13 Famous Chefs And The Foods They Refuse To Eat
At first glance, it might seem like celebrity chefs will eat almost anything. After all, big names like Anthony Bourdain or Guy Fieri have been filmed eating at all kinds of establishments — from foreign food stands to divey diners. Most of the time, they actually seemed to be enjoying themselves in these situations. Bourdain loved eating stomach bile soup in the Philippines, while Fieri proved that grasshopper tacos can be out of this world. These TV personalities have been key to showing viewers that food doesn't have to be familiar to be appealing.
But just because a chef is open to experiencing new flavors, it doesn't mean that they like everything that they try. On the contrary, plenty of culinary experts have sampled a unique dish — or even a simple ingredient — and realized that they just could not get on board with the taste. From Fieri's disgust for eggs to Bourdain's strong feelings about the burgers at Johnny Rockets, here are a few of the things that the world's most famous chefs will not eat.
1. Guy Fieri doesn't like eggs
Eggs are one of the most versatile ingredients out there. As many of us know, they work fantastically in anything from egg salad to cookies. But despite all of the uses of this ingredient, Guy Fieri won't eat it.
Fieri wasn't always so close-minded when it came to eggs. As the famous chef revealed in an interview with My Recipes: "I used to eat fried egg sandwiches like they were going out of style. Crushing it. We didn't have white bread when I was a kid ... So a fried egg sandwich with processed cheese on white bread when I would go to my friend's house was the greatest thing in the world."
Over time, though, Fieri came to dislike eggs, as he had a couple of bad experiences with the ingredients. For one thing, he tasted a hard-boiled egg that was "chalky" — an experience that turned the chef off of the dish. For another, he opened an egg at home and saw a fetal chicken growing inside. This combination of events grossed Fieri out enough that he got over eggs for good.
2. Gordon Ramsay can't get behind pineapple pizza
No combination of ingredients may be as singularly controversial as pineapple on pizza. Italians are said to hate it. Pizza purists certainly loathe it. And, a surprising number of people on dating apps say that they will not go out with you if you like it. Even so, there is a sizable group of people who continue to enjoy this topping. In fact, one YouGov survey found that 12% of Americans list pineapple among their top three toppings. As such, a startling number of pizzerias continue to offer the ever-popular Hawaiian pizza, a fresh wheel of dough dotted with thick slices of ham and, yes, pineapple.
In the midst of this debate, Gordon Ramsay's vote is in: he is firmly against the idea of serving a pizza covered in tropical fruit. Joking about this issue on "Jay Leno," Ramsay declared somewhat dramatically, "You don't put f***ing pineapple on pizza." While the celebrity sparked a lot of laughter with his comment, it has since become clear that he does not see pineapple on pizza as a laughing matter. As Good Housekeeping reports, Ramsay made yet another television appearance where he blasted the combination, telling ITV's "Nightly Show" that the tropical topping was a no-go.
3. Ina Garten won't cook with canned beets
It's not a secret that Ina Garten loves her ingredients. Historically, when she has cooked with garden fresh greens or a nice brand of cheese, Garten has not held back her enthusiasm. Describing certain items as simply "good" is known as one of her most famous catchphrases.
However, Garten doesn't like everything that hits her fork. In fact, there is one ingredient that she just can't have in her kitchen: canned beets. Chatting with The New Yorker, Garten explained how the vegetable takes her back to the unhappy dinners of her childhood: "We had canned vegetables. I particularly remember Harvard beets, one of my least favorite things in the world ... It wasn't a joyful time."
Interestingly, this was not the only time that Garten revealed her reluctance towards preserved veggies. In an interview with The New York Times (via Insider), the cookbook author shared: "A canned tomato is not that interesting."
4. Bobby Flay struggles to swallow durians
Bobby Flay is generally known for being a pretty adventurous eater, but there is one tropical fruit that he can't stand: durians. Apparently, the celebrity chef just can't get on board with the fruit's unusually potent smell — even if it is considered a delicacy. As Flay divulged in an interview with People (via Cheat Sheet): "It's awful; I don't want to be around it."
While many foodies adore the durian's delicate yet sweet taste, Flay is far from being the only one who struggles to appreciate the fruit's many merits. This is probably because the durian is one of the strongest-smelling fruits out there, according to Healthline. Indeed, the delicacy's odor has been compared to sewage and sulfur. In one Buzzfeed video, a taste tester relayed, "It's like a box of chocolates, but a bad box of chocolates."
Of course, not everybody feels this way, but it is true that plenty of people share Flay's intense reaction to the fruit. In the cities where it is most typically consumed, it is considered a common courtesy not to eat these fruits in crowded public places. But, just in case someone forgets their manners, metropolises like Singapore can actually fine you for bringing your durian onto public transport.
5. Rachael Ray gets the ick from shelf-stable mayonnaise
Rachael Ray has long been a proponent of cooking with fresh ingredients, emphasizing the importance of quality over anything else. However, a passion for produce is not the only thing that motivates the celebrity chef to reach for a fresh clove of garlic rather than a pre-packaged alternative. It so happens that Ray also harbors a strong aversion to foods that aren't fresh enough. Chief among them is shelf-stable mayonnaise.
In a conversation with People (via Cheat Sheet), Ray revealed that this unique type of spread totally gives her "the ick." Apparently, the issue for her is that the ingredient is simply not fresh enough. The celebrity chef explained, "Shelf-stable mayonnaise creeps me out ... something about knowing that there's eggs in mayonnaise and that it's sitting on a hot shelf for months and months. It makes me want to retch."
Fascinatingly, though, Ray said that she didn't have a problem with traditional, homemade mayonnaise. The TV personality said that she actually likes it: "I will make an aioli myself and I love Aquafaba, because it's chickpea-based."
6. Wolfgang Puck would rather do without Wagyu beef
No type of steak is quite as coveted as a piece of Wagyu beef. Referred to by Style as " the Rolls-Royce of beef," Wagyu is known for its gorgeous marbling, thick texture, and ultra-rich flavor. Celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, according to Yahoo, and many others, have been known to love it. However, Wolfgang Puck is simply not impressed.
In an interview with The Telegraph (via Cheat Sheet), Puck confessed that he is not the biggest fan of Wagyu beef: "The Japanese Wagyu is really fatty and you're not meant to eat a lot of it. I wouldn't eat steak like that ... because of the fat.
Compellingly, Wagyu's high-fat content has traditionally been one of the factors that drew people to the beef. Some people even claim that the marbling is what gives Wagyu its unique flavor. That being said, Puck doesn't prefer this type of steak.
7. Giada de Laurentiis is against green bell peppers
Giada de Laurentiis is all about bringing Italian cuisine to the United States. After all, the celebrity chef is a Roman native, so it only seems natural for her to want to get Americans excited about traditional Italian ingredients. Of course, this means sharing recipes using tomatoes, olive oil, pistachios, garlic, and canned fish — but, interestingly, not green bell peppers. Despite the fact this savory vegetable is the star of a few different Italian recipes — such as bruschetta with fried green peppers — De Laurentiis says that she won't touch them.
As the celebrity chef told People in 2017 (via Cheat Sheet), she does not like anything about this ingredient whatsoever: "I don't like the flavor or the look." Because of this, De Laurentiis keeps her cooking 100% green pepper-free. "No green peppers will ever be found in any of my recipes," she affirmed.
De Laurentiis' distaste for green bell peppers has not prevented her from enjoying other types of peppers. Her cookbook titled "Everyday Italian" includes at least one recipe that uses red, orange, and yellow bell peppers — but not green ones (via Epicurious).
8. Aarón Sánchez also isn't a fan of green peppers
Fascinatingly, Giada de Laurentiis is not the only celebrity chef who can't stand green peppers. Mexican-American culinary sensation Aarón Sánchez has also said that he is just not that into this ingredient. "I like red bell peppers and yellow bell peppers, but green bell peppers just don't taste like much of anything," he confessed to the Food Network.
Interestingly, though, Sanchez does not seem to despise green peppers in the same way that de Laurentiis does. Instead, he appears to be a bit more neutral about them. Sanchez does not worry about excluding this ingredient from all of his recipes. Compellingly, he often embraces it. Sanchez's New Orleans shellfish étouffé, for example, contains one finely chopped green bell pepper. His huitlacoche salsa also calls for the inclusion of one green bell pepper. That being said, it is clear that Sanchez also enjoys using other, more flavorful types of peppers, such as jalapeños, poblanos, and other spicier fare.
9. Julia Child disliked certain types of greens
Julia Child spent most of her career encouraging Americans to try out French cooking — and that did not just mean explaining how to make a good coq au vin. In the 1940s, when Child moved to Paris, most Americans were somewhat limited in terms of the ingredients that they would use, and this was especially true when it came to salads. At the time, the U.S. was a hotspot for iceberg lettuce and wedge salads — but not that much else.
When Child returned stateside and created her show "The French Chef," the culinary expert spent a great deal of time promoting plenty of green, leafy vegetables to anyone who was interested. In fact, she dedicated a whole episode of her show to lettuce, explaining the different types and their flavors. At one point in the episode (via YouTube), Child even says: "The French don't use iceberg lettuce so I'm just not going to show it."
But as much as Child wanted to get Americans excited about eating different kinds of greens, there were even more types that she didn't care for. Speaking with Larry King on the matter, the celebrity chef confessed that she would eat anything except cilantro and arugula: "They're both green herbs, they have kind of a dead taste to me ... I would pick it out if I saw it and throw it on the floor."
10. Sanjeev Kapoor is over airplane food
One of the best parts of traveling is getting the chance to try different foods from various parts of the world. Unfortunately, though, Sanjeev Kapoor feels that this does not apply to airplane food. In February 2023, the celebrity chef made headlines after publicly complaining about the meals he was served on an Air India flight from Nagpur to Mumbai. As Kapur wrote on Twitter, his chicken tikka was "cold," and his cabbage and mayo sandwich came with only a "minuscule filling." Naturally, Kapur found this to be a major issue with the airline, telling the airline to "wake up."
Interestingly, Kapur is not the only famous chef who is not a fan of airplane food. Gordon Ramsay has also come out against the stuff, revealing that he knows too much about how the sausage is made to be able to enjoy it. Speaking to Refinery29, Ramsay explained, "There's no f***ing way I eat on planes. I worked for airlines for ten years, so I know where this food's been and where it goes, and how long it took before it got on board."
11. Curtis Stone isn't a fan of marshmallow desserts
Generally speaking, Curtis Stone is not a picky eater — or at least that's what the Australian celebrity chef claims. In his opinion, liking most foods is part of his profession. As he explained in an interview with Escape: "People think that chefs are picky eaters, but we're actually the opposite — we're curious and eat all sorts of stuff." When asked if there was anything he didn't like to eat, Stone asserted, "I eat what's in front of me, and that's the truth!"
The truth, however, is a bit more complicated than that. As Stone admitted in a separate conversation with Taste Australia, there is a dessert ingredient that he just can't stand: marshmallows. The TV personality told the outlet somewhat abashedly: "This is a little controversial, but I don't like marshmallows." While you probably won't find Stone making s'mores at the campfire any time soon, he does try to substitute for this ingredient wherever possible.
We see this in his homemade rocky road ice cream. He makes it using traditional winter flavors, rather than the white puffy candy: "With rocky road, what I think makes it really delicious is the chocolate and the dried fruit. I like lots of raisins, maybe even dates."
12. Carla Hall says hold back on the bacon and truffles
There is plenty of trendy food out there, and celebrity chef Carla Hall is not about it. As Hall revealed in an interview with PopSugar, she cannot stand it when chefs shove too much flavor into their dishes: "My biggest cooking pet peeve is when people think to add bacon to everything, to add truffles to everything." Apparently, the problem for Hall is that overly elaborate meals make it difficult to connect with the food emotionally. "When people don't taste or when they're not connected to their food. I think it's style over substance," she shared.
Because of this, the famous chef steers clear of overly complex meals and tries to stick to the basics. "I think people don't appreciate simple food sometimes," she explained. In Hall's view, the best kind of eats are the ones that allow us to connect with the people around us. Chatting with Daily Hive, she explained that by cooking, "You make people happy. I know in my family it ... up to me to create those food memories."
13. Anthony Bourdain didn't like Johnny Rockets
Anthony Bourdain was not afraid to travel all around the world, sampling different styles of cooking. However, there was one place he did not like to have a meal: the fast food chain Johnny Rockets. Bourdain shared on the television show Conan (via YouTube) about a particularly upsetting meal he had at an airport Johnny Rockets, saying: "Such things ... send me into a spiral of misery and depression ... It was really the most soul-destroying recent meal experience." During the interview, Bourdain also lamented over the cold burger and pre-cooked fries that he was served.
As for the food's presentation, Bourdain thought it lacked flare — to say the least. Not only was he upset about the lopsided patty placement on the bun, but he also expressed disdain at the garnish he was served. Bourdain said the pickles were floppy and not fresh. Even the moment that the burger was served to Bourdain was disappointing: "They sort of slid it across at me, while looking at me, and we all stood there silently for a second, kind of sharing this moment of perfect misery."