The Net Worths of Your Favorite Food Network Chefs
Whether hosting, competing, or judging, appearing on a Food Network show has a lot of perks. You get to do what you love while sampling some of the best food in the world. You get awarded amazing opportunities like authoring a cookbook or snagging an endorsement deal. And then there's the money. These chefs have found fame, but what about their fortunes? Check out how much your favorite celebrity chefs and Food Network stars are worth. It might make you reconsider going to culinary school.
Alton Brown — $13 Million
Quirky, science-loving and sometimes just plain evil, chef Alton Brown has grown his fortune over his long career on the Food Network. After graduating from the New England Culinary Institute in 1997, he starred in his show Good Eats just one year later.
Good Eats ended after 14 highly successful seasons but that didn't mean Brown disappeared off our screens. Since then, he's kept the money rolling in with hosting gigs on Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen, and with the sales of numerous cookbooks.
Bobby Flay — $30 Million
Since graduating first in his class from the French Culinary Institute, Bobby Flay has dominated the Food Network. While some of his $30 million net worth comes from his chain of burger restaurants in America, the bulk comes from his television appearances.
Since 2000, Flay has starred in Iron Chef America, Throwdown! With Bobby Flay, Beat Bobby Flay, Brunch @ Bobby's, and Worst Cooks In America. It also helps that Flay is one of the best looking chefs on television.
Padma Lakshmi — $30 Million
It makes total sense that the host of Food Network's biggest show also has one of the biggest net worths. Padma Lakshmi has been the drop-dead beauty who has hosted Top Chef for more than 12 years. She is paid $50,000 per episode and also serves as an executive producer.
Add that to her years of modeling, successful acting career, book deal, and work as a columnist for Vogue, Lakshmi is one of the most successful women on our television screens.
Guy Fieri — $8.5 Million
Guy Fieri might not have the highest net worth of all the Food Network chefs but he's definitely one of the most recognizable. With his bleached spiky hair and tacky bowling shirts, the Mayor of Flavortown has built a brand around his huge personality.
While he has brought in some serious cash thanks to shows like Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and Guy's Grocery Games, he also charges $100,000 for media appearances. Not too bad for a guy with a bleached soul patch.
Giada De Laurentiis — $20 Million
Ever since the debut of Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis has been a staple on the Food Network. Since the show premiered in 2003, De Laurentiis has also hosted Giada At Home, Giada Entertains, and Giada In Paradise. Basically, if you put the chef's first name on a television show, it's bound to be good.
De Laurentiis' $20 million net worth is also thanks to her pay advances from various cookbooks, which are said to be as big as $2.5 million per book.
Ree Drummond —$50 Million
The Pioneer Woman might cook and act like a ranch wife and mother but with a $50 million net worth, she can live like a Hollywood A-lister. While you might think most of her income comes from the Food Network show, The Pioneer Woman, she also makes millions of dollars in advertisement revenue from her independent blog.
Drummond also receives $2 million a year from the U.S. Government because her estate is so large that they keep wild horses on the land for "animal protection."
Duff Goldman — $5 Million
If cake-master Duff Goldman had never become a featured host on the Food Network, he'd probably do just fine with his income from his bakery, Charm City Cakes. But thanks to his show Ace of Cakes, his business has skyrocketed.
Not only has his business (and his net worth) been booming since Ace of Cakes, but he's also starred on other Food Network shows like Kids Baking Championship and Buddy Vs. Duff. He might have a $5 million net worth but he still refuses to dress in anything nicer than a t-shirt and cargo shorts.
Valerie Bertinelli — $20 Million
Duff's co-host of Kids Baking Championship, Valerie Bertinelli, is worth four times as much! While she brings in an estimated $2 million annually from her hosting jobs on Valerie's Home Cooking and Kids Baking Championship, most of her money from her early work as an actress.
Long before she was a Food Network star, Bertinelli was best known for her roles on One Day At A Time, Touched By An Angel, and Hot In Cleveland.
Ina Garten — $50 Million
Ina Garten is one of the few people that has made her entire fortune off her skills in the kitchen. Thanks to her long-running show Barefoot Contessa, a line of food products, and successful cookbooks, this self-taught chef is living the American dream.
Her fortune is even more impressive when you realize she didn't start her food career until she was in her thirties. Before that, she worked in the White House as a budget manager.
Jamie Oliver — $400 Million
He might not be a Food Network staple but Jamie Oliver is one of the richest chefs in the world. In 2016 alone, Oliver brought in $39 million. Most of his net worth comes from his television show The Naked Chef and various book deals.
The rest of Oliver's $400 million net worth is thanks to lucrative advertising deals. The British chef has a line of Tefal cookware, has partnered with the grocery chain Sobeys, and is a spokesperson for the meal kit subscription service HelloFresh.
Martha Stewart — $638 Million
In 2004, the public watched Martha Stewart struggle publicly with money after being convicted and sent to prison for the ImClone stock trading scandal. While many thought the crime would ruin Stewart's culinary empire, it did quite the opposite. By 2006, her company had become profitable again and by 2018, she was back on top with a net worth of $638 million.
That net worth is thanks to multiple cookbooks, her magazine and show Martha Stewart Living, and most recently, the tv show Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party.
Gordon Ramsay —$190 Million
Not only is Gordon Ramsay one of the top-earning chefs in the world, but he's also a top-earning celebrity. Thanks to his long-running shows Hell's Kitchen, Master Chef, and Kitchen Nightmares, Ramsay has built a reputation that continues to bring in cash.
With a $225,000 per episode fee, Ramsay made $62 million in 2018 alone. Considering the fact he's richer than most celebrities, we don't know why he still needs to yell all the time.
Rachel Ray — $60 Million
With 22 cookbooks under her belt, a magazine with 1.7 million subscribers, and a successful television show is it any surprise that celebrity chef Rachel Ray is worth $60 million? Over the past 20 years, Ray has not only built a cooking empire but an entire brand around her lifestyle.
And no, she's not slowing down any time soon. Ray is going to be reviving her series 30 Minute Meals in 2019. There's no doubt that we'll all be glued to our television screens.
Anthony Bourdain — $1.2 Million
Before the tragic passing of celebrity culinary expert Anthony Bourdain, many people believed his net worth to be in the tens of millions. While he once told Wealthsimple that reports of his net worth were "ten times overstated" it wasn't until his will was released that it revealed he was worth $1.2 million.
Despite several cookbooks and starring on the show Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown for several years, the chef was fickle with his money. He left nearly all of his estate to his 11-year-old daughter.
Andrew Zimmern – $8 Million
Thanks to his penchant for trying strange and unusual foods, Andrew Zimmern has built a massive net worth. The award-winning host of The Big Food Truck Tip and Bizarre Foods earns $35,000 for every episode of Food Network television that he films.
Zimmern's $8 million net worth is even more inspiring because he's a recovered addict. His restaurant career was put on hold for many years due to drug and alcohol addiction that left him homeless. Thankfully, he got clean and now volunteers to help others do the same.
Ted Allen — $5 Million
Ted Allen is best known today for his hosting duties on the Food Network show Chopped. He's also increased his net worth with appearances on Beat Bobby Flay, Cutthroat Kitchen, and The Next Food Network Star. Long before that though, he was the resident food and wine expert on Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.
Does that mean we'll soon see Antoni from Queer Eye become a Food Network star? We'll have to wait and see.
Tyler Florence — $15 Million
He might look like a knock-off Bobby Flay but Tyler Florence is a highly respected chef in his own craft. Florence began his culinary career in 1991 and since then, has been a host and judge on numerous Food Network shows.
He currently hosts Tyler's Ultimate and The Great Food Truck Race, and he has co-hosted Worst Cooks In America with Anne Burrell. On top of it all, Florence has already released 11 cookbooks since 2003 which still make him royalties today.
Robert Irvine — $15 Million
Robert Irvine's net worth of $15 million is thanks to hosting shows like Dinner: Impossible, World Cooks in America, and Restaurant: Impossible. He's also been the executive chef in impressive restaurants like Caesars Atlantic City and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.
Irvine received his culinary training after enlisting in the British Royal Navy, which might explain why he is one of the most jacked chefs on the Food Network. His muscles are scary enough, not just imagine him holding a sharp knife.
Anne Burrell — $5 Million
Anne Burrell never set out to be a TV personality. She went to school for English and Communications but after graduating, decided to go to culinary school in Italy. She worked in small Italian restaurants until the mid-2000s when she returned to America.
Thanks to her skills, celebrity chef Mario Batali asked her to be one of his sous chefs and she's been cooking up a storm on television ever since. Her no-nonsense attitude has helped her whip the Worst Cooks In America into shape, and whip up a net worth of $5 million.
Noel Fielding — $6 Million
The host of the Great British Bake Off has racked up a huge net worth over the years but it's not all from his Food Network gigs. Noel Fielding reportedly makes $350,000 USD per season of GBBO, but that's nothing compared to the cash he's made elsewhere.
Fielding has also made money from starring in sitcoms like The Mighty Boosh and The IT Crowd. He's appeared in multiple movies and even started his own band. Add that to his Food Network revenue and that $6 million net worth makes a lot more sense.
Emeril Lagasse — $70 Million
Known for his Creole and Cajun cuisine, Emeril Lagasse has built a Food Network empire around his masterful recipes and hilarious catchphrases. Lagasse started out as a chef in restaurants around New Orleans until his first television appearances on the show Great Chefs.
After his success on the show, Food Network picked him up and since then he has hosted Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril. With catchphrases like "Kick it up a notch!" and "Bam!" he's a bonafide Food Network star.
Alex Guarnaschelli — $2 Million
After competing on Iron Chef America and becoming the first female Iron Chef, Alex Guarnashelli cemented her place in Food Network history. After her win, she became the host of The Cooking Loft and Alex's Day Off.
When Guarnaschelli isn't hosting her own shows or battling it out on Iron Chef, she serves as a judge on various other Food Network shows like Chopped and Guy's Grocery Games. With all those Food Network appearances we're shocked she doesn't have a greater ne worth!
Masaharu Morimoto — $18 Million
Born in Hiroshima, Japan, Masaharu Morimoto received his culinary training in sushi and the traditional Kaiseki cuisine. In 1985, he decided he wanted to learn more about Western cuisine and traveled around the United States when he eventually became the head chef at the famed Nobu restaurant.
His success led him to compete on the Food Network show Iron Chef America, The Next Iron Chef, and Iron Chef Gauntlet. He has also appeared on Hell's Kitchen and Top Chef as a judge.
Simon Majumdar — $700,000
Simon Majumdar has served as a judge on Food Network shows like Iron Chef, Beat Bobby Flay, Market Kitchen, and Cutthroat Kitchen. He's unique in the fact that he didn't start working in the food industry until he was 40.
Before that, Majumdar had a successful career as a book publisher. In 2007, his mother passed away and to deal with the depression he decided to "go everywhere" and "eat everything." Since then, he's become an acclaimed chef.
Jet Tila — $3 Million
Most people might recognize Jet Tila best for his judging appearances on Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen, Iron Chef America, and Guy's Grocery Games. What many people might not know it that he is a record-breaking chef. He holds the record for the world's largest stir fry, the world's largest seafood stew, and the world's largest California roll.
On top of breaking records and bringing in cash, Tila is also a culinary ambassador from Thailand to America.
