Known for their innovative cuisine and second-to-none palates, you might assume that famous chefs
only have a taste for the finest ingredients at the fanciest restaurants.
But there's plenty of love for fast food in the upper levels of the culinary world.
Here are a few famous chefs who love that greasy goodness.
Andrew Zimmern
Former executive chef and current globetrotting TV host Andrew Zimmern might travel the world
sampling regional cuisine, local delicacies, and even the occasional still-moving creepy
crawly, but when he's on the road in the states?
It's Americana all the way.
He dished on his favorite pit stops to The Daily Meal, saying,
"I have a weakness in my heart for Culver's.
It's a family favorite.
It's a Midwestern chain that does custard really well and does hamburgers pretty decently."
Tim Love
You could safely say that Tim Love loves burgers.
The Iron Chef America participant is the owner of Fort Worth's Love Shack, where they serve
up an array of drool-worthy burgers ground fresh daily with a blend of prime tenderloin
and prime brisket.
But like many chefs, when asked where he'd go to satisfy his burger craving, it's not
his own restaurant.
Love told Esquire he'd hit up Whataburger, explaining,
"It's like a fresh, clean, Texas version of McDonald's."
His go-to order?
"Whataburger with cheese, bacon, and jalapeños, and two sausage-and-egg taquitos."
Michael Psilakis
He's the executive chef and owner of several New York area restaurants, but you might recognize
Michael Psilakis from his appearances on shows like Iron Chef America, Ultimate Recipe Showdown,
and No Kitchen Required.
Psilakis told Esquire that his favorite fast food indulgence is Kentucky Fried Chicken.
"I treat myself to KFC about three times a year.
I love that crunchy fried crust.
It's like the crumb on top of crumb cake; the chicken is an afterthought, really."
David Chang
It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that David Chang told Serious Eats that his
favorite guilty pleasure food is Popeyes fried chicken.
The chef and founder of Momofuku he opened his own fast casual fried chicken joint, Fuku,
in 2015.
Popeyes might be his go-to now, but Chang told Grubstreet he grew up in Virginia eating
Chick-fil-A, and it actually served as inspiration for Fuku.
Chang, who is also a fan of In-N-Out Burger, says he threw around the idea of combining
an In-N-Out burger with a Chick-fil-A sandwich for the Fuku menu, which sounds amazing.
Speaking of the iconic burger chain …
In-N-Out is in
One thing is clear: When it comes to favorite fast food among chefs, In-N-Out Burger is
king.
Talking to Eater, the late Anthony Bourdain waxed poetic about In-N-Out, saying it was
his favorite restaurant in Los Angeles.
"It's the only fast food chain that I actually like, and think is reasonably good for the
world."
The Michelin-starred and foul-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay had nothing but good things
to say about In-N-Out during a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session:
"I was so bad, I sat in the restaurant, had my double cheeseburger then minutes later
I drove back round and got the same thing again to take away."
Tyler Florence, whose go-to order is an Animal Style Double-Double Cheeseburger, told Esquire,
"I dare anyone to tell me their burgers aren't as good as any you'll find anywhere, from
fast food to fine dining."
Alton Brown, who knows good eats, explained to the magazine,
"The hamburger is definitive, greasy but oddly clean-tasting at the same time, and the sauce
actually is 'special.'
And the shake tastes the way shakes tasted back when I was a kid.
It makes me tear up just thinkin' about it."
Ina Garten, rationalizing her love for the burger joint, confessed to the Today show,
"When we're in California doing book tours, we always have to go to In-N-Out burger.
It's so good and I know it was Julia Child's favorite too, so it's okay."
That's right: The chef responsible for bringing French cuisine to the masses was was rumored
to have carried a list of In-N-Out locations around in her purse.
When Larry King asked if she liked McDonald's, Julia Child replied,
"Yes, but there's another one called the In-and-Out Burger that I like, too.
[…] It's very good."
Guy Fieri, when asked to choose between Shake Shack and In-N-Out, explained to First We
Feast,
"I love [Shake Shack founder] Danny Meyer, but In-N-Out.
[...] Shake Shack's phenomenal, but there's something about growing up around In-N-Out."
Finally, there's one culinary icon who just isn't into IN-N-Out, or any fast food at all:
domestic goddess Martha Stewart.
During a 2012 Television Critics Association panel, Stewart boasted:
"I proudly can tell you that I've eaten one Burger King [meal] and I think maybe two McDonald's
[…] and today I ate an In-N-Out burger.
It was okay.
[...] I would much rather have a salad or sushi or something like that."
Describing an In-N-Out burger as just "okay"?
It's hard to get behind you on this one, Martha.
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