Celebrity Chefs Who Cook for Chains

While Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio made a name for himself as a high-end chef, he also makes a mean sandwich. The successful restaurateur branched out from fancy and pricey establishments in 2003, when he founded 'Wichcraft. The chain now exists in New York, San Francisco, and Las Vegas and is known for making innovative, high-quality sandwiches with the freshest ingredients.

Did you know that the creator of the new Cantina Bell menu at Taco Bell is a former Top Chef Masters contestant? Lorena Garcia helped the fast food giant create an expanded menu, which includes premium bowls and burritos. She also revamped Taco Bell staples, such as the chain’s chicken, salsas, and guacamole.

Food Network celebrity Tyler Florence was one of the first well-known chefs to cook for an established chain. Florence partnered with Applebee's in 2006 and was responsible for creating several new Italian-style menu items. However, due to bad press surrounding the joint venture, Florence ultimately stopped working with Applebee's.

While Spike Mendelsohn may be known for showing off his fine-dining chops on Top Chef, Top Chef All-Stars, and The Next Iron Chef, his fans can taste his food for reasonable prices at his burger chain, Good Stuff Eatery. Mendelsohn currently has three locations, all in and around the D.C. area. In addition to burgers, fries, and his special Good Stuff Sauce, Mendelsohn offers famous milkshakes in flavors like Toasted Marshmallow, Vietnamese Coffee, and Soursop Hop Strawberry.

In addition to owning several restaurants, Art Smith was Oprah Winfrey's personal chef and a contestant on two separate seasons of Top Chef Masters. Now he is part of a new chain restaurant project called LYFE Kitchen, which is on a mission to make quick-service restaurants healthy. LYFE also encompasses other food trends, like sustainability, fresh food, and star power. Smith is Executive Chef and creates the menu for LYFE Kitchen's two locations. The chain plans to expand in the near future.

New York City’s favorite on-the-go lunch spot is famous for its rotating menu of made-from-scratch soups. The fast-casual chain recently gave diners new incentive to visit one of its 28 locations when the Chef Series launched. Six celebrity chefs each came up with a unique soup recipe to be sold at the chain. The participating chefs were Bill Telepan, Michael Anthony, Nick Anderer, Chris Bradley Michael White, and David Burke. As if an affordable lunch by one of these big name chef wasn’t enough, a portion of the profits from each chef’s soup went to the charity of his choice.

An icon among celebrity chefs, Wolfgang Puck is known for his fine dining restaurants, such as Spago, as well as his fun-loving TV personality. He is an extremely successful restaurateur and owns more than 20 different restaurant concepts, many with more than one location. One of his many establishments is Wolfgang Puck Express, which, according to Puck’s website, offers, “Wolgang’s most popular dishes in a contemporary, fast-casual setting with affordable prices.” Wolfgang Puck Express can be found at airports around the country and around the world.

Top Chef alum Edward Lee recently helped out another food celebrity in the kitchen — Colonel Sanders himself. When KFC discovered a cookbook and autobiography written by the late Colonel last year, they hired Lee to help whip up the recipes, but with a modern day, foodie flare. Recipes and videos of Lee making elevated KFC eats are available online.

Before becomes a Food Network star, Guy Fieri launched his first restaurant, called Johnny Garlic’s, featuring what would become his signature style and flavors. Now Fieri has five California locations for fans to visit. Johnny Garlic's is one of Fieri’s two chains; Tex Wasabi also has more than one location.

While the king of celebrity chefs, known for his big personality and his catchphrase “Bam!”, doesn’t have his own chain just yet, he does have several different fast-casual restaurants where his fans can chow down on his food for cheap. His burger joint, Burgers and More by Emeril, features burgers done Emeril-style with toppings like andouille sausage and his signature gumbo. Emeril also has e2GO, a sandwich and salad place for eaters on the go, which is conveniently located next to e2 Emeril’s Eatery, a more upscale restaurant.