Chef’s kiss

She was a member of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) after learning she was too tall to enlist in the Women’s Army Corps, and she also served in the Aircraft Warning Service. But she’s not the only TV cook who was moved by aviation. Here’s a surprising list of well-known chefs who have aviation in their backgrounds:

Sunny Anderson: The Food Network co-host had a career in the U.S. Air Force before becoming a food personality. She was a military radio host in South Korea.

Alton Brown: The creator and host of the Food Network show Good Eats earned his private pilot certificate in 2008 and has owned both a Cessna 206 and Cessna 414.

Alain Ducasse: The French chef who became the first chef to own restaurants with three Michelin Stars had an unfortunate brush with aviation. He was the sole survivor of a 1984 crash of a Piper Aztec flying between Saint Tropez and Courchevel, France.

Ina Garten: The Barefoot Contessa herself got her private pilot certificate in 1968 while living in North Carolina. Her husband Jeffrey was in the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Sanjeev Kapoor: Considered the “king of Indian cooking,” this TV celebrity chef served in the Indian Air Force and is on the International Culinary Board of Singapore Airlines.

Gordon Ramsay: The fiery British chef and TV personality has taken flight training but has not gotten his pilot certificate. Yet. Can we help Chef Ramsay?

Rachael Ray: Because of the celebrity’s affection for animals, the Rachael Ray Foundation purchased a new Mahindra Airvan GA8 aircraft for the Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team.

Bryan Voltaggio: Bravo TV Top Chef finalist and owner of restaurants in the Frederick, Maryland, area where AOPA headquarters is located, Bryan Voltaggio is an instrument-rated private pilot. 

[email protected]