If you eat out regularly across the 50 states, you already know that we're living in a golden age of American dining. These 46 chefs, who opened restaurants, released cookbooks or came into their own, helped to change our idea of what it means to eat in the U.S. now. Whether they're digging deep into the pantries of their ancestors to share very personal takes on the world's great cuisines, giving breakfast its due or celebrating vegetables in a way that would have been unfathomable a decade ago, these are the chefs, both new and established, from coast to coast, who are killing it.

Consider this our yearbook of the culinary experts who would land on the "Most Talented" page. Get to know them and discover for yourself why they're at the top of their games.

Compiled by Devra Ferst, Elyse Inamine and Abby Reisner

*Quotes have been edited for style and clarity.