Chalk up Ray’s mass appeal to knowing howrealpeople shop and eat.

Since then, the U.K. pretty boy has gone on to international renown for making cooking look glamorous.

you’ve got the option to probably thank Yan.

Anthony Bourdain | TV Show: No Reservations True, we don’t ever witness Bourdain behind the grill, but this chain-smoking bad boy’s purveying of other people’s cooking around the

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And in May 2008, he launched a line of grilling and entertaining products for Kohl’s.

TOM COLICCHIO

TV Show:Top Chef

Chef Colicchio is one tough cookie.

Perhaps his intuition is, as Goldilocks once said, ‘‘Just right.’’

Rachael Ray | TV Shows: Rachel’s Vacation , Rachael Ray , 30 Minute Meals , $40 a Day Foodies may hold up their nose to Ray’s simplified methods

So what if we never really see him cook.

Brown reduces everything to a literal breakdown of ingredients and chemical reactions inGood Eats.

And as the on-the-floor color commentator ofIron Chef America, Brown showcases an impressive knowledge of obscure culinary terminology.

Jamie Oliver | TV Shows: Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution , Jamie at Home , Oprah’s Big Give The English-born Oliver first made news in Britain in 1999 with

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No easy feat, since Italian fare is notoriously heavy.

PAUL PRUDHOMME

TV Show:Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Always Cooking!

Ever eaten a blackened redfish?

TV Show: Martin Yan’s China , Yan Can Cook The current Asian fusion craze? You can probably thank Yan. Back in the ’80s, the fast-talking

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He carried the Cajun torch before Emeril kicked up his first notch.

Just what the doctor ordered.

The former journalist has also penned bestselling books like 1998’sHow To Eatand 2000’sHow To Be a Domestic Goddess.

Bobby Flay | TV Shows: Boy Meets Grill , Throwdown , Iron Chef America Who says that cooking isn’t a man’s sport? Not Flay — the boyish chef

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Her love of French food helped to make it an American staple.

Top Chef | TV Show: Top Chef Chef Colicchio is one tough cookie. The owner of Craft restaurants (and a former owner and executive chef at Gramercy Tavern)

Carin Baer

TV Shows: Good Eats , Iron Chef America , Feasting on Waves If only all science classes tasted so good: Brown is like the Bill

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TV Show: Everyday Italian Whenever de Laurentiis cooks, the food always emerges looking light, clean, and crisp — as if it has been to a

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The Muppet Show | TV Show: The Muppet Show With the beloved Swedish Chef, the wizards behind The Muppet Show managed to both parody cooking shows — by having

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Mario Batali | TV Shows: Molto Mario , Iron Chef America Spain… on the Road Again The ginger-headed bon vivant may be best known for championing his trademark

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Gordon Ramsay | TV Show: Hell’s Kitchen , Kitchen Nightmares The Scottish chef may be cranky as hell, but it makes for pure entertainment gold when would-be chefs

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TV Show: Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Always Cooking! Ever eaten a blackened redfish? You can thank Prudhomme, as he’s largely responsible for making the once-endangered species

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Paula Deen | TV Show: Paula’s Home Cooking , Paula’s Party , Paula’s Best Dishes Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that this Southern Belle remedies homesickness better than

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Nigella Lawson | TV Show: Nigella Feasts , Nigella Bites , Nigella Express We ‘fess up to having a little crush on the English-born Lawson, whose popularity rests

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Julia Child | TV Shows: The French Show , Baking with Julia Ask any living chef who influenced them growing up, and the answer almost always includes the

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Emeril Lagasse | TV Show: The Essence of Emeril , Emeril Live ‘‘Kick it up a notch!’’ ‘‘Bam!’’ It’s no coincidence that Lagasse, who often punctuates his cooking

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Martha Stewart | TV Show: The Martha Stewart Show She’s more of a brand than a chef, but no list would be complete without the soft-spoken Stewart. The