What Alex Guarnaschelli Was Doing Before Food Network

Alex Guarnaschelli is well-known for her roles hosting, judging, and competing in Food Network television shows, such as "Chopped," "Iron Chef America," "Supermarket Stakeout," "Alex vs America," and more. But what was she up to before her success as a Food Network star?

Guarnaschelli had a culinary career for 17 years before joining the Food Network, though she didn't initially expect cooking to be in the cards for her. Cooking for her friends in college and eventually her first restaurant gig at Larry Forgione's An American Place on 32nd Street off Park Avenue in Manhattan, she began to see the powerful impact that good food can bring.

Guarnaschelli then left for France to pursue further education at La Varenne Culinary School in Burgundy. While in France, she began working at Guy Savoy's, a three-star Michelin restaurant, then moved to La Butte Chaillot, where she eventually became the sous chef. She returned to New York after seven years in France to work as sous chef at the restaurant Daniel in New York. She also served as a chef instructor for the Institute of Culinary Education for a period.

Guarnaschelli explained in an article with People that when working at Larry Forgione's An American Place, she found so much joy in cooking and was simultaneously learning through her mistakes. "Overcooking custards, over baking breads, overdressing greens, overcooking broccoli," she said. "I dropped a flat of eggs on the chef's suede (and tassled!) loafers my second day there. If it had potential to be screwed up, chances are I would try my hand at that."

Cooking runs in Guarnaschelli's blood as the daughter of renowned cookbook editor, Maria Guarnaschelli. Her website even says, "She was raised on the cuisine of whatever book her mother happened to be working on at the time." Guarnaschelli has written a total of five cookbooks herself, including "The Home Cook," and "Old-School Comfort Food." She co-authored the 2023 cookbook, "Cook It Up," with her daughter, Ava Clark. Guarnaschelli has also consistently supported a variety of charities over her career, most notably Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, which aids in childhood cancer research.

Guarnaschelli is currently the chef of Butter Restaurant in New York City, a title she has held since 2003. She explains on her website that over the past few decades at Butter, she has focused on "spotlighting local ingredients in dishes that allowed their flavors to shine." Along with Butter and her cookbooks, she plans to stay with Food Network for the foreseeable future (via The Wrap).

For more about this iconic celebrity chef, here's what you didn't know about Alex Guarnaschelli.