Famous Chefs
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3 min readGreat chefs inspire us with their creative recipes and love for food. When featured on television, the best chefs help us gain confidence in our cooking abilities by breaking down seemingly complicated recipes into simple steps. Even chefs who choose to stay behind the scenes can achieve gastronomic greatness, their culinary artistry admired by all who dine in their top-rated restaurants. Today, we're remembering some of our favorite chefs who have died.
PAUL BOCUSE (1926 - 2018)
Photo by Michel ARTAULT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
French chef PAUL BOCUSE (1926 - 2018) was "modest about his accomplishments in the kitchen but grandiose in his dreams," according to his Associated Press obituary, crediting his long reign as France's master chef to good produce fresh from the garden, a superb kitchen staff, and happy diners.
BENOIT VIOLIER (1971 - 2016)
Getty Images / AFP / Thomas Samson
BENOIT VIOLIER (1971 - 2016) had been dubbed the world’s best chef just months before his death. The chef and owner of Restaurant de l'hôtel de Ville in Crissier, Switzerland, named the best restaurant in the world by La Liste in 2015, found inspiration in the wild game he hunted near his home and restaurant.
View Benoit Violier's obituary
PENG CHANG-KUEI (1918 - 2016)
Chiang-Zhong Su/United Daily News/World Journal via AP
PENG CHANG-KUEI (1918 - 2016) is the chef credited with creating the famous dish General Tso’s Chicken. The sweet and spicy fried chicken dish was first prepared in Taiwan in 1952 and served to visiting U.S. Navy Admiral Arthur W. Radford. Impressed with the dish, the Admiral asked for its name and Peng quickly made one up. (General Tso was a famous 19th century military leader from Peng’s native Hunan Province in mainland China.)
View Peng Chang-Kuei's obituary
PAUL PRUDHOMME (1940 - 2015)
AP Photo/Dave Martin
Cajun chef PAUL PRUDHOMME (1940 - 2015) popularized spicy Louisiana cuisine and became one of the first American restaurant chefs to achieve worldwide fame.
View Paul Prudhomme's obituary
WILLIE MAE SEATON (1916 - 2015)
AP Photo
A chef recognized for her classic American food, WILLIE MAE SEATON (1916 - 2015) and her New Orleans restaurant helped put fried chicken on the culinary map.
View Willie Mae Seaton's obituary
HOMARO CANTU (1976 - 2015)
PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP/Getty Images
One of Chicago's most renowned chefs, HOMARO CANTU (1976 - 2015) artfully blended science and fine dining at his Michelin-starred restaurant Moto.
WALTER SCHEIB (1954 - 2015)
AP Photo/Matt Houston, File
WALTER SCHEIB (1954 - 2015) was White House chef for 11 years under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He died while hiking in the New Mexico mountains near Taos.
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