probably the best chef. I don't think the OP asked who had the best restaurant, but who was the best chef. From my limited culinary experience, it seems that GR has the best technique and knowledge. I would love to taste his cooking firsthand.

If the question had been who's the best Southern chef, then of course, hands down - Paula Deen!

Lorraine Pascale has just appeared on UK TV with a stunningly good programme about baking.


It's hard to ignore that as an ex-model she is stunningly good looking but what is so unusual is that her approach to baking simplifies and makes excellent results possible very simply. She is an experimenter and simplifier. The programme is well engineered so it actually instructs, debunks and simplifies. There hasn't been a programme yet where I have said "I can do that" and have got up and "done it". Yesterday she made a swiss roll without butter (has to be eaten straight away) and included new tips for me like adding a tablespoon of water to stop the sponge mix cracking when you fold it. Never heard the tip before ...... but it works. Many new tips included in each new idea.

Yesterday she also made some focaccia which I thought was "faulty" as it only had a single rise ie no proving. I thought they'd made a mistake as no reference was made to this only having a single rise. I checked with the web site above. No mention. I tried it. My wife said it was the best she had tasted. So from getting the flour out of the cupboard to eating it with some chicken liver pate was around 2 hours and it was perfect.

Highly recommend it.

It has to be Heston Blumenthal. A brilliant creative chef and a charismatic, entertaining and informative TV host too. Heston's Feasts was a must watch for any serious foody.

As much as I love Bourdain, he's not (and he would be the first to admit this) in Heston's league as a chef.

Hubert Keller.

Love Fleur de Lys (SF). Have not tried Burger Bar. Enjoy his PBS show, and he was in the Champion's Round of the first Top Chef Masters. Very innovative dishes with incredible detail to plating.

I would have to say Cat Cora.

What's Cat Cora's restaurant ?

She would be great

I have to say, i'd love to eat at one of Richard Blaise's restaurants. I know he's not quite as big a name as others, but i like his style from what i've seen on Top chef

If I said anyone other than Alton Brown, I would have to change my FT handle :p

Watched the premiere episode of his Good Eats program and have been a fan ever since. He has an amazing depth of knowledge about ingredients and I would be honored to have him cook a meal for me.

BTW: He calls himself a cook, not chef, but I don't care

I had to look this up. Seems she has a place at Disney in California.

Bigger news for this group is probably the announcement I found at her website:

COMING SOON! CAT AT SFO

Cat's newest restaurant, a cocktail and tapas lounge called Cat at SFO, will open at San Francisco International Airport in the Spring of 2011

As a UA flyer, I can envision a MR out to SFO and back, with a nice lunch & adult beverage in between....

Paula Dean for ther good southern comfort foods... Yum!

Her name is on a Disney restaurant in Florida, where I had one my absolute worst meals of 2010. Left a bad taste in my mouth for hours. I don't know how much involvement she has in the place, however; I suspect that it was mostly creating the menu.

For watching on American television I like Antony Bourdain, but I will add Alfons Schuhbeck to the list.

OT to be sure, but what involvement do these "celebrity chefs" who have multiple restaurants have in the day to day operation? I have to think it can't be a whole lot.

Ramsay. Hands down.

alton brown if you actually want to learn something, gordon ramsay if you're looking for entertainment, and the new crop of female chefs if you're looking for softcore porn.

Batali