1

Julia Child

Image: Caroline Attwood

Probably the first name that comes to mind when thinking about famous American chefs is Julia Child, and for good reason. This chef, author, and television personality is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking , and her television programs, like 1963’s The French Chef.

Child began learning to cook after meeting her future husband, Paul, who grew up in a family passionate about food and was known for his sophisticated palate.

2

Emeril Lagasse

Image: Fabrizio Magoni

Another familiar name (one of many) on this list is Emeril Lagasse, a celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and regional James Beard Award winner (more on this name later), known for his mastery of Creole and Cajun cuisine.

He is known for catchphrases like "Kick it up a notch!" and "Bam!" and has appeared on a wide variety of cooking shows , including Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril .

3

Paula Deen

Image: Alyson McPhee

The hostess of Paula’s Party is a chef, cookbook author, and TV personality from Savannah, Georgia, where she owns and operates The Lady & Sons restaurant with her sons . She has been the star of several cooking shows, including Paula’s Home Cooking, Positively Paula, Paula’s Best Dishes , and the aforementioned Paula’s Party .

Another show where you might recognize her—though it doesn't bear her name—is MasterChef , where she appears as a guest alongside other well-known chefs, mentoring home cooks through a series of challenges.

4

James Beard

Image: Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦

If Julia Child is not the first name that comes to your mind when you think of a celebrity chef, then this might be the one. James Beard pioneered television cooking with shows like 1946’s I Love to Eat, taught at The James Beard Cooking School, and lectured extensively. He was a big promoter of American cooking, emphasizing the use of fresh, local ingredients.

Beard taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts, and published more than twenty books.

5

Leah Chase

Image: Jorge Zapata

The Queen of Creole Cuisine, Leah Chase, was a New Orleans chef, author, and television host, also known for her civil rights advocacy and her extensive African-American art collection . Her restaurant, Dooky Chase, was known as a gathering place during the 1960s for many involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and in 2018, it was named one of the 40 most important restaurants of the past 40 years by Food & Wine .

Leah Chase was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America in 2010, received a lifetime achievement award from the Southern Foodways Alliance in 2000, and was awarded honorary degrees from several universities, among other honors.

6

Bobby Flay

Image: Wyron A

A staple on the Food Network, Bobby Flay has been a prominent figure in American television since 1995, winning several awards and even earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . He has hosted or been a part of several shows, including Hot Off the Grill with Bobby Flay, 3 Days to Open with Bobby Flay, Throwdown with Bobby Flay , and many more.

He has participated in many shows competing against other chefs, mentoring home chefs, and has hosted many cooking reality shows.

7

Sara Moulton

Image: Holly Stratton

Described as "one of the nation’s most enduring recipe writers and cooking teachers...and a dean of food television and magazines," Sara Moulton is a chef, cookbook author, and television personality. She served as the food editor for ABC’s Good Morning America from 1997 to 2012 and hosted Cooking Live , Cooking Live Primetime , and Sara’s Secrets on the Food Network.

Moulton has authored several cookbooks, including Sara Moulton Cooks at Home (2002), Sara’s Secrets for Weeknight Meals (2005), and Sara Moulton’s Everyday Family Dinners (2010). Since 2008, she has hosted Sara’s Weeknight Meals .

8

Guy Fieri

Image: Manu Ros

This easily recognizable and colorful personality is widely known for hosting many television series on The Food Network, licensing his name to restaurants in cities worldwide, and for his signature flashy shirts and spiky hair. His shows are said to bring an "element of rowdy, mass-market culture to American food television."

A series of TV specials and cooking shows showcase Fieri traveling the country visiting eateries, cooking, participating in and hosting game shows, and making appearances in other chefs’ shows.

9

Mary Ann Esposito

Image: Louis Hansel

Being the hostess of the longest-running television cooking program in America is no small feat, and Mary Ann Esposito—chef, cookbook writer, and central figure of _Ciao Italia_—has achieved just that.

This 30-minute show features Esposito's recipes and cooking tips, along with visits from guest chefs, as she explores the history of Italian cooking and food. The food is made from scratch in the studio, with each dish being prepared in numerous batches and at different recipe stages. This allows Esposito to execute an entire recipe in a matter of minutes, even if it would normally take hours to complete.

10

Anthony Bourdain

Image: Or Hakim

One of the most famous names in American television cooking history is, without a doubt, Anthony Bourdain. After honing his skills in various eateries and graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, including several years as executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan, he became best known for his travel documentaries, where he explored local cuisines from around the world, as well as for his books.

His first food and world-travel television show was A Cook's Tour , which was followed by Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations , The Layover , and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. His funny, philosophical, and daredevil attitude made him a beloved figure in the world of television food shows.

1

Skydiving accident survivor

Image: Eun-Kwang Bae

Jordan Hatmaker was not an expert, but she had done enough skydiving jumps to recognize when something was wrong. On November 14, 2021, she jumped from a height of 4,100 meters and deployed her parachute. But a series of unfortunate malfunctions led to the chutes opening at the very last moment—and in a disastrous way—causing her to crash land.

Although Jordan survived, she suffered a spinal injury, broke her shin, completely shattered her ankle, and was paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors couldn’t tell if she would ever walk again. Yet, just three months after the accident, she defied expectations and began walking. Since then, she’s even climbed Mount Everest base camp.

2

Survived being frozen for 6 hours

Image: Jared Erondu

Imagine being frozen solid for a full six hours. Almost anybody who has been in a similar situation, even for a much shorter time, has experienced serious consequences or even death. But not Jean Hilliard, who slipped in the ice in the harsh Minnesota winter, knocked herself unconscious and remained frozen for six hours until a friend discovered her.

After her friend took her to the hospital, doctors had trouble inserting an IV cannula because her arm was frozen solid. But, after thawing her with heat pads, Jean came back to life and her body returned to its normal state. Her extremities took a bit longer to come around; her toes, especially, were numb for some time. Remarkably, Jean recovered quickly and has experienced no lasting physical effects from that fateful December night frozen in the ice.

3

Survived a self-amputation

Image: Justin Luebke

If you have seen the film 127 Hours then you’ll recognize this story: Aron Ralston was hiking in a remote Utah canyon when a boulder fell, trapping his arm . With no one around to hear his cries for help and his water supply dwindling, Aron made the excruciating decision to sever his arm below the elbow using a dull multitool.

After freeing himself, Ralston rappelled down a 65-foot cliff and hiked several miles through the rugged terrain before being discovered by a search and rescue helicopter.

4

Military jet crash survivor

Image: Albert Stoynov

David Steeves, a U.S. Air Force lieutenant, was ordered to fly a Lockheed T-33A trainer jet from an Air Force base near San Francisco to Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama, on May 9, 1957. Shortly after takeoff, Steeves and the jet disappeared without a trace, and he was declared dead after an extensive search yielded no results. After the incident, during the height of the Cold War, Steeves faced unfounded accusations of defecting and giving the trainer jet to the USSR.

However, Steeves appeared out of the Sierra Nevada the following July. He claimed that after an explosion in the jet, he had ejected and parachuted to safety. For two weeks, he survived without food until he discovered a ranger’s cabin in Kings Canyon National Park, where he found fishhooks, beans, and a canned ham to sustain himself.

5

Rode off a cliff in her vehicle

Image: Fabian Quintero

In a scene straight out of a movie, Angela Hernandez swerved to avoid hitting a small animal on the road and accidentally drove her SUV off a cliff. Her vehicle tumbled about 200 feet to a desolate, rocky beach.

Despite suffering a brain hemorrhage, fractured ribs, a broken collarbone, ruptured blood vessels in both eyes, and a collapsed lung, Hernandez managed to pull herself out of the sinking car. She walked for days until hikers stumbled across her wrecked Jeep and scoured the beach. Eventually, they found Hernandez crumpled up, sleeping on some rocks. After surviving seven harrowing days, she was finally rescued.

6

Three-year-old survives 2 days in the wilderness

Image: Jeremy McKnight

Three-year-old Ryker Webb was playing with his dog when he decided to take a walk on his own and wandered off. After his disappearance, a massive search was launched, and for two days the search team made no progress. Then, a family visiting their remote cabin in the middle of the wilderness heard the faint cries of a little boy coming from behind a shed.

Ryker was found tucked into a lawnmower bag. He was dressed in a light blue onesie that had been covered in dirt. After they called the police, the family was shocked to learn about the massive search that had been going on. The little boy survived two days in Montana wilderness, in near-freezing temperatures in an area, that according to locals, is heavily populated with bears and mountain lions.

7

Saved his family from a plane crash

Image: Gianluca Bei

Saving oneself from a plane crash is an extraordinary feat in itself. But saving an entire family as well is exponentially harder. On August 13, 2011, Donald Evans and his family were flying to their new home in Anvik, Alaska, aboard a Cessna plane when tragedy struck. The plane crashed into the mountains, killing the pilot and another passenger, and leaving Donald and his family— including his pregnant wife—badly injured .

Despite his own injuries, Donald managed to keep his family alive until the National Guard arrived by helicopter to rescue them. Amazingly, every member of the family survived, including their unborn daughter.

8

Quicksand survivor

Image: Sumner Mahaffey

Quicksand is a threat much more present in child stories than in real life but it does exist, as Ryan Osmun discovered in the worst possible way. While hiking in Utah’s Zion National Park he and his girlfriend tried to cross an innocent-looking pond that turned out to be quicksand.

After managing to save his girlfriend, Ryan sank into the sandy bottom to no avail. He had to wait for long hours until help arrived at the scene, just in time to save his life with a pulley system to yank him out of the ordeal.

9

Surviving the Desert

Image: Max Templeton

At 72 years old, Ann Rodgers spent nine days lost in the Arizona desert keeping herself alive thanks to skills acquired at a survival course and her own knowledge of nature. After getting lost on a distant dirt road and running out of gas, she left her car and started wandering the desert.

Had she stayed in her car, police would have found her 3 days later. Despite this misstep, Ann managed to survive. After 9 days, a helicopter found her thanks to a large "HELP" sign she had crafted out of rocks and took her to the hospital, where she made a full recovery.

10

Lost in the woods with poor eyesight

Image: Jeremy Bishop

Being lost in the woods is a bad thing as it is. But being lost in the woods with very bad eyesight and no glasses is much worse. This is exactly what happened to Marcus Mazzaferri at Yosemite National Park when he tried to traverse a river by foot, slipped on a rock, and was pulled by the rapids.

Marcus was able to reach a river bank and wandered through the woods, challenged by cold and darkness, without his much-needed glasses. He hiked using deer tracks, which he was barely able to see, as his only guide. Eventually, he was able to contact a plow crew near the river and was saved.

1

Apple

Apple Inc. famously started in 1976 in the Los Altos garage of Steve Jobs’ parents. Jobs and Steve Wozniak assembled early versions of the Apple I computer there, selling circuit boards to local computer hobbyists.

What began as a small project between two friends eventually grew into one of the world’s most valuable companies, producing iconic products like the iPhone, Mac, and iPad.

2

Amazon

Amazon began in 1994 when Jeff Bezos launched an online bookstore from the garage of his rented home in Bellevue. Early operations included simple desks and computers connected to the growing internet.

From selling books online, Amazon rapidly expanded into nearly every retail category and eventually became one of the largest e-commerce and cloud computing companies in the world.

3

Google

Google started in 1998 in a garage rented from Susan Wojcicki in Menlo Park. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin worked there while developing their revolutionary search engine.

Their algorithm dramatically improved how people found information online, and the company quickly grew into a global tech powerhouse that now operates under Alphabet Inc.

4

Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett‑Packard, often called HP, was founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in a small garage in Palo Alto.

Their first product was an audio oscillator used by sound engineers, including early customers at The Walt Disney Company. That modest workspace is now considered the birthplace of Silicon Valley.

5

Disney

The Walt Disney Company traces part of its origin to a garage studio used by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney in the early 1920s in Los Angeles.

Working with minimal equipment, the brothers produced early animated films that would eventually lead to the creation of Mickey Mouse and a global entertainment empire.

6

Harley-Davidson

Harley‑Davidson began in 1903 in a small wooden garage in Milwaukee. Founders William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson built their first motorcycle prototype there.

The company grew steadily and became one of the most iconic motorcycle brands in the world, known for its powerful engines and loyal fan base.

7

Mattel

Mattel began in 1945, when Harold Matson and Elliot Handler started making picture frames in a garage workshop in Los Angeles.

Leftover frame scraps were used to create dollhouse furniture, which became so popular that the company shifted its focus to toys. Mattel would later introduce famous products like Barbie and Hot Wheels.

8

Dell

Dell Technologies was founded by Michael Dell in 1984. While the company began in his college dorm room at the University of Texas at Austin, early operations soon moved into a small garage workspace where computers were assembled and upgraded.

Dell’s direct-to-consumer sales model helped transform the personal computer industry and made the company one of the world’s largest PC manufacturers.

9

Yankee Candle

Yankee Candle began in 1969 when teenager Michael Kittredge II made a homemade candle in his family’s garage in South Hadley as a Christmas gift.

Neighbors wanted to buy the candles, and the small hobby quickly turned into a thriving business. Today, the brand is one of the most recognized names in scented candles.