What 13 Celebrity Chefs Actually Eat At Home

One would hope that the images we see of celebrity chefs on TV, social media, or in magazines are as authentic as they can possibly be — that these celebrity chefs aren't trying to sell us a recipe or lifestyle they don't believe in. At the same time, it's only fair that such images are carefully constructed to engage a public audience and that celebrity chefs' shows or online presence involve recipes or foods that they might not choose to partake in at home. Just because a chef can make a perfect pumpkin soufflé for a Halloween party doesn't mean they have to eat it at home every day.

To provide further insight into celebrity chefs and their eating habits, going beyond what they present to us on screen or in print, we've put together a list of foods they have revealed to enjoy eating at home. These might be comfort foods that don't necessarily require a whole TV slot to explain, or foods prepared not by them, but by a beloved grandmother. So, let's take a look at what celebrity chefs actually eat at home after preparing that complicated soufflé on their show.

Ina Garten is known not only for her approachable, delicious recipes, but also for her tips on entertaining and impeccable taste in table decor. Yet none of these qualities seem to apply to her favorite breakfast, which consists of nothing more than bread, butter, and coffee. Few meals are simpler than that.

Ina Garten's famous eye for quality shows up in this simplest of breakfasts, nonetheless. The bread in question is Eli's Bread, an artisanal bakery in Manhattan started by none other than Eli Zabar, of Zabar's fame. It is a high-quality product made by hand and free of preservatives. And while we don't know what coffee Ina chooses to drink, the French butter she uses — as she indicated in a podcast with Julia Louis-Dreyfus – is Buerre de Baratte, which uses high-quality pasteurized cream and flaked sea salt and is molded by hand.

Oatmeal is a popular breakfast food in America, often served with a bit of brown sugar or maple syrup, cinnamon, and a variety of whimsical toppings, like chia seeds, sliced almonds, or mixed berries. So when Giada de Laurentiis says she eats oatmeal for breakfast, you might not think twice about it.

But look again, and you'll notice that she says she pours olive oil on her oatmeal. And while we're sure she uses very good quality extra virgin olive oil, which she often talks about in her cooking, the combination may surprise you. But personal habits and taste aside, her logic is sound; in the Instagram video where she posts about her breakfast, she notes that olive oil comes with a slew of health benefits, including blood sugar regulation, inflammation reduction, and digestive support. Indeed, health seems to be a focus of her breakfasts because she also enjoys chicken broth with collagen, which is known to support bone and joint health.

Minestrone is a fancy Italian term for a specific type of soup, hearty and with plenty of vegetables, and it also happens to be one of Jaimie Oliver's favorite foods to eat at home. As he said in an Instagram post, he makes his minestrone for his family at least once a month, and the recipe is so popular they all tend to go back for more. Not only that, but the nature of the recipe allows Oliver to use disparate ingredients in his fridge or pantry that may otherwise be destined for the bin or compost.

Indeed, the recipe is quite versatile. As he mentions in his post, pretty much any vegetables you have sitting around in your fridge can apply. It could be parsnips, savoy cabbage, or kale, and it would go nicely in the soup. You can even use frozen vegetables or what you have growing in your own garden.

As a chef, one often has to eat a lot. Perhaps they have to sample various foods at various stages of cooking to make sure the dishes are coming along as they should, or as Gordon Ramsay referred to it in an interview with Men's Health, one has to graze. Or maybe they have to try out the competition. The result is that a chef might reach the end of the day, week, or month having had more to eat than they might be comfortable with.

As Ramsay points out in that same interview, though, it's possible to stay fit and healthy and not overeat while also enjoying good food. For him, that often means a protein shake in the morning, scrambled eggs for lunch, and poached chicken or fish for dinner. And while that may sound boring, know that Ramsay has the chops to turn boring-sounding food into real treats, which he does by using hot peppers and spices, for instance.

Bobby Flay is famously from New York City, so it's no surprise that his home comfort food should be the classic New York sandwich, made of bacon, egg, and cheese. But there is a twist: He doesn't necessarily have this food item for breakfast, like everyone else does. Instead, he told Allrecipes that he likes to prepare it for himself as a late-night snack.

In general, he said he likes to cook simple things at home, though his idea of "simple" might be a little different than that of someone who is not a professional chef. Cooking up the egg and bacon might be a step too far after a certain hour and a few drinks, at least for some. Conversely, Flay also said he likes to prepare grilled chicken, chicken parmesan, or chicken piccata for dinner, which sound decidedly more doable for fledgling chefs.

Martha Stewart is famously fit for her age, having even appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 81 in 2023. But fit doesn't usually just happen by accident. It's mostly a product of what we eat and drink and how we move. And if you look at what Stewart eats at home, her apparent health will start to make a lot of sense.

As revealed on her website, she starts the day with a green juice she freshly squeezes with pears, celery, cucumbers, parsley, ginger, and orange. She often follows this up with a tuna salad for lunch, which she makes with celery, apple, shallot, lemon juice, a tad of mayo, and tuna in olive oil. Indeed, olive oil is an ingredient she also uses frequently at home, to the point where she has a whole cabinet dedicated to various types of it. Other foods she frequently uses at home are a bounty of vegetables, especially if they're in season, and salmon, which she frequently pan-sears.

As a busy chef and businesswoman, Nigella Lawson doesn't have time to make herself a grand breakfast every morning. Who among us wouldn't relate to that? But on the weekends, she does allow herself the time and luxury of indulging in one of her favorite foods: pancakes.

On her website, she charmingly calls them American breakfast pancakes, perhaps because in England, where she's from, pancakes usually refer to flat, thin cakes more similar to French crepes. Those tend to be served with sugar and lemon or with golden syrup. Indeed, her whole recipe explanation is understandably geared toward a British audience, which is quite tickling when you see that she explains that this type of pancake is typically eaten with maple syrup and bacon and that they must be cooked on a smooth, not ridged griddle. As obvious as that may sound to an American, she certainly can't be accused of not knowing her stuff.

Although restaurants are known to use a lot of butter in their cooking, chefs these days show a trend of reaching more for healthy foods, like grains, fish, and vegetables, when they're preparing food for themselves at home. One example of this behavior comes from Alton Brown, who has created a recipe made with quinoa, kale, walnuts, and sometimes salmon, which he told Health Digest is designed as a brain booster.

But Brown stresses that this recipe isn't just about health. It's also about providing an enjoyable dining experience. Indeed, he told the magazine in the same interview that "It's got a lot of flavor, a lot of textures. It hits all of my taste and flavor goals for myself." Notably, the recipe also contains cheese. He also points out that partaking in healthy meals like his brain-booster bowl allows him to better balance his other inclinations, like enjoying the occasional martini.

Dominique Crenn is known to run one of the top restaurants in the country. Atelier Creen has won many accolades, including three Michelin stars and a James Beard award for best chef in the West. She has clearly put a lot of hard work into her career, but this doesn't mean she slacks off when it comes to preparing food for herself at home. In fact, she has the great luck of being able to draw on her prime restaurant ingredients for her home meals.

For instance, she uses leftover brioche from Atelier Crenn to make herself grilled cheese sandwiches at 2 a.m., which is probably around the time she gets home from work, knowing the restaurant industry. She'll then supplement that bread by frying it in butter and topping it with Comté cheese, Pecorino or some other aged cheese, a creamy cow or goat cheese, and sometimes tomato jam.

Guy Fieri is known for going around the country sampling the most outrageous, complex, greasy foods humans have ever concocted for his show "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives." But when he's at home, his menu looks quite different. In fact, as he told CBS News in an interview, he actually eats plenty of salads. He focuses a lot on vegetables in his diet, with a special nod to spaghetti squash, and whole grains, such as farro, which is an ancient grain.

Specifically, as Fieri told Eating Well, he enjoys green beans, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower, which he likes to roast and drizzle with dijon mustard, honey, feta, and balsamic vinegar. This panoply of vegetables may seem surprising considering he didn't use to like vegetables, but it also suggests that there is hope for the rest of us and that vegetables don't have to be boring or flavorless.

Marcus Samuelsson grew up in Sweden in a family that seemed to prioritize food. As he told NBC News in an interview, his grandma, Helga, was especially skilled in the kitchen, producing Swedish Smorgasbords comprising all manner of dishes. But according to Samuelsson, her Swedish meatballs were the best dish she made, which may be why he continued to prepare them himself.

But for Samuelsson, the interesting part about this dish seems to go beyond the simple flavor of the food. As he told Al Roker in the same interview, "I can't eat this without thinking about my whole family," which goes to the heart of what many in the food industry have said about what it means to eat truly delicious food: It has to be something that is not only pleasant to the palate but also, in some perhaps mysterious way, recalls the comforts of home.

Duff Goldman is famous for his delicious, beautiful cakes. But it shouldn't come as a surprise that when Goldman is at home with his family, he eats more than just this (though he does make cookies with his daughter). Indeed, he is a big fan of breakfast and brunch foods and especially Shakshuka, which he tried for the first time on a trip to Israel. He now makes it at home (or wherever) when hosting brunch.

But there's a twist. While a classic Shakshuka is primarily made of tomatoes, eggs, and maybe peppers, all thrown in a single pot together, Goldman also likes to add stewed eggplant to his, since it's a vegetable he especially enjoys. But whether you put eggplant in yours or not, Goldman recommends this dish for anyone hosting brunch, as it's pretty easy to make, and eggs and tomatoes are hugely popular ingredients.

Ree Drummond is famously from Oklahoma, but one of her favorite dishes to make at home happens to be southwestern. As noted on her website, she tried the dish in question, migas, on a trip to Texas one day when she was feeling particularly hungry. Ever since that fateful day, she has started making migas at home, after spending months designing the best possible recipe for her taste.

The dish is made of scrambled eggs, bell peppers, jalapeños, onions, cheese, and bits of fried corn tortilla, with the frying part being non-negotiable in Drummond's book. Her recipe is available on her website and in her first cookbook. She also has a migas recipe available on New York Times Cooking, which just goes to show that while we may not know which recipe she prefers to make at home, it's clear that she loves the dish and prepares it often.

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