Estimated Net Worth: $50 million
Restaurant: N/A
As Seen On: The French Chef, Julia Child: Bon Appétit, and more
You could almost say that Julia Child has had two periods of being a celebrity chef — in life and after she passed away. She is actually regarded as America’s first celebrity chef. Her face first appeared on American TV in 1963 and it wasn’t long until she starred in many cooking shows of her own.
Her first TV show was “The French Chef”, as she specialized in French cooking. It was just the first of many cooking shows she hosted or starred in. Years after her passing, she was lucky enough to be portrayed by Meryl Streep (which is probably anyone’s dying wish) in the film “Julie & Julia.” She has inspired many modern-day celebrity chefs and her kitchen is still on display at the Smithsonian!
Jeff Smith
Estimated Net Worth: $1-5 million
Restaurant: N/A
As Seen On: The Frugal Gourmet
Jeff Smith was one of the first people ever to reach the status of a celebrity chef. He became known as the host of the cooking show "Frugal Gourmet in" 1997 and wrote a number of very successful cookbooks. Later in life, he faced a lawsuit from seven men who claimed that the chef had sexually abused them as teenagers.
There were probably eight victims, but it's been said he paid one of them for his silence. The suit was settled out of court, but the chef never recovered from the scandal. Smith's show was promptly canceled. His recipes even lost their luster, being called, "unreliable." The ruined cook died in his sleep in 2004.
Fanny Cradock
Estimated Net Worth: $1-5 million
Restaurant: N/A
As Seen On: The Big Time
If you don't know who Fanny Cradock is it wouldn't be surprising, as she is considered to be the earliest celebrity chef on UK television. Her on-screen career was about 20 years long and lasted from the 1950s to the 1970s. Prior to her TV career, Cradock published "The Practical Cook," her first cookbook, which was a great success and gained her a huge fanbase.
The book ended up launching a live cooking demonstration tour around the UK and launched her televised career. Her latest TV role was that of a judge on "The Big Time," an English reality show. One of her most memorable moments on the show was pretending to throw up when one of the contestants described what she was about to cook for Edward Heath, who was prime minister at the time. She must be Gordon Ramsay's biggest inspiration.
Rick Stein
Estimated Net Worth: $1-5 million
Restaurant: The Seafood Restaurant, Rick Stein's Fish Restaurant, Rick Stein Cafe
As Seen On: Rick Stein's Taste of the Sea, Rick Stein's Fruits of the Sea, Rick Stein's Seafood Odyssey, and more
Christopher Richard "Rick" Stein was born in England in 1947 and has made a name for himself in pretty much any food-related field. He ran the Stein hotel and restaurant business for more than four decades and appeared on numerous TV shows.
He has also written many cookbooks, but that almost goes without saying. Given that his celebrity chef status was achieved back in the 90s, he is one of the few celebrity chefs to have released DVD and VHS tapes. That's how long ago that was!
Amanda Freitag
Estimated Net Worth: $3 million
Restaurant: Cesca Enoteca & Trattoria
As Seen On: Unique Eats, Chopped, American Diner Revival
A Food Network frequent, Amanda Freitag is a celebrity chef you have to know. She graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1989 and started working in the field right away. Her first job after graduating was at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurant, Vong. After five years, she left the restaurant for other food-related endeavors, including working in France and Italy.
She started her own restaurant called Cesca Enoteca & Trattoria in 2003. Her latest TV appearance is with Ty Pennington on the TV show American Diner Revival, where she and Ty transform restaurants both in terms of menu and design.