Horrible Things Celeb Chefs Have Said About Each Other

The celebrity chef world is one that comes with big palettes and sometimes, even bigger mouths. Some of our favorite celebrity chefs are known for being the meanest of critics when it comes to their culinary peers and they aren't afraid to shout it out to the world — in fact, some of them seem to really enjoy doing exactly that. On rare occasions they kiss and makeup, but for the most part the relationships just simmer until they explode or stay as stale as days old bread. That's probably not much fun for the chefs involved, but we'll admit that the resulting drama is kind of fun to watch for us mere mortals. Guess what they say is true — if you can't stand the heat, then get the heck out of the kitchen. We've got some of the most horrible things celeb chefs have said about each other being served up to you.

In 2009, Andrew Zimmern made zero attempts to hide his disdain for Tyler Florence. In a now-deleted blog post (via E! News) Zimmern said, "Monday's episode [of Momma's Boys] featured the world's least talented TV chef, Tyler Florence, once again churning out the questionable cooking advice and leading the ladies through a menu of the mom's fave recipes. Watching Florence wolf down the food, stare and ogle every a** that strolled by his cutting board and play the role of local TV stud was high comedy of the highest order."

In a quick response on Facebook, Florence threw it right back at Zimmern by saying, "This guy Andrew Zimmern, the guy who eats dried camel c**k for a living, has decided to diss my life's work because I did, my personal friend, Ryan Seacrest, a favor and helped him out with his first big television production, Momma's Boys. It was a big hit for NBC and something I had a fun time doing. It's bubble gum reality, who cares? It was funny. I guess it hard to have a sense of humor when you're on your 10th take of eating Yak testicles, smiling to the camera, wondering where your life went wrong. Mmmmm, delicious! Go get 'em guys." Yikes, that's a bit aggressive.

In a Nightline interview (via Us Weekly), Martha Stewart stated "Well, to me, she professed that she cannot bake." Stewart went on to say, "She just did a new cookbook which is just a re-edit of a lot of her old recipes. And that's not good enough for me." Stewart voiced that Ray was more of an entertainer than a real cook. Ray took it in stride and actually agreed with the statements saying "Why would it make me mad? Her skill set is far beyond mine. That's simply the reality of it." She also said if it came down to it, she would rather eat Stewart's cooking over hers. Eventually, Stewart set the record straight that there was no actual bad blood between the two. "I truly believe that Rachael has done a terrific job bringing people, many people who would have never even stepped into the kitchen or made a dish to cook," said Stewart. "I really had a great time being a guest on her show, and it was a lot of fun to have her on this show making pie with me too. Come on back, Rachael, anytime you want..." Looks like the two could be doing some collabs in the future.

When Rachael Ray debuted on Food Network, Emeril Lagasse made it clear he didn't think she was the right fit by saying she "doesn't know anything about food. I would not put her on." Looks like Lagasse was eventually was won over by Ray's charm and got over it. His tone has completely changed and he's been a guest on the Rachael Ray show several times. The two food lovers appear to be great friends.

According to Anthony Bourdain, who passed away in June 2018, Sandra Lee was "pure evil," saying, "this frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time." He was not a fan of her store-bought ingredients (i.e. canned frostings), which led to him calling her out during a Food for Thought Forum in 2009 over her now-infamous Kwanzaa cake. "Please go home, Google 'Sandra Lee' and 'Kwanzaa cake' and then count how long it's going to take for your head to explode," he said.

Several years later, he still wasn't over it. In his second book, Medium Raw, Bourdain mentioned a night at a party for the Julie & Julia premiere where Lee snuck up behind him and slid her hands up his jacket in a way that even left his wife shocked. She said he had been a "bad boy" and Bourdain said he felt like it was something out of Cape Fear. We think it's safe to say he learned to avoid dissing her cooking style in the future.

It's no secret that Anthony Bourdain had no filter when it came to speaking his mind about his colleagues. One of his biggest heat ups was with Food Network star Guy Fieri. Bourdain made it very clear he wasn't into Fieri's style, even calling Fieri's Time Square restaurant a "terror dome." 

In 2011 when Fieri's Lamborghini was stolen, Bourdain tweeted that he borrowed it for a drive and "it smells like Ed Hardy in here." Way harsh! The world traveling chef didn't stop there, Bourdain told Atlanta Magazine in a 2015 interview, "I sort of feel in a heartfelt way for Guy. I wonder about him. He's 52 years old and still rolling around in the flame outfit...What does he do? How does Guy Fieri de-douche?" For the record, Fieri was only 46 when Bourdain was ripping him. 

Fieri definitely had words to say about Bourdain's behavior and told GQ Magazine in 2015, "I don't like him making fun of people, and I don't like him talking s**t. And he's never talked s**t to my face. I know he's definitely gotta have issues, 'cos the average person doesn't behave that way. ... It's just, what are you doing? What is your instigation? You have nothing else to f**king worry about than if I have bleached hair or not? I mean, f**k."

These two have been feuding for what seems like decades. From Ramsay nicknaming Oliver "one-pot wonder" to throwing shade at him for being too busy to attend his own restaurant opening. Oliver seems to think the feud has ended (sort of), saying, "Gordon has been fairly horrible to me over the years and I did used to bite," he said. "Now I just shut up and take it. A bit of drama is always good for some PR." Although, recently there was some backlash over a comment that upset Ramsay's wife terribly and he's still waiting for an apology.

Finally someone challenges Anthony Bourdain. After vocalizing to People that 252 episodes of his show Good Eats is plenty to make his resume worthy, Alton Brown went on to question Bourdain's place in the kitchen, asking "When was the last time you saw Anthony Bourdain actually cook anything?" He added, "I've spent 14 years cooking my own food on television and I've never seen him cook a meal." Though he may have come down hard on the fact that Bourdain is never seen actually cooking on the line anymore, he does have plenty of respect for the fellow chef. Brown stated, "I think that [he] is probably the best writer about food. I'm jealous of his work. He pokes a lot of things and that's fine; you have to have critics, issue provocateurs, so to speak... I'm a fan, and the few times I've gotten to work with him I enjoyed it immensely." Gotta love a little friendly competition and trash talk every once in awhile.

The OG housemaker and queen B when it comes to the kitchen, Martha Stewart, once again heats things up — this time with actress Gwyneth Paltrow as she tried to make a name for herself in the kitchen. Not thrilled by Paltrow's brand, Goop, Stewart told Net-a-Porter, (via Page Six) "She just needs to be quiet. She's a movie star. If she were confident in her acting, she wouldn't be trying to be Martha Stewart." Ouch, we thought imitation was the sincerest form of flattery! The cat-fight didn't end there. Stewart created a dessert called "conscious coupling" as a way to jab Paltrow on how she chose to describe her divorce from Coldplay singer, Chris Martin. But Paltrow wasn't about to let Stewart do all the digging. She turned around and made her very own "jailbird cake" to remind us all (and Stewart, too) of the queen's time behind bars. We don't know about you, but we could use some cake right about now.