Learn how these superstar chefs came to earn their chops in the kitchen.

Aarti Sequeira bested her fellow competitors on Food Network Star, Season 6 to ultimately shine on her own show, Aarti Party. Born in India, Aarti received a professional cooking certificate from The New School of Cooking in Culver City, Calif., and she now lives in Los Angeles.

Food Network's first female Iron Chef, Cat Cora is a famed restaurateur, having launched Cat Cora's Que and Cat Cora's Kitchen, among other locales. She launched an iPad app, Cat Cora's Kitchen, in 2012, and she's a collaborator on two women's shoe collections. In 2014 she was one of four mentors on Food Network's America's Best Cook.

The winner of Food Network Star, Season 5, Melissa d'Arabian appears on shows on both Food Network and Cooking Channel, and in 2012 she published her first cookbook. She launched two Web-exclusive series on FoodNetwork.com: Picky Eaters Project, which offered tips and strategies for parents, plus a look at how she attempted to curb picky eating in her own children; and Smart Carts: Winning the Supermarket, which offers fans simple strategies for conquering the aisles with ease.