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Shape’s “The Top 25 Hottest Chefs in America” is a photo-and-interview feature published on September 11, 2013—not a current ranking. It presents 25 chefs in the order they appear and pairs the portraits with their thoughts on date-night cooking, exercise, and food splurges. The “hottest” label is the magazine’s subjective framing; the feature gives no ranking method.
Who made Shape’s 2013 list?
The names and locations below reflect how Shape identified the chefs in 2013. They should not be read as a guide to current restaurant roles or locations.
- Michael Chernow — New York
- Akhtar Nawab — New York
- Michael Voltaggio — Los Angeles
- Michael Schulson — Philadelphia
- Gavin Kaysen — New York
- Jeff McInnis — Miami
- Harold Dieterle — New York
- Ed Kenney — Oahu, Hawaii
- Seamus Mullen — New York
- Marc Forgione — New York
- Evan Hanczor — Brooklyn, New York
- Thiago Silva — New York and Miami
- Michael Symon — Cleveland
- Marco Canora — New York
- Sean Baker — Berkeley, California
- Louis Maldonado — San Francisco
- Stephen Collucci — New York
- Chris Kostow — Napa Valley, California
- Takashi Inoue — New York
- Marcus Samuelsson — New York
- Zach Pollack — Los Angeles
- Brandon Sharp — Calistoga, California
- Scott Conant — New York
- Ludo Lefebvre — Los Angeles
- Ryan Angulo — New York
What did the chefs say about cooking for a date?
The interview’s cooking prompt gives the feature more than a set of portraits: it offers a glimpse of how several chefs described a relaxed meal for two in 2013. These are their answers at the time, not claims about their current routines.
- Michael Chernow: A whole fish grilled with salt, olive oil, herbs, and garlic.
- Michael Voltaggio: Make pizza together using store-bought dough.
- Gavin Kaysen: Squash soup followed by wild mushroom risotto.
- Seamus Mullen: Seafood paella cooked over hardwood on a grill.
- Marc Forgione: Keep dinner light, then make brunch the next day.
- Marcus Samuelsson: Choose a low-maintenance pasta or grill a burger together. “The key is to do something low maintenance that you can prepare together.”
- Zach Pollack: Cook spatchcock chicken under a brick in a hot cast-iron pan.
- Ludo Lefebvre: Steak au poivre for his wife.
What else is in the feature?
Shape also asked about exercise and food splurges, alongside its date-night question. Its coverage is a 2013 snapshot, not a current directory: the restaurant and career descriptions belong to the period in which the piece was published. Read the full photo feature at Shape.
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Astercook Knife Set, 13 Pieces Kitchen Knives Set with Healthy Anti-Rust Coating, Dishwasher Safe, Stainless Steel Chef Knife Sets with 6 Blade Guards, Perfect Holiday Gifts for Kitchen
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A cookbook mentioned in the article
Shape identifies Stephen Collucci as the author of Glazed, Filled, Sugared & Dipped: Easy Doughnut Recipes to Fry or Bake at Home. The feature also described Scott Conant’s The Scarpetta Cookbook as forthcoming in October 2013; that wording is historical and does not establish its present availability.
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Henckels Statement 15 pc Knife Block Set, Razor-Sharp, German Engineered
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Astercook Knife Set for Kitchen with Block and Sharpener 15pcs German
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DRAGON RIOT Damascus Kitchen Knife Set, Damascus Steel, Damascus Pattern
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DRGSKL Kitchen Knife Set with Bag - 6 PCS Chef Knife Set with Wooden Handle
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