No matter where I am in life, there are a few people I can always count on. These include Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsay, Bobby Flay, Ina Garten, and Tom Colicchio. I can always count on them to stand in front of the camera, smile, and cook something that will make me want to go out and buy everything in the supermarket. They just deliver with such passion and enthusiasm! There is always some fascinating rags-to-riches story behind the scenes that is rarely referred to, but that everyone knows about. Not to mention – anyone who can cook well instantly becomes about 100 times more attractive. So – how do you become a celebrity chef? What does the job include? Is it really as fun as it seems? (There is no way that it is not as fun as it seems. But let’s proceed.)
Celebrity chefs do more than just cook well. They become brands unto themselves. They host multiple shows. They commercialize their product. You can get Emeril Lagasse's cookware and Pasta sauces. Chef Ramsay’s television shows exist by the same name in multiple nations. Celeb chef restaurants become extravagant chains of Michelin-star-studded deliciousness, located in some of the world’s most exotic hot spots. They have multiple books out – because, let’s face it: reading their cookbooks is just not enough. We want to know about them, so we need their autobiographies… and the sequels to those, too. Anthony Bourdain has even written (read: poorly attempted) some fiction crime novels. They cook for the stars. They are stars. They are also incredibly successful businessmen and businesswomen. Yet – despite their seemingly unattainable level of success, we are able to relate to these chefs on a personal level. They and their jobs appear more accessible and real than the stars of Hollywood. There are even some shows based on this premise: The Next Food Network Star… and, oh, Top Chef. It could be you.
Annual Salary: It turns out that celebrity chefs make much less money than you would think. Don’t get me wrong – if you’re good at it, you will be making some serious cash. But in 2008 Forbes put out a list of the top ten earning celeb chefs and how much they make in a year. At the very top: Rachael Ray, earning around $18 Million a year. At number ten: Anthony Bourdain, at $1.5 Million a year (I wonder how much this list has changed since then). Reasons that these numbers may seem low have to do with the fact that these stars are mostly on cable salaries not broadcast network salaries. As Conan constantly complains on TBS – cable just pays less. These stars also can’t go on tour to bolster their income, and while they may charge a fortune for an appearance, these are comparatively rare. They also don’t really get product endorsement deals. They just do what they do best – make good food and market it. So what happens if you’re not in the top ten? How much do you make? Some random website named buzzle.com to the rescue! It states that executive chefs without a following make around $80-90K a year on average – so we know it’s somewhere between 100K and 1M (not a wide range at all). These numbers vary greatly with the amount of shows, books, products, appearances, and followers that each chef cultivates.
Advantages: Your own wikipedia page. Celebrity status for a universally appreciated skill – who doesn’t love good food? Usually it also means you have a great accent, or a cool personality, so that’s nice for you too. Your kids probably have awesome packed school lunches (right, Jamie Oliver?) It is someone’s job to prepare all of your ingredients in the right amounts, and to clean up after you cook. You regularly travel to some of the world’s busiest and most luxurious locations. People who are well fed are happy, so you’re probably happy. And well-fed.
Disadvantages: Being disappointed with 99% of what you eat at random. Do you know the joys of picking up a hot dog on a street corner? Or those nachos with the fake cheese? Celebrity status also comes with the constant media attention, which does not always work in your favor when you are accused of theft, DUIs, public indecency, or worse – refusing requests from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. You have to compete with Gordon Ramsay, and he is scary. You probably face at least some resentment when the dishes you prepare so effortlessly on television cause disasters in the kitchens of unwitting amateur cooks. Also, you are in serious danger of getting fat.
A brief description of Anthony Bourdain’s attempt at Gangster novel, Bone in the Throat:
“A wildly funny, irreverent tale of murder, mayhem, and the mob. When up-and-coming chef Tommy Pagana settles for a less than glamorous stint at his uncle's restaurant in Manhattan's Little Italy, he unwittingly finds himself a partner in big-time crime. And when the mob decides to use the kitchen for a murder, nothing Tommy learned in cooking school has prepared him for what happens next. With the FBI on one side, and his eccentric wise guy superiors on the other, Tommy has to struggle to do right by his conscience, and to avoid getting killed in the meantime. In the vein of Prizzi's Honor , Bone in the Throat is a thrilling Mafia caper laced with entertaining characters and wry humor. This first novel is a must-have for fans of Anthony Bourdain's nonfiction.”
…Wrong.
Forbes.com's Ten Top-Earning Celebrity Chefs
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