Alex Carson
Celebrity Chefs
Celebrity chefs make most people jealous. They can whip up a delicious meal with very few ingredients, or bizarre ingredients. When you see these chefs on TV, they seem like the nicest people in the world. What you may not know is that some of them are putting on an act. Here are some of the famous chefs who are jerks in real life.
Paula Deen
Paula Dean was the sweetheart of Southern cooking for years. She had her own show and her own line of cookware. When he admitted to using the “N” word in 2013, it proved that she might not have been the nicest person. Her publicists claim that she should be excused since when she was born, the schools in the south were segregated. Blacks and whites also had separate bathrooms and had to drive in different parts of the bus. Sorry, Paula, racism is racism no matter how you look at it.
Rocco Dispirito
Rocco Dispirito made millions as a restaurateur and television personality. When his mother got old, he was her sole caretaker. When she died, he went to war with his two siblings over her will. His mother left Rocco 50 percent of his estate, and the other 50 percent was supposed to be split between his two siblings. He claimed that the money he spent on his mother’s care entitled him to a larger share of the estate. He already had millions of dollars. Bringing this to court was greedy and petty.
Guy Fieri
According to David Page, the producer of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Guy Fieri isn’t easy to work with. As his fame grew, his ego did too. He is also said to be a homophobe. When he was doing a show at a restaurant, he stormed out because the two men who owned the restaurant were life partners. He told Page, “You can’t send me to talk to gay people without warning! Those people weird me out!” Someone should tell him that it is the 21st century, and this type of thinking is unacceptable.
Gordon Ramsey
Gordon Ramsey looks like a jerk on TV, and he is like that in real life. He is known for berating people’s food posts on Twitter. He calls people out on their cooking and their presentation. There is no way that his disgusting, unsolicited comments could be called constructive criticism.
Rachel Ray
Rachel Ray seems very sweet and cheerful on her show. It is reported that when the cameras stop rolling, she isn’t quite as nice. She is said to have a potty mouth and a very short temper. Some say that she makes racially-charged comments about Oprah and rude comments about other celebrities. She isn’t even nice to her own family. When she planned a trip to Italy for her 10th anniversary with family and friends, she didn’t invite her father. He said that it was very disappointing.
Action Bronson
Action Bronson, a famous chef, built an empire with his brash behavior, but there have been times when he went too far. In 2012, he posted photos of Instagram of a drunk person that his friend doused in water. One of the captions read, “Close up of a Drunk Mexican Tranny after Bess poured a bottle of water on its head.” When people became outraged, he tried to apologize by saying, “I love gay people, Trannies, not so much.” This wasn’t an apology at all. It was more of another pop shot.
Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver isn’t a complete jerk, but he did do something that upset a lot of people. He went on LBC radio, explaining why women should breastfeed as if he were an expert. Many people called in and were disgusted by Jamie’s lecture.
Ina Garten
Ina Garten seems like the sweetest lady on the food scene, but she really isn’t. The Make-A-Wish Foundation reached out to her about a young boy suffering from leukemia. The 6-year-old boy was her biggest fan, and they asked her to do a cooking session with him. She refused not once, but twice. She tried to make excuses for herself, but there is really no excuse for being so cruel.
Ree Drummond
Ree didn’t use racial remarks in her private life like some celebrity chefs. She did it on her show, Pioneer Women. She served her family a tray of Asian hot wings. Her family didn’t like them, and the crew was asking where the real wings were. She gave them a plate of American Buffalo wings, saying it was a joke and she would never do something like that to them. The Asian-American community was offended.
Geoffrey Zakarian
The chopped star, a famous chef is a television personality and a restaurateur. In 2011, he filed for bankruptcy and faced lawsuits from his former employees at his restaurant that is now closed. They claimed that he didn’t compensate his staff for overtime, and he falsified pay records.
Bobby Flay
In 2014, Bobby Flay’s wife, actress Stephanie March was rushed to the hospital. Rather than rushing to her side, he offered to have an assistant sit with her because he was busy. He also cheated on his wife of 10 years with that same assistant, Elyse Tirrell. When Stephanie found out and asked Bobby to move out, he canceled all of her credit cards, which her lawyer said was “bullying through economic warfare.”
Anthony Bourdain
The late Anthony Bourdain a famous chef but notorious for his insults. He had no problem mocking his fellow chefs and trashing the Food Network. He called Emeril Lagasse, “Ewok-like,” and he called French chef, Alain Ducasse, an “arrogant f**kwit.” And he even went as far as to call Rachel Ray, a “bobblehead,” and a “freakazoid.”
Mario Batali
In 2010, the wait staff of Mario and his business partner, Joe Bastianich had a class-action suit filed against them. The staff aid that the restaurant would deduct 4 to 5 percent of the wine sales from the tip pool. The restaurant owners settled for $5.25 million. Also, four women have come forward with sexual abuse claims against Batali, and he didn’t deny the allegations. He just tried to downplay them a bit.
Anne Burrell
Anne Burrell was sued in 2009 for discrimination. Employees, former employees, and co-workers all came forward with stories about Anne calling the women she worked with names like dumb, stupid, an idiot, and slutty. She commented on the way they dressed and their sex lives. Many had no choice but to quit. She was partners with Phil Casaceli at Phil & Anne’s Good Time Lounge. When he decided they couldn’t work together, she offered to buy him out for $1 and closed the restaurant without telling him. She isn’t even nice to fans at appearances. Fans claim that she is snippy and condescending.
Martha Stewart
According to Martha Stewart’s daughter, Alexis, a famous chef, she may be kind on-screen, but she wasn’t’ a loving mother. She claims Martha never had time for her at home, and never did the cute, fun things she did on the show. She also told her that the best way to avoid growing old single, that Alexis should trap a man with a baby. Finally, she compared her mother’s temper tantrums to those in Mommie Dearest.
