Food Network Chefs Throughout The Years
These culinary superstars are truly timeless
While our parents grew up on old-school cookbooks like The Joy of Cooking and Julia Child's French cuisine bible, Food Network is how most of our generation learned to cook our first great meal. If you're anything like us, you've likely spent entire Saturdays grilling with Bobby Flay or turned to Rachael Ray to help you conquer weeknight meal planning.
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Decades later, these TV chefs are continuing to cook in front of the camera, teaching a new fleet of aspiring chefs how to roast chicken and what it means to julienne a pepper. Follow us as we trace five Food Network stars throughout the years, from their early pre-TV careers to their status as beloved culinary icons.
Ina Garten
Before the words Barefoot Contessa were synonymous with denim shirts and roast chicken dinners, they were the name of Ina Garten's wildly popular specialty food store, which she ran for 20 years in East Hampton, New York.
Photo: @inagarten via Instagram
Ina Garten
Despite Garten admitting to never wanting to be a TV star, the show was an immediate hit when it premiered back in 2002.
Photo: Food Network via YouTube
Ina Garten
Over time, Garten's definitely gotten a little more comfortable in front of the camera: Her culinary reign spans cooking shows stretching over 24 seasons—including a new one in the works—as well as 10 cookbooks.
Photo: Quentin Bacon
Alton Brown
While working as a director, Alton Brown was dissatisfied with the dull state of cooking shows at the time. So the budding TV host enrolled in Vermont's New England Culinary Institute before creating the pilot episode of Good Eats. Food Network then picked up the hit show in 1999.
Photo: @altonbrown via Instagram
Alton Brown
Brimming with witty explanations, pop culture references and Brown's makeshift cooking gadgets, the program became a cult phenomenon, drawing in legions of nerdy fans during its 13-year run.
Photo: Alton Brown via Facebook
Alton Brown
Although the show's final season aired in 2012, Brown has kept his geeky, science-driven cooking alive through the Eat Your Science tour and his announced Good Eats revival.
Photo: Sarah de Heer
Rachael Ray
While toiling away at a gourmet grocery store in Albany, New York, Rachael Ray came up with the idea of a cooking class that taught customers the quickest way to get weeknight dinners on the table. The class eventually turned into a weekly local news segment, where she helped viewers churn out full meals in under 30 minutes.
Photo: CBS6 Albany via YouTube
Rachael Ray
30 Minute Meals was an integral part of Food Network's lineup, spanning 343 episodes over 27 seasons and adding phrases like "Yum-O!" and "Delish!" to our daily vocabulary.
Photo: Food Network via YouTube
Rachael Ray
Of course, that's not all this fan favorite has been up to. She currently hosts her own syndicated daytime talk show and even has her own magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray.
Photo: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Bobby Flay
After dropping out of high school at 17, Bobby Flay began working at his first restaurant. The restaurant's chef, impressed by Flay's talent, offered to pay for him to attend the prestigious French Culinary Institute in New York City.
Photo: International Culinary Center via Facebook
Bobby Flay
Flay's first Food Network show, Grillin' & Chillin', was just the beginning of his impressive résumé, which now lists 13 different shows.
Photo: Boomer5751 via YouTube
Bobby Flay
Fans who miss watching him compete against the best of the best can look forward to his return to Kitchen Stadium when Iron Chef Gauntlet premieres later this year.
Photo: Alyssa Ringler
Giada De Laurentiis
Upon graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Giada De Laurentiis returned to Los Angeles to work at Wolfgang Puck's Spago and later as a food stylist. She was discovered when a Food & Wine article featuring both her grandfather, filmmaker Dino De Laurentiis, and her family's recipes caught the eye of a Food Network executive.
Photo: @giadadelaurentiis via Instagram
Giada De Laurentiis
De Laurentiis's Everyday Italian debuted in 2002, was awarded a Daytime Emmy Award in 2008 and resulted in a series of popular cookbooks.
Photo: Food Network via YouTube
Giada De Laurentiis
She opened her eponymous—and first— restaurant in 2014 on the Las Vegas Strip and continues to serve as a judge on The Next Food Network Star.
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