We Asked 14 Celeb Chefs How They Order Their Steak

At Tasting Table, we spend a lot of time speaking with top chefs from around the world about the various ways to prepare and cook all types of food and drink. We even chat with them about some of their favorite desserts, coffee brands, and biggest culinary adventures. Recently, Tasting Table had the opportunity to attend the New York City Food and Wine Festival and privilege of talking with some of the best chefs around. Among our questions regarding cooking techniques and the intricacies of ingredients, we inquired about how they like to order their steak when dining out.

Chefs often develop a personal cooking style that's typically influenced by cultural or familial connections. How they cook their food, though, is not necessarily how they order their food. Chefs often cook steak to medium rare — a doneness that is sometimes perceived as the pinnacle of a perfectly cooked steak. But not every chef prefers ordering or eating their steak this way. From black and blue to medium well, it may surprise you how your favorite celebrity chefs like to order their red meat.

Beginning his culinary career in esteemed kitchens across the world, executive chef and restaurateur Marc Murphy is well-known as one of the top judges on Food Network's, "Chopped." Though he likes to make steak at home, he tells us he enjoys a rare New York strip when he orders steak out. More often than not, you'll see this cut listed as a New York strip but it may also be called strip loin, ambassador, Kansas City strip, and sometimes, strip. It's taken from the loin primal section of the cow, which is right next to the rib prime. Unlike ribeye, which is available bone-in and boneless, New York strip is typically cut without a bone. Though, on occasion you may find it bone-in.

One of Murphy's best tips to elevate his steak is adding a sauce to his New York strip to create one of his favorite dishes. An au poivre sauce, which Murphy considers a classic, is a creamy peppercorn sauce that gives a tangy rare steak a little bit of sweet heat. It's often made with black peppercorns; however, Murphy prefers a green peppercorn sauce. If he opts for a tougher cut of beef, though, he prefers to braise it French style, like beef bourguignon.

Executive chef and restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian has had plenty of experience cooking in a steakhouse. But what about when someone else, like another chef at a restaurant, does the cooking? Zakarian tells us one of his favorite places to go for steak isn't even a steakhouse — the menu offers only a couple of burger and steak choices. But he considers it to be the best steakhouse in New York anyway. Zakarian, who is familiar to many as an Iron Chef and top judge on Food Network's, "Chopped," raves about one steak order, in particular, when he visits Minetta Tavern. "Oh my God," he says. "A côte de boeuf for two, medium rare, salted like crazy. That's it. I don't need anything else."

Côte de boeuf is French for prime rib and in the case of Zakarian's pick for côte de boeuf, it's dry aged and served with roasted marrow bones. Prime rib is thought to be enjoyed best when cooked to medium rare since it's a tender, flavorful cut of meat. Medium rare is the result of an internal meat temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit and frequently the preferred doneness for many cuts of beef.

Award-winning chef and restaurateur Michael Symon enjoys a good chuck roast or skirt steak and loves to indulge in beef cheeks. Starting as a rib cook, Symon has an impressive culinary resume that includes the Iron Chef title. Clearly, he knows how to cook a steak. But how does he prefer to enjoy a steak? When he's out and ordering steak from a restaurant, he prefers a ribeye. "I prefer the live fire that charcoal and wood brings," he says. "So when that's done perfectly, that, but if people don't know how to do that, give me that great crust."

Ribeye comes from the rib section of the cow where the meat is well marbled with fat. It's the ratio of fat and protein that makes ribeye so sought after by steak lovers. The combination of meat from the less active muscle and generous amount of fat throughout the cut creates tender and flavorful steaks. Symon enjoys eating his ribeye mid (medium) rare. But that's not all. "Crunchy sea salt, a little bit of extra virgin olive oil," he tells us, "I'm good."

As an author of cookbooks and a host on two food channels, Katie Lee probably thinks about cooking for others a lot. But what about the foods she enjoys eating? We wanted to learn more about what a cook's palate prefers when dining out. What do they order and how do they enjoy food made by others? Lee tells Tasting Table she really loves a ribeye as her go-to steak order. As far as how she enjoys that ribeye? "I like it medium," she tells us.

Ribeye is cut from the rib primal section of the cow — a muscle group that's not used as much as rump or shoulder. This muscle provides well-marbled meat that's tender, flavorful, and makes for a very popular cut. It's also the type of cut that's forgiving enough to cook it to different doneness levels. Ribeye is frequently cooked medium rare or rare but is still tender and tasty when it's cooked medium, where the internal temperature registers 140 degrees Fahrenheit and the center is a bright pink.

Alex Guarnaschelli is a well-known face and name in culinary circles. She's a cookbook author and television personality who offers top-notch cooking tips for home chefs. And with a title like Iron Chef and position of a judge on Food Network's, "Chopped," executive chef Guarnaschelli knows her way around cooking an amazing steak. But how does Guarnaschelli like to order steak when she's dining out in a restaurant? She tells Tasting Table, "I'm a medium or medium rare person generally."

Whether she enjoys her mother's loved ribeye Diane, strip steak with au poivre, or porterhouse with butter, the cooking method matters for Guarnaschelli. She tells us, "I like a hard sear in a cast iron skillet with butter." Indeed, one of the best ways to enjoy a steak, regardless of doneness, is to get a crispy sear on the exterior. Searing the outside puts the meat through the Maillard reaction, creating a mouthwatering caramelization that not only makes the meat look incredible but prompts the taste buds to spring into action in preparation for a juicy, beefy, umami bite.

Award-winning chef, executive producer, host, and television personality Andrew Zimmern has strong feelings about the temperature at which to enjoy a good steak. He tells Tasting Table, "I like my steak cooked charred, black and blue." Not too many steak enthusiasts eat their steak this way — seared over high heat to get a crispy exterior while the interior remains raw (or incredibly rare). For Zimmern, it goes beyond just black and blue doneness, though. "Then I want [the steak] to rest," he tells us, "and I want it to come to absolute room temperature."

Room temperature is the best temperature to serve steak, according to Zimmern. "I think steak tastes better at room temperature than it does hot," he says. "Just my personal viewpoint. But, I'm also right." Even if he's at a restaurant. But how does he pull that off? "If I'm in a steak house, I will order my steak when I order my diet soda, to start my meal," he tells us, "I want it sitting there for 45 minutes before I eat it."

Chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author Antonia Lofaso tells us the way she likes to order steak greatly depends on the cut of beef she orders. In general, she enjoys eating her steak with a doneness level of medium. "I like a little pinkness, but I don't like it red," she says. "I don't like a super super rare ... I want it warm all the way through." This level equates to an internal temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit where the meat retains a little color, but texture is firmer than medium rare. She says, "Except for skirt steak ... I want medium plus, medium well. A little pink, but it should be done all the way."

Lofaso's preferred cooking method for steak is the grill or cast iron pan, she tells us, but this too depends on the cut of beef. The best way to cook different cuts of beef varies, so for Lofaso, how she orders her steak depends entirely on the chosen cut. "If it's a skirt steak I want it on the grill," she tells us. "If it's a tri tip, that kind [of] meat, I want it on the grill." But she's also a fan of searing steak in a cast iron pan. A pan-seared filet mignon or ribeye is a great combination to choose because it achieves a beautiful outer crust while maintaining a tender beefy bite.

Chef and television personality Gabriele Bertaccini calls himself an old school kind of guy when it comes to his preferred steak order. He enjoys a grilled porterhouse, T-bone, or bistecca fiorentina and he likes it rare. "I want it to moo still," he tells us.

Coming from the short loin section of the cow, both porterhouse and T-bone are well marbled, bold, and beefy. The cuts look nearly identical except the porterhouse is larger, featuring more of the tenderloin along with New York strip. It's also a thicker piece of steak that's taken from the anterior portion of the loin. Partaking in porterhouse or T-bone rare results in a tender and deep flavored bite, with each side of the bone having subtle differences.

Bistecca fiorentina is a cut of steak from Italy that's sourced from a breed of cattle that are specific to Chiana Valley in southern Tuscany. The cut is similar to porterhouse and is loved for the high quality of meat. It's typically cooked in its simplest form: unseasoned and roasted over fire.

Jet Tila is a chef, cookbook author, and television personality that is so entrenched in the food world, he holds world records for the largest California roll, seafood stew, and stir fry. But when it comes to something like steak, Tila considers himself more of a traditionalist. As for how he likes to enjoy eating it, he tells Tasting Table, "Very hard sear, super well-seasoned and about a medium rare, 125-130 degrees." Often, simple is best and a good sear provides steak with a crunchy, juicy, and slightly tangy bite that's complemented by a range of seasonings.

Whether a hard sear is achieved via a hot grill, cast iron pan, or flaming broiler, there's one method of cooking that Tila never wants to see his steak go through. "I hate sous vide," he tells us. Stressing his distaste for the slow cook method, he says, "Never sous vide me a steak because I won't want to eat it."

Marcus Samuelsson is an award-winning Ethiopian Swedish chef and restaurateur who has made a splash in culinary circles, winning the James Beard award eight times. He's also starred as a judge on Food Network's, "Chopped" and Bravo's "Top Chef." We caught up with him at the Food and Wine Festival and asked him how he likes to order his steak. "I love a good ribeye," he tells us, "the fat content is nice." But what kind of doneness does he enjoy for his ribeye? "I like a good medium rare steak, almost borderline medium," he says.

Samuelsson shares that he prefers an aged ribeye — 28 to 30 days with a good char on the outside. "Just simple," he tells us, "When you have a good steak, the simpler the better. Really nice charred." His perfect steak order is medium rare to medium because of the cut. "It's really about the fat content," he says. "That's why you have to cook it a little longer, so that fat can cook down a little bit."

Italian American New York chef Rocco DiSpirito is also an author and television personality who has won the James Beard award. Cooking a brilliant steak is certainly no challenge for DiSpirito, but how does he like to order it when he's dining out? "I like my steak well done on the outside, and rare on the inside," he says. Getting that sear on the exterior is important. It's best achieved with a very hot grill or griddle, DiSpirito tells us, which gives the steak the best crust possible.

Whether you consider it "the perfect medium rare," as DiSpirito calls it, or Pittsburgh rare (or blue rare or black and blue), DiSpirito prefers his steak cooked on a metal surface in order to get that super nice exterior crust. When the steak's surface hits the pan evenly, you get a more consistent char on the outside. Once the outside of the steak is charred, it's done. The inside should still be raw or slightly cooked to rare.

Scott Conant is an award-winning chef, cookbook author, and restaurateur who is also well-known for his judge role on Food Network's, "Chopped." When discussing all things food with Conant, we inquired about how he likes to order his steak when he's at a restaurant. "I actually prefer it medium," he tells us. "And I know that's very controversial, but ... I don't like it too rare." It's even worse, he says, if a steak house cooks it super rare and then finishes it on a hot plate. "I resent that," he says.

Conant enjoys a good medium steak grilled, especially over a wood fire. "What I like to do in the restaurant," he tells us, "is broil it and finish it on a wood grill." Flame grilled steak features a nice smoky, char flavor. But instead of cooking the steak for the entire duration on the grill, Conant broils it first and lets it rest. Then he puts it on a grill to finish it for "some interesting smoke notes."

Chef and television personality Kardea Brown is the only chef on our list to order her steak with an internal temperature of about 150 degrees Fahrenheit. What does that temperature translate to? Medium well — which is a mostly brown interior with very little, if any, pink to the meat. The meat has a much firmer texture, which indicates a slightly drier steak than medium rare or rare due to the loss of moisture from a longer cook time.

As to how she likes the steak prepared? She tells us, "I like a reverse sear. Pop it in the oven for a minute and then come back out and sear it on both sides." But it's not just a reverse sear and medium well doneness that has Brown enjoying her steak. She tells Tasting Table, "I like porcini crusted steaks as well. I like to freeze-dry them. Pull some up, add a little salt, pepper, and that's it."

Chef and television personality Melvin Boots Johnson feels at home in the kitchen, whether it's as an executive chef in a restaurant, running a food truck, or actually at home in New York. During our visit to the Food and Wine Festival we chatted with Johnson and discussed the joy of a good steak. When he's not busy at work in a kitchen and he's dining out for a meal, he loves getting a steak at The Good Good in Harlem, New York, he tells us.

Featuring a bistro-style menu that has international and Caribbean influence, The Good Good features a 13-ounce black angus, bone-in ribeye served with butter, herbs, garlic, and pearl onions. How does Johnson like to order his ribeye? "I order my steak medium rare," he tells us. "and I love it with a really good veal demi and a really good finishing salt."