Here's How Much Alex Guarnaschelli Is Really Worth

Anyone who watches cooking shows will know who Alex Guarnaschelli is, as the celebrity chef has made regular appearances on Food Network shows like Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay. But prior to Guarnaschelli's TV career, she earned some serious culinary credentials. During childhood, she learned how to cook from her mother, a cookbook editor, but began a professional culinary career after graduating from college when she worked under Larry Forgione, an acclaimed American chef and restaurateur, according to Guarnaschelli's website.

Forgione encouraged his pupil to travel and learn new skills, so Guarnaschelli moved to France for a work-study position at La Varenne Culinary School, a prestigious cooking institution, in Burgundy. She eventually worked for renowned French chef Guy Savoy at his eponymous, three Michelin-starred restaurant, and La Butte Chaillot, where she was sous-chef. Guarnaschelli described the experience of "being an American woman in charge of a French kitchen with 10 cooks under you" as initially terrifying — but life-changing on a professional level.

Guarnaschelli left France after seven years of success, returning to the U.S. to work with another famous French chef, Daniel Boulud, at his restaurant Daniel in New York City. She eventually became the executive chef at Butter in New York City in 2003, but had higher aspirations — appearing on Food Network for the first time in 2007, when she beat Cat Cora on Iron Chef America. Since then, Guarnaschelli has become a familiar face on the channel, earning the title of Iron Chef on The Next Iron Chef: Redemption and becoming a judge on Food Network Challenge and Chopped (via IMDb).

The celebrity chef's TV appearances have played a big role in her net worth, which Net Worth Reporter estimated to be $3 million as of 2019. Guarnaschelli's best-selling cookbooks, Old-School Comfort Food: The Way I Learned to Cook and The Home Cook: Recipes to Know by Heart, have also been a significant contribution to this estimate (via Food Network). 

Her net worth is likely higher since signing an exclusive multi-year, multi-platform deal with Food Network last April. Under the deal, she will host a new prime-time series, appear as a recurring co-host on The Kitchen, and continue to appear on Chopped as well as her digital series Fix Me a Plate (via The Wrap). Guarnaschelli's new show may mean a bigger paycheck for her in the future, and based on her gorgeous farmhouse kitchen, she's not afraid to use it.