Top 10 Badass Women Chefs in America Slideshow

Executive Chef: Gautreau's
Home Base: New Orleans

Badass Because:
• She wasn’t afraid to make friends (butting against the reality show cliché “I’m not here to make friends!”) and help out other chefs, even when it cost it her time and points, on Top Chef Masters.
• Because just weeks after she was promoted to executive chef at the storied New Orleans restaurant Gautreau’s in 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the city; she stayed, painstakingly helped rebuild the restaurant, and reopened the kitchen in 2007.
• Because her menu’s brunch staple is the BLT with roasted garlic served on French toast.
 

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