A New Crop of Chefs

By: Angela Moore

Our friends at Food & Wine Magazine just revealed their annual list of the country's Best New Chefs. We're always on the lookout for impressive up-and-comers in the food world, so we attended the announcement celebration and talked to several of the honorees. Should we expect to see some of them as future competitors on Iron Chef? It certainly seems possible.

We asked each of the winners we interviewed to choose a favorite ingredient and one chef who has been a major career influence.

Chef Bryce Gilmore
Barley Swine, Austin
Most influential ingredient: eggs from a local farmer

How he uses it: smoked trout pasta with scrambled eggs and Granny Smith apples

Most influential chef: Dan Barber
Chef Jamie Bissonnette, People's Choice winner
Most influential ingredient: ramps

How he uses it: ramp paella with snails and rabbit, chard and ramp chimichurri, ramp pasta

Most influential chef: Jacques Pépin
Chef Jason Franey
Canlis, Seattle
Most influential ingredient: lettuce

How he uses it: a salad of mixed greens and up to 40 ingredients, including asparagus and salted, fried pea skins

Most influential chef: Daniel Humm
Chef Ricardo Zarate
Mo-Chica, Los Angeles

Most influential ingredient: ají amarillo (a South American yellow chili)

How he uses it: ají de gallina, a spicy chicken dish recommended by Giada De Laurentiis on The Best Thing I Ever Ate

Most influential chef: Mark Gregory
Chefs Viet Pham and Bowman Brown
Forage, Salt Lake City

Pham
Most influential ingredient: seafood of all kinds
How he uses it: "There are just a million ways to cook it."
Most influential chef: Laurent Gras

Brown
Most influential ingredient: wild herbs and greens, watercress

How he uses it: a visually striking seasonal salad called "Vegetable Garden"

Most influential chef: René Redzepi

Congratulations to all of the 2011 Best New Chefs. To discover more trendsetters, visit our Chefs of Tomorrow feature. To find restaurants featured on Food Network in your area or around the country, check out the new FN Local.

Next Up

Bobby's Triple Threat Returns with Brand-New Roster of Elite Chefs

The all-new season premieres Tuesday August 22 at 9|8c.

Talented Chefs Embrace the Legacy of Julia Child in New Chopped Tournament

Chopped: Julia Child's Kitchen premieres Tuesday November 14 at 8|7c.

How the First Female Chef at a Historic New Orleans Restaurant Celebrates Mardi Gras

Here’s how Meg Bickford faced the roaring return of carnival season at Commander’s Palace — and her recipe for an "obnoxiously good" shrimp po' boy.

Unsuspecting Home Cooks Go Head-to-Head Against World-Class Chefs in New Series Outchef'd

Outchef’d premieres with two back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 10|9c and will be available to stream the same day on discovery+.

Find M&M’s New Character, Purple, on New Caramel Cold Brew Packs

The inside of these M&M’s are a whole new world.

10 Best New Vegan Cookbooks

Plant-based, flavor-packed recipe inspiration straight ahead.

Why I Challenge Myself to Make a New Dumpling Every Lunar New Year

For me, keeping old traditions alive while creating new ones is what the holiday is all about.

On TV

Outchef'd

8am | 7c

Outchef'd

8:30am | 7:30c

Chopped

11am | 10c

Chopped

12pm | 11c

Beat Bobby Flay

1:30pm | 12:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

2:30pm | 1:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

3:30pm | 2:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

4:30pm | 3:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

5:30pm | 4:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

6:30pm | 5:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

7:30pm | 6:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

8:30pm | 7:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

9:30pm | 8:30c
On Tonight
On Tonight

Beat Bobby Flay

10pm | 9c

Beat Bobby Flay

10:30pm | 9:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

11:30pm | 10:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

12:30am | 11:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

1:30am | 12:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

2:30am | 1:30c

Beat Bobby Flay

3:30am | 2:30c

What's New