Cooking can not only be a passion and sometimes a required skill, but it can actually turn into a pretty lucrative career choice. Chefs working in five-star hotels, high class restaurants, or on cruise lines are notoriously highly-paid for the effort they put into feeding their guests. But even if the average salary for a chef is pretty decent in itself, some cooks out there manage to cash in a lot more than that.
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Following, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the top best paid chefs in the world. The figures used to rank the chefs are estimates of how much they have earned during a span of 12 months. Let’s take a look at the countdown.
No. 5: Mario Batali
Earnings: 13$ million
Much of Batali’s revenue is generated by his personal restaurants, although his recent involvement with the media has substantially increased his paycheck. Apart from his TV show The Chef, Batali also makes money by selling cookware and even his own wine collection from his private vineyard in Tuscany, Italy.
No. 4: Paula Deen
Earnings: $17 million
In terms of media marketing, Paula Deen has done it all: books, magazines, TV shows, TV appearances, and live interviews. She also several restaurants and has signed deals with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and other retailers in the US. All of this has helped her cash in a whopping paycheck in the previous year, amounting to $17 million. Despite recent health concerns, Miss Deen is still going strong and remains one of the best paid chefs in the world.
No. 3: Wolfgang Puck
Earnings: $20 million
Wolfgang Puck first became famous back in the ’80 and his cooking (and marketing) skills have stood the test of time. He now owns more than 20 restaurants and about 100 more express or catering locations. He is most renowned for his selection of soups and pizzas which are sold in supermarkets across the US. His cooking skills have also entered the cyber-sphere, as he has developed his own app to help people with cooking, party planning, and, of course, locating his restaurants.
No. 2: Rachel Ray
Earnings: $25 million
Rachel Ray is the only chef to feature on our list who doesn’t have her own restaurant. But what she does have is several TV shows and more than 20 books about cooking. Her marketing and management abilities paid off in the end. After all, she did learn from the best, working under the wing of Miss Oprah Winfrey when she first started out her career in television.
No. 1: Gordon Ramsay
Earnings: $38 million
Worldwide, Gordon Ramsay is more famous for being the host of several cooking shows, such as Master Chef, Hotel Hell, or Hell’s Kitchen, but he is actually not only a chef, but also the owner of no less than 24 restaurants or pubs around the world. His shows, which air both in Britain and the US, as well as his five-star dining establishments have helped Gordon Ramsay become leader in terms of best paid chefs, earning an impressive $38 million in just 12 months.
