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There are successful restaurants owned by celebrities, and then there are restaurants owned by celebrity chefs. What's the difference? Restaurants owned by celebrities seldom have their direct input when it comes to food preparation. They simply hire a chef to cook the food.
On the other hand, restaurants are owned by celebrity chefs who actually know how to make a huge difference. There's no denying the impact food has on various cultures, bringing friends and families together to enjoy cuisines from all walks of life. With that being said, here are ten of the top restaurants owned by celebrity chefs.
Gordon Ramsay Pub And Grill
If you're a food connoisseur at any level, then you more than likely came across the name of Chef Gordon Ramsey a few times on your local cooking network. He's the definition of a celebrity chef, as he is best known as a host on his Fox reality television show, Hell's Kitchen, as well as Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. Ramsey plays a judge on the show where chefs go head-to-head in a fierce competition for who will be chosen to be head chef. The British chef has a chain of 35 restaurants across the globe, with five Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill Restaurants in Las Vegas, Nevada, and many others in different states. Supermodel Gigi Hadid and soccer player David Beckham are both loyal fans of Ramsay and his food.
Per Se Restaurant
Like Ramsay, Thomas Keller is a chef renowned for his superb cooking skill and exceptionally high standards. Thomas Keller is a chef, cookbook writer, and restauranteur who owns a streamline of restaurants from the west to the east coast of America. A few of those award-winning restaurants include The French Laundry, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, and La Calenda in California. On the east coast in New York, he opened up another Bochun Bakery, TAK Room, and the renowned Per Se restaurant, as well as the Surf Club in Miami. The celebrity chef has also rubbed shoulders with celebrities themselves, serving Emma Stone at The French Laundry in California and working with Adam Sandler on the 2004 film Spanglish.
Nobu New York
For as much salmonella poisoning a person is likely to get from sushi, that doesn't deter many people. It sure did not deter chef Nobu Matsuhisa from opening one of the most opulent and distinguished sushi restaurants on the planet. Named after the Japanese chef, Nobu New York was formed in 1994 through a partnered business venture of Nobu Matsuhisa, actor Robert De Niro, film producer Meir Teper, and restauranteur Drew Nieporent. Nobu entered the chef spotlight after emigrating from Japan to LA, where, in 1987, he opened his first restaurant called Matsuhisa, which is where De Niro first spotted him. Since then, they've opened restaurants in Europe, Asia, Africa, The Middle East, Mexico, The Caribbean, and across America. Nobu Malibu frequently hosts celebrity guests, such as Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Rosie Huntington, and many others.
Maude
Maude restaurant was founded in Beverly Hills, CA, in 2014 by celebrity chef Curtis Stone. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Stone is recognized not only as a television personality but is also an established author. Having been taught the art of cooking by his grandmother, Stone went on to cook at some of the top Australian restaurants before moving to London, where he enhanced his cooking skills. He's been on numerous cooking programs in Australia, the UK, and The United States and is especially known for his role as host and judge on Top Chef Masters. Although designed with a modest 25 seats, the Maude is always booked, reserved for celebrities who live in the Beverly Hills area.
Amalfi
Located in Caesar's Place of Las Vegas, Bobby Flay's Italian restaurant, Amalfi, is a wildly popular food spot on the Las Vegas Strip. You may have heard of this charismatic celebrity chef on cooking channels or possibly may have remembered him from his shows Throwdown with Bobby Flay and Beat Bobby Flay. He had several celebrities on his show, such as Tony Hawk, Chrissy Teigen, Jason Biggs, and Anthony Jackson. He was also a chef contestant on the reality cooking show, Iron Chef as well as a television personality on Food Network for many years. Flay closed down Mesa Grill in Vegas in 2020 to replace it with his first attempt at an Italian restaurant, Amalfi. Since its grand opening on June 18th, it's been doing excellently despite the pandemic.
Babbo Restaurant
Like most other celebrity chefs, Mario Francesco Batali is the co-owner of many restaurants, has written legendary cookbooks, and is praised for his chef skills in the kitchen. In 1998, Batali, along with his business partner, Joe Bastianich, opened the classic Italian and modern Italian-American cuisine, Baboo. Batali has also been a contestant on Iron Chef and has made numerous appearances even after being dropped from the show. His fame sprang from New York, where the first Babbo restaurant was opened. Its success caused the founding of many other restaurants, such as Lupa (1999), Otto (2003), Del Posto (2005), and a chain of luxury Italian supermarkets called Eataly. However, due to multiple cases of sexual misconduct, Mario Batali lost his shares in the massive empire he built with the Bastianich family.
Do Hwa Restaurant
There are a few things we know Quentin Tarantino for, and they are blood, gore, and vampires (alluding to From Dusk Til' Dawn with George Clooney). But one of the things we may not know about Tarantino is his love for Asian food. Tarantino is a successful film director, screenwriter, producer, author, actor, and co-owner of the Do Hwa Restaurant with his partner, Jenny Kwak. The restaurant specializes in Korean cuisine and offers homemade meals such as seafood pancakes, braised pork ribs, spicy squid salutes, and Korean barbecue. The restaurant is set up in such a way that the customer has the option of a cooking or non-cooking table. To make your dining experience even more special, Quentin Tarantino often makes spontaneous appearances on any given night!
NOLA Restaurant
Known not only for its mouthwatering Southern comfort food, but NOLA Restaurant is also a favorite because of its southern hospitality and family-friendly atmosphere. The critically acclaimed restaurant has been opened since 1992 and rests in the heart of New Orleans' French Quarter. NOLA is owned by perhaps one of the founding celebrity chefs in the cooking industry, Emeril Lagasse. No doubt, he holds his own as one of the greats among internationally known chefs, even winning the National Best Recipe award in 2003. NOLA offers a fusion of traditional Creole, Acadian, and Southern cuisines with a modern twist. Emeril has also appeared on Iron Chef and has hosted a slew of his own television shows since the 1990s.
Alma Nove
If you've ever heard of the reality tv series, Wahlburgers, then you may have an idea who Paul Wahlberg is. He is the proud owner of Alma Nove, a restaurant with Italian and Mediterranean blended flavors, which he owns with his brothers Mark and Donnie, and a family friend named Ed St. Croix. The restaurant holds a spacious 143-seat waterfront dining area, which is just right for large parties. The name was given to the restaurant, Alma, was borrowed from the actual name of the family's matriarch, Alma. Paul's reality TV show, Wahlburgers, appears on A&E and is considered a hit show, which solidifies his place among top celebrity chefs.
Sources: The Infatuation, Emerils Restaurants, Las Vegas Magazine
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