The world's top chefs might have us drooling with their incredible flavours and innovative creations – but what do they crave after spending hours slicing, dicing and watching over the sous vide? Even those who cook in the fanciest of restaurants sometimes just want a simple hot dog, slice of pizza or perhaps some downright dirty fries. Here’s what some of our favourite celebrity chefs like to tuck into when they’re not in front of the camera or behind the stove.
As one of America’s first celebrity restaurateurs, Wolfgang Puck is known for luxurious ingredients like smoked salmon and caviar. But the chef, whose flagship restaurant is Spago in Los Angeles, describes ice cream as his “secret vice”. His restaurants serve beautifully plated versions of frozen desserts, which usually come in the form of a frozen soufflé rather than in an ice cream cone. Yet, as he told the Chicago Tribune, he has been known to sneak a taste directly from the kitchen freezer.
The chef is famous for his gourmet pizzas, though he’s also got a soft spot for the humble hot dog. The chef grew up in Austria, home of the wiener würstchen or Vienna sausage – a favourite from his early years. In 2005 he shared a recipe for his hot dog melts with Food & Wine magazine, featuring cheese-stuffed wieners wrapped in bacon and topped with a spicy horseradish mustard.
British cookbook author and TV host Nigella Lawson quite admirably refuses to categorise any of her food pleasures as “guilty” (because no one should feel guilty about the things that give them joy), which is one of the many things we love about the ultimate domestic goddess. On weekends, Nigella loves little more than sitting down with a stack of American-style pancakes, albeit made with her own homemade instant pancake mix.
In 2020 Nigella took to Twitter to list her seven favourite comfort foods and, while some of her choices (steamed syrup sponge, lasagne, her mother’s chicken) are rather wholesome, she also included a good old fish finger sandwich. She revealed that she loves the retro appeal of the classic British combination of fish fingers stuffed between slices of white bread.
Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis has an unabashed love for Italian food and while her guilty pleasure is pasta-based, it’s not exactly a classic Italian speciality. Giada told Bon Appétit that she occasionally snacks on spaghetti with… chocolate chips. The trick, she says, is to let the chocolate melt so that it forms a sauce on the pasta. The combo was a favourite treat of hers as a child, though the Italian-born chef admitted that her own child finds it "slimy and gross".
French fries are a pretty irresistible snack and Giada is no more immune to their salty charms than the rest of us. She listed a plate of fries as one of her favourite comfort foods in an article with Shape Magazine, citing their "crispy indulgence" as a major factor in their appeal. She did, however, say that she likes to eat lightly when she’s on the road and is careful not to make fries a part of her daily routine.
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Renowned American restaurateur and television personality Emeril Lagasse told The Travel Addict that he can’t get enough of pretty much anything that’s covered in a really good gravy – "the kind that sticks to your ribs". The chef, best-known for putting New Orleans' cuisine on the map, pointed to simple Swedish meatballs as a great way to enjoy a saucy, savoury gravy over rice or noodles, or even in a meatball sandwich.
Emeril is proudly from Louisiana and is also a big fan of the state’s Zapp’s potato chips brand. In 2015 he tweeted that he loved serving the crispy kettle chips topped with a pinch of caviar, taking this guilty pleasure to fancy new levels. He also loves storing plain Zapp’s chips in the freezer and eating them ice cold, claiming that the low temperature does something special to make them even more delicious.
Food Network star Sunny Anderson is known for her real deal home cooking, so she’s unsurprisingly not too precious about the foods she enjoys. The former caterer and self-taught chef loves cooking with bacon and also told OK! Magazine that she’s a fan of frozen candy bars. She even found a way to combine chocolate with bacon for a Food Network recipe, with candy bars wrapped in salty-sweet rashers and then baked into croissants.
Sunny is loved for her fun and comforting cooking style and told OK! that she speaks the language of the "everyday cook". So it’s perhaps no surprise that her other guilty pleasure is a full dinner comprised of appetisers at any big American chain restaurant – though she admitted to feeling "really guilty" whenever she doesn't cook.
As the man behind California’s French Laundry restaurant, Thomas Keller is one of the most famous fine-dining chefs in the US – and his ideal comfort food is appropriately elegant. He told Air Mail that his favourite weekend meal is a simple plate of steak frites (steak with French fries), followed by vanilla ice cream for dessert. Perhaps he, understandably, doesn't really feel like cooking himself a 10-course tasting menu once he's taken off his chef whites for the day.
When the Michelin-starred chef really wants to let loose, though, he heads for the West Coast’s most beloved fast food chain, the legendary In-N-Out Burger, known for its simple burgers and secret menu. We're not sure if Thomas goes Animal Style (the chain's code for burgers and fries loaded with all the toppings and sauces) with his order, though he did reveal that he's particularly partial to the extra-crispy fries.
One of the Food Network’s most prolific hosts and a true culinary science nerd, Alton Brown knows his food and he has a healthy respect for many under-appreciated ingredients. While most foodies would argue that nothing beats an authentic block of Parmigiano Reggiano, Alton proclaimed his affection for packets of pre-grated Kraft Parmesan on Instagram in 2020.
The grated Parmesan isn’t the only 'cheese' product that gets Alton excited: he has also enthusiastically posted a selfie with his face buried in a bag of Crunchy Cheetos. He acknowledged some guilt in his pleasure, calling himself a “bad, bad man”. But if loving those oh-so-orange Cheetos is wrong, do we really want to be right?
Also known as the Barefoot Contessa, cookbook author and TV personality Ina Garten is the epitome of classic American cooking. But she certainly doesn't deny herself when it comes to her favourite treats. According to The Seattle Times, the chef is particularly fond of Fran’s, a Seattle-based chocolatier. Fran’s speciality is ultra-rich caramels and Ina praised those gooey little confections as being her favourite hostess gift.
If gourmet chocolates aren’t in her cupboard, Ina has a simpler indulgence: good old bread and butter. In 2013 she took to Facebook to post about her love of bread and especially sourdough. She said that she sometimes even orders loaves from her favourite bakery in France to be couriered to her home in the US as an extra-special treat. One of her top tips is to portion bread and keep it in the freezer, ready to satisfy future cravings.
Pastry chef and star of US reality show Ace of Cakes Duff Goldman doesn’t shy away from admitting to his guilty pleasure. When he’s not baking, Duff heads to a branch of East Coast convenience store and gas station chain Sheetz to pick up a meatball sub. To be fair, Sheetz is not your typical store: its sandwiches are fresh and made to order, while the quality of the food has earned it something of a cult following.
As a professional baker, it’s unsurprising that Duff also indulges in some over-the-top baked goods. For the Food Network show Guilty Pleasures, the chef recommended a few epic desserts including this incredible creation from Donut Bar in San Diego, California. The Big Poppa Tart is a yeasted doughnut with a full Pop-Tart stuffed inside, then topped with a thick glaze, jam, sprinkles and Pop-Tart pieces.
As the chef behind hot New York restaurant Red Rooster, Marcus Samuelsson is certainly a culinary star – but there are some things he knows not to mess with. He told Food Network that he would never even attempt to make his own General Tso’s chicken, the classic, sweet and sticky Chinese-American dish. Instead, he orders a takeaway or goes to one of New York City's many excellent Chinese restaurants when the craving strikes.
Marcus' ultimate guilty pleasure, though, is a good old-fashioned hamburger (along with a cold beer). He does serve a burger at Red Rooster, and of course it's incredible. The Lenox Smash Burger has two patties, aged Cheddar, sweet onion and Red Rooster’s house sauce. Customers can ease any guilt by subbing the side of fries for collard greens or a house salad.
The ever-popular In-N-Out Burger also has a fan in one of the world’s most famously demanding chefs: British restaurateur and TV star Gordon Ramsay. Gordon has often spoken about his penchant for the West Coast chain and often feels a pang of sadness when he flies back to the UK because it means leaving his beloved In-N-Out behind. His likes his burgers Animal Style, cooked in mustard and topped with all the fixings and special sauce.
He also adores the treats served up at Milk Bar, the New York-founded chain from pastry chef Christina Tosi. His favourite is the Milk Bar Pie (formerly known as Crack Pie): a thick and buttery sugar pie that has become the shop’s signature dessert. Gordon said that he doesn’t even care how calorie-laden the treats are, they just inspire him to stick to his well-documented fitness regime.
Former Top Chef contender and well-seasoned TV personality Carla Hall may be from Nashville but, when it comes to pizza, her heart belongs to Detroit. On the list of her favourite products on food delivery site GoldBelly, Carla includes a thick and saucy pizza from Emmy Squared. Unlike most other American pizza, Detroit-style pies start with a rectangular and ultra-thick crust.
Carla has also revealed that fast-casual Chipotle Mexican Grill is one of her go-tos. The restaurant chain is known for Mexican-inspired dishes from tacos to burrito bowls, and Carla told Style and Living that she was given a gift card for a year’s worth of free Chipotle meals, which she uses all the time.
When you’re the chef at New York’s Le Bernardin, one of the world’s most prestigious restaurants, it's hard to imagine how any other food could be up to scratch. Eric Ripert told the The Hollywood Reporter that, even on his days off, he rarely eats out or gets takeaways and prefers to just cook for himself. But, when he’s feeling “lazy”, he’ll order some sushi – in keeping with his restaurant's focus on seafood.
But Eric is a New Yorker, which means he has regular access to some of the best street hot dogs anywhere in the world. In 2018, the chef tweeted a photo of a street dog with the caption: “NYC Street moment: Guilty pleasure NOT.” He isn't one to deny himself and, in fact, doesn't believe any pleasure should be guilty, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "Everything I eat is a pleasure that I take the time to enjoy, and I don’t feel bad about it!"
While Martha Stewart has spent much of her career creating a portrait of domestic perfection, more recently she's opened up to share personal details about her life, including the foods she reaches for when she’s craving a salty snack. In 2019 she revealed on The Dr. Oz Show that she likes to get her savoury fix from a jar of pickled herring. The domestic queen also admitted that she has a soft spot for liverwurst.
Pickled herring isn’t the most surprising food that Stewart loves to munch on. Despite being a huge advocate for from-scratch cooking, she has also mentioned that she loves eating peanut butter by the spoonful and also unwrapping single slices of processed American cheese. She’s even confessed to taking slices from her housekeeper’s drawer and eating them directly out of the plastic wrap, saying: "It's so horrible. But it's such a good snack."