Hospitality workers in Berlin clad in chef hats and waiter outfits competed in races requiring them to put their profesional skills to use. Chefs raced through the streets holding pots full of water and waiters ran while balancing drinks on serving trays.

How much money do chefs make? According to Nation's Restaurant News, the leading U.S. food-service trade magazine, the average annual salary for an executive chef at a stand-alone restaurant in 2010 was $71,063. All together, now: Do you think that's what Mario Batali takes home? Do you reckon that's how many bucks Guy Fieri pays taxes on each year? Yeah, sure.

The rules are different for celebrity chefs -- first of all, simply because they're celebrities and hence demand the big bucks, but also because, without exception, the most financially successful ones do lots of things at once. In fact -- spoiler alert -- very few of them ever actually cook in their own kitchens anymore. They're far too busy thinking up and launching new restaurants (and even, like Charlie Palmer, hotels), writing cookbooks, developing (or lending their names to) products of various kinds, and of course appearing on TV... The most successful chefs in America aren't just chefs -- they're entrepreneurs, they're brands. Sometimes they're virtually whole industries. Being Wolfgang Puck, Tom Colicchio, or José Andrés isn't just a job: It's a way of life.

With that in mind, we thought it would be fun -- and even maybe educational -- to try to figure how many clams some of our nation's most famous culinary celebrities actually rake in. How much, in other words, do these guys (and occasionally gals, like Paula Deen and Barbara Lynch) get paid?

In drawing up our list of chefs, we decided first of all that they must actually be chefs, in the sense of having run restaurant kitchens and built their careers from there. Sorry, Rachael. Tough luck, Alton. We've included a few citizens of other countries (Alain Ducasse and Jamie Oliver among them) because they have restaurants and/or TV shows in America, though the bulk of their businesses are elsewhere.

In order to obtain accurate, up-to-date income figures for these fabulous food folk, we bribed an IRS official and obtained copies of their personal tax returns.

Oh, all right, no we didn't. Step back from that ledge, Gordon Ramsay. Just take a deep breath, Bobby Flay.

In fact, our researchers consulted Experian (through LexisNexis), the Orbis International Financial Database, and BookScan. We considered net worth rankings and previous salary estimates from Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and several trade publications. We scoured the popular press for news stories and rumors. Then we called up savvy restaurant pros (not the kinds who'd make the list) and got their feedback, threw in a pinch of common sense, and calculated what we believe to be a reasonable approximation of each chef's personal income for 2010.

Though we're confident that we got relative scale right, we admit that the actual figures might be merely ballpark -- so, sorry kids, but no dollar amounts here. Suffice to say that the range extends from six figures to eight. Oh, and if you're on the list and think we've put you in the wrong position -- or if you're not on the list but think you should be -- you know where to send those tax returns that we couldn't get from the guy at the IRS.

Below, the 10 Most Successful Chefs in America. (Visit The Daily Meal to see the rest of the list.)

- Colman Andrews, The Daily Meal

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The 21st Annual James Beard Foundation's Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception took place last night at the fabled Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. It was a good night for New York and a good night for women in food. A New York girl, attending my first James Beard Awards, I couldn't have been happier about the winners. Here, a quick recap of the night's events:

So many chefs! So much polish!

While the white jackets of the many talented chefs that would be catering the evening dotted the green carpet's periphery, the likes of the rock star guest list which included Drew Nieporent, Andrew Zimmern, Bobby Flay, Daniel Boulud, Dan Barber, Michelle Bernstein, Emeril, Floyd Cardoz, and Michael White, all looking their black-tie best, dominated. Rounded out by Bravo and Food Network favorites Ted Allen, Andy Cohen, Anne Burrell, Bobby Flay, Jose Garces, and Duff Goldman, Marcus Samuelsson, a chef who cares about his style almost as much as his food, took the cake in a spanking white suit (word on the street: Valentino). His female counterparts, Gabrielle Hamilton in a lovely yellow dress and an uber-hot Gail Simmons in a dramatic one-shoulder black confection, were upstaged only by the evening's other two green carpet darlings: Mauve & Mortimer, the WhistlePigs Whiskey mascots. Yep, you heard right -- real-live bacon hogging up Lincoln Center on a Monday night.

As the Beard Awards geared up for the debut of a live online video stream of the show, the crowd took their seats. Susan Ungaro, President of the James Beard Foundation, opened the ceremony with a nod to this year's theme: The Ultimate Melting Pot. Underscoring the invaluable contribution immigrants have made to America's culinary heritage, highlight reels of community restaurants across the country would be presented by Coca-Cola throughout the evening. Shining a light on not only the marquee names, but also the quiet partners of the food world, Chef Vola's 
in 
Atlantic City, Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill, Noriega Restaurant in Bakersfield, Le Veau d'Or 
in New York City, and Watts Tea Shop in Milwaukee would be honored.

After her bit, Ungaro turned the mic over to three more familiar hosts: Tom Colicchio, Ming Tsai, and Traci Des Jardins who might be known to some as a contender on this season's Top Chef Masters. All previous James Beard Award winners, the trio took turns announcing presenters, listening to a trance-inducing women's voice read the names of the nominees, and then deferring to a soundtrack of odd Bollywood inspired music to accompany the winners to the stage.

The sponsors were a long, varied list from All-Clad to Acqua Panna to Groupon to Stella Artois, and ultimately, they celebrated a group of deserving chefs and establishments deeply rooted in New York City, and favoring the industry's women. Beating out Michael White of Marea, as well as Michael Anthony of
 Gramercy Tavern, April Bloomfield
 of The Spotted Pig, and Wylie Dufresne of wd-50, the first was Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune, a jewel in the East Village. Hamilton took the best New York City chef award, and topping off an already stellar year -- her memoir Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef is currently a bestseller -- she seemed stunned by the win, yet delivered an endearing acceptance.

Right on her heels, other female winners included Belinda Chang of New York's The Modern for outstanding wine service, Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for best chef in the Southeast, Saipin Chutima of Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas for best chef Southwest and Angela Pinkerton of Eleven Madison Park in New York City for outstanding pastry chef.

In a twist, Saipin Chutima of Lotus of Siam wound up in the eighth-ever James Beard Award tie for best chef with the quite deserving, though less than gracious Tyson Cole of 
Uchi in Austin, Texas. Using a translator, a sweet and giddy Chutima said of winning, "I finally I feel like the bride and not the bridesmaid," while Cole pouted his displeasure in having "waited all night" to share the stage. Cue the blogs.

Presented by Groupon
 Chefs, the Best Chefs in America
 awards spanned ten parts of the country. For the Great Lakes region which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, the surprise winner was 
Alex Young 
of University of Michigan favorite Zingerman's Roadhouse. In his acceptance speech, he playfully thanked the James Beard Foundation "for recognizing mac 'n cheese and fried chicken," to a wave of laughter and applause. I imagine back in Ann Arbor, they were singing the 'Hail to the Victors.'

The overall winner, Danny Meyer, claimed a total of three James Beard awards for his restaurants. The outstanding restaurant award 
went to Meyer's Eleven Madison Park, which won for best New York chef in 2010, Angela Pinkerton for pastry chef, and The Modern for outstanding wine service award under the direction of Belinda Chang.

New York's winning streak continued with the outstanding service award
 which went to Chef Thomas Keller's Per Se. Accepting a service rather than a chef's award, Keller seemed humbled, and was entirely deferential to his team. The best new restaurant
 was Jean-Georges Vongerichten's ABC Kitchen 
in the ABC Carpet and Home space. Drawing consistent praise over the past year, it beat out the Lower East Side's Torrisi Italian Specialties. Outstanding restaurant graphics 
went to design firm Love and War 
for Geoffrey Zakarian's The National Bar & Dining Rooms. 



About halfway through the ceremony, the bubbly started to flow, and hungry folks began to make their way over to the main event of the night: the food. Feasting on small plates like smoked walu with fennel kimchi, octopus carpaccio, lemon meringue pie shots, pork bahn mi, white curried tripe, and corn sorbet with bottarga and uni, over in the press room Stanton Street's The Meatball Shop was delighting the media with meatballs and creamy polenta. There, winners strolled down Victory Lane (sponsored by Mercedes-Benz) for press interviews, a drink, and a bite on electric white couches surrounded plenty of journalist attention. Celebrities like Anne Burrell kept the troops occupied, for shortly after the ceremony hit the hour mark, a photo of a sleeping journo, mouth agape, turned up as a popular RT on Twitter.

Speaking of Twitter, the still-mysterious @RuthBourdain, the Tony Bourdain-Ruth Reichl hybrid, was wreaking snarky online havoc after winning a Broadcast award last week in the new humor category. Her opening Tweet, "Turns out the "melting pot" theme is about diversity, not fondue. The crowd is pretty diverse: white people of all shapes and sizes," alluded to Anthony Bourdain's recent criticism of the James Beard Foundation's commitment to diversity. S/he played it a bit more Reichl-tame with a later jab, "Lettuce Entertain You just won Outstanding Restaurateur. That's completely radicchio." Though Twitter was abuzz with @RuthBourdain retweets, s/he still remains elusive.

The first award of the night and the last award of the night went to esteemed chefs at vastly different places in their careers. First, the Rising Star Chef of the Year Award, awarded to a chef age 30 or younger went to Gabriel Rucker of 
Le Pigeon in 
Portland, Oregon while the Outstanding Chef Award went to José Andrés 
of Minibar 
in Washington, D.C. Andrés beat out San Francisco favorites Charles Phan and Gary Danko, Suzanne Goin
 (Los Angeles), and Paul Kahan (Chicago). Accepting with a moving speech in his trademark Spanish accent, he reminded the crowd that "food can change the life of people," and implored his fellow chefs to "use food in the right way."

To be expected, the after parties were packed, crowded, and primed for the long haul. The first stops were to nearby Bar Boulud and Per Se, festive with multi-colored balloons that grazed the ceiling. ABC Kitchen got into high gear as the Torrisi-Momofuku party opened their doors to a street full of (not-so-patiently) waiting guests, while pint-sized Prune and the cramped Jane Hotel maintained equally full houses. Fittingly, it was the frat party-like atmosphere at Eleven Madison Park, where dancing on tables celebrating Belinda Chang's booze, Angela Pinkerton's pastry, and Danny Meyer's dominance, proved the place to be.

We all have one -- an ultimate dream trip. If you could drop everything (except a big bag of money) and head to the airport, where would you go? Money is no object, nor is time off from work or school. Whether it's waking up at a winery in Italy or navigating the bustling streets of Tokyo, one man's dream trip could be another man's headache. There are no compromises here, no travel restrictions, and definitely no pesky visa issues.

Ground Beef and Pickle Taco. When I first read the seemingly mismatched words on the menu at the restaurant Malo in Los Angelesʼ hip Silver Lake neighborhood, I suddenly felt overwhelmed by intrigue. I knew I had to order it, that was a given. But once I tasted what has since become one of my favorite dishes in the city, my curiosity really kicked in. How did the chef come up with the idea to combine these ingredients? And why? It tastes kind of like a cheeseburger. But in a taco. Turns out, Chef Robert Luna grew up in LAʼs Boyle Heights area where his mother cooked at local restaurants. The Ground Beef and Pickle Taco, along with many items on Maloʼs menu, is a recipe adapted from her arsenal of homey Mexican food by way of Los Angeles.

Following high school, Luna attended Tri-Tech Culinary School and soon after he launched his career cooking for discriminating Angelenos. First, he landed the gig of executive chef at the popular Spanish-inspired tapas restaurant Cobras and Matadors. He currently helms Malo and the newly opened Mas Malo in downtown LA. Located in a 9,500-square-ft foot historic building (the gorgeous space was originally Brock's Jewelers in 1921 before it became Clifton's Silver Spoon Cafeteria from 1975 to 1997), Chef Luna has taken on his most ambitious project to date. Considering the room is perennially packed with smiling faces sipping margaritas and noshing on tacos, he is clearly meeting the challenge. I chatted with Luna about cooking steak at age nine, growing up in LA, and of course those famous tacos.

Slideshow photos by Alex de Cordoba

Heather Taylor: How would you characterize your cooking style?


Robert Luna: At Malo and Mas Malo our style is LA-based comfort food, with a commitment to locally sustainable urban cooking. We source most of our ingredients locally, from the butcher shops to the farms. If it's not from Cali, I'm not interested. We also want to make people aware that Boyle Heights is a culinary destination, as far as flavors are concerned.


HT: Tell us about your childhood and food.

RL: I had grown up cooking in the kitchen with my mother who owned restaurants and was a culinary arts teacher. I remember a specific instance when I was nine years old, sneaking into the kitchen and cooking for my family. I made steak, baked potatoes and vegetables. I remember the look of surprise and delight on my parents' faces. At that moment, I realized that I can make people happy with food and that was going to be a passion of mine.



HT: How has your mother specifically influenced your cooking?


RL: I have been greatly influenced by my mother. It probably has something to do with her breastfeeding me in the back her restaurant. I tagged along with her as she shopped farmers markets where I saw the personal relationship she developed with local growers. I was inspired. I feel like my mother has her hand in all the dishes on my menus -- from the ground beef and pickle taco to the enchiladas and carne asada, which is her favorite combination.

HT: Let's get back to the Ground Beef and Pickle Taco, my personal favorite dish on the menu and the one for which you are best known. How did that recipe evolve?

RL: It's simple. I was twelve years old and my mom was prepping for hamburgers when she realized she had no bread. She took a tortilla and turned it into hard taco with the beef and the pickles. Since then I haven't wanted hamburgers any other way.

HT: Where do you eat when you're not at your own restaurant?

RL: There are a lot of great culinary things happening in the city. A local favorite, and right down the street from Mas Malo, is Wood Spoon for their chicken pot pie. Another hands down favorite place to have a glass of red wine and relax is Angelique Café. Their house-made charcuterie and pâté is a standout dish. 


HT: What's a seasonal ingredient that you're excited about and what's a simple way you like to prepare it?

RL: My favorite herb is verdolago -- aka purslane. It's a great herb to use in salads and to flavor green chilies -- really earthy and not as sweet as cilantro. Look for it on our Spring Menu.

HT: And lastly, are there projects on the horizon?

RL: Looking forward to a Malo spinoff -- East LA seafood. That's all I can say about that.

Chef Photo Courtesy of Mas Malo

RECIPE

Ground Beef and Pickle Taco

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1lb ground beef
2 boiled russet potatoes (cut into small dices)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dry oregano
2 tablespoons paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
8 oz cheddar cheese grated
Small jar of kosher pickle chips
Soft Corn tortillas

Instructions:
Sauté ground beef in olive oil.
Add all the dry spices and cook 5 minutes add cooked diced potatoes. Continue to cook 8-10 minutes.
Remove from heat let cool on counter 30 minutes.
Heat corn tortillas and fill them with the beef and potato mixture.
Close both ends with a tooth pick.
Fry them in canola oil about 2 minutes on each side.
Once cooked, place them on a paper towel, remove toothpicks and open.
Add cheddar cheese and kosher pickle chips.

Mas Malo
515 West 7th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 985-4332

Chef Speak is a bi-monthly column by LA-enthusiast Heather Taylor in which she explores LA's diverse and dynamic food culture, featuring interviews with Angeleno chefs of-the-moment, seasonal recipes, and rising restaurants.

by Miss Gemma Gray

As the good food movement marches on, sometimes surging, sometimes plodding, many of us are left with a nagging question: what should be done next? Emboldened by last year's Congressional victories and the impressive rise of farmers markets (among many other markers), but also under constant threat from the deep pockets of Big Ag. and the defunding zealots within government, people are asking where do we go from here? If the ultimate goal is to make healthy food available to the greatest number of folks, then where will the systemic changes that we need come from?

In my humble opinion, it will be spurred by two factions: Innovators with bold vision; and corporations with budgets and mandates that aren't tied to Congressional shell games. With this in mind, I reached out to two leaders doing exceptional work bringing good food to lots of people. I wanted to get their quick thoughts on the way forward.

Spearheading the food revolution taking place in the New Haven Public School System, Executive Director of Food Services Timothy Cipriano serves nutritious meals to over 20,000 children every day, 80% of which are on free or reduced plans.

Chris Elam: So tell us what's happening up in New Haven?

Timothy Cipriano: Real food, actually. No nuggets, tenders or that stuff. No breaded mozzarella sticks. No flavored milk. No competitive foods. I'm talking REAL food - and local too! We served 140,000 pounds of Connecticut-grown produce last year - and that doesn't include the student grown produce from our school gardens and school farm.

CE: Sadly for too many school districts nationwide, I bet that sounds pretty radical.

TC: Yeah but I don't do it to be radical. I do it because we have a huge childhood hunger problem in this country. When they're in school, these kids should be eating real food. Why should it even be questioned?

CE: It's interesting that you mention childhood hunger, when so much of the press attention these days is focused on childhood obesity.

TC: Childhood hunger in this country is a major issue. Just because a child is obese doesn't mean he or she has access to unlimited food. Too often, it just means lack of access to nutritious foods. In other words, the very foods that children need to grow both physically and mentally.

CE: So how have you created such an amazing program?

TC: You just need the will. The resources are out there, just tap into them. First off, to focus our energy and our finances, we offer one good meal with deli sandwich or salad as a choice rather than menuing multiple hot-lunch offerings. That saves time and money. We also work with the USDA's Healthier U.S. School Challenge to gain additional funding, and LET'S MOVE's Salad Bars to Schools program has helped build out our salad bars, plus the Chefs Move to Schools program has engaged and activated our kids about where their food comes from. You'll find all our menus here plus our program descriptions. And you can follow our adventures via my twitter @LocalFoodDude.

Chef Dave Willard, National Executive Chef for Sodexo Health Care, the premiere food services provider for hospitals around the country, works in an entirely different environment, but his passion and commitment to nutritious food preparation are the same.

Chris Elam: So Chef Dave what really needs to change with our current food system?

Dave Willard: In general, I think people are moving towards more mindful eating. As an industry, we need to respond to that. We need to be where consumers want to be. The industry sees the wave, make no mistake, the data is there. It's just a question of what we're going to do about it.

CE: Do corporations have a role in the dialogue?

DW: Absolutely. At Sodexo, our mission is to provide a set of solutions. Most companies in our space tend to be product-focused. Here's a group of products, here's a bunch of menus. What we're trying to do is provide solutions that can help you elevate your quality of life -- whether you're a patient, visitor or hospital employee. Sodexo focuses on outcomes, offering the right balance of healthy food and educational materials, for the maximum result. More and more, we're thinking in terms of health & wellness.

CE: Considering that your budget isn't controlled by government mandate or political maneuverings, like that of school food budgets, you have the freedom to go where consumers are, as you say. So what are you offering them?

DW: We have a Better Tomorrow Plan, which outlines our 14 commitments to sustainability, spanning nutrition, community and the environment. Meatless Monday is a program we're rolling out to all our clients. First in our 900+ hospitals, then in our nearly 2000 corporate clients, with government offices, colleges and school districts to follow. Meatless Monday is a logical fit for us. It meets our nutrition as well as our environmental sustainability needs. And it's been a huge hit with our customers! We're thrilled actually with the response so far.

CE: Are there logistical challenges to providing plant-based meals to so many people?

DW: Not really, to be honest. Our #1 priority: it has to be great food. The practices aren't really that different. The greater challenge is remaining focused on our health mandate. I can make very unhealthy plant-based foods if I choose. In my business, salty fatty foods have certain side-benefits. These qualities help preserve food, where you can cook it well in advance, where it remains moist. But we've mastered all the tricks that allow us to do the same with low-fat, low-salt foods.

CE: Finally, what's your favorite plant-based dish that you serve?

DW: Hmmm. I think my favorite is a pretty humble item, the Portobello Rustico Sandwich. It's just a whole wheat roll, grilled Portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers, feta cheese, spinach and a vinaigrette dressing to tie it all together. It's very simple, but it balances out nicely. It's fulfilling, has variety, and texture - it hits all the triggers. Sweet, hearty, a little bit of salt. It's been incredibly successful!

In an email exchange I had recently with Chef Ann Cooper, known as the Renegade Lunch Lady for her tireless work in support of healthy school food, this notion of nutritious institutional food was seconded. "Meatless Mondays in schools will expose kids to more plant-based entrees, but I could also see the big food companies simply developing some sort of soy/sawdust patty, which wouldn't be real food at all. We need to be certain that school food is based on fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, whole grains and clean protein so that vegetarian options don't become just more processed stuff!"

With Chef Ann's advice firmly in mind, Meatless Monday has launched its Bulk Recipe resource page. It's a great tool to help campus, school, worksite or other food providers make healthy institutional-size recipes. All the recipes come from tried-and-true resources: Chef Ann herself, the USDA, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the New York Coalition for Healthy School Foods, among others, and serve between 30-400 people, but average about 75 people. Think: high in veggies and grains, low in cheese, perfect for a cafeteria, a work party or even an outdoor picnic! Check out the new Meatless Monday Bulk Recipes.

Jonathan Waxman, the successful owner of Barbuto in New York City, talks about his newly released cookbook. Called Italian, My Way, it's filled with approachable and delicious recipes to make at home for both weeknight meals and special occasions. Learn how he balances cooking for his kids, wife, and himself, why he decided to have black and white photographs, and more.

Chef Damian Cardone, claiming to be the former executive banquet chef at the now-closed New York City restaurant, Tavern on the Green, admitted on his Facebook profile on March 10, 2011, that he has on multiple occasions misled his gluten-free customers.

Many consider modernist cuisine industrialized food on a small scale -- cheese puffs and flavored foams. However, the modernist movement provides new ways to improve upon classic dishes.

Nathan Myhvold's (former Microsoft CTO) 6-volume, 2438-page encyclopedia "Modernist Cuisine" (modernistcuisine.com) is the best book on this topic to date. The enormous and controversial book is brilliant in its research and presentation, regardless of what "Debbie-downer" traditionalists pontificate.

Flipping through the pages took me back to my own 'modernist cuisine' baptism. Ten years ago I was in Spain at the epicenter of this gastronomical movement. My boss at the time was Chef Josep Armenteros. At merely 23-years-old, Josep was a published author, sought after speaker and culinary wunderkind. Donning black Prada shoes, a bulky D-Squared belt, tanned and brimming with confidence, Josep danced while working in the kitchen. He never had a stain on his pressed white chef's coat, never even needed to wear an apron.

One morning I got to work and found Josep waltzing around the pastry kitchen singing loudly to himself. He had two martini glasses in front of him. Spaniards love to drink and sometimes don't take work as seriously as play. However, 8:30 AM seemed a bit early for cocktails.

Still half asleep, I stood for a moment watching Josep; he looked like he had been awake for hours. "Brooks, leave me alone!" he said smirking without even making eye contact. Josep was busy in his element.

I returned to my workstation and prepared for a long day. Suddenly, Josep appeared with two smoking cocktails. They smelled of burnt sugar and looked foamy and bright yellow.

"Toma!" he said forcing one of the cocktails into my hand.
"No thank you..." he cut me off and handed me a spoon.
"Cómetelo!" he ordered.

My spoon shattered the thin plate of burnt sugar and plunged into the airy foam. Josep mimed to scoop all the way to the bottom of the glass. I lifted the yellow froth, coffee colored lumps, cloudy syrup, and crystal shards into my open mouth. Josep raised his eyebrows in anticipation. I immediately identified the flavors: Cream. Caramel. Orange peel. Lemon. Egg. Burnt sugar.

"It tastes just like crema catalana!"
"No!" Josep retorted, "It is crema catalana!"

I thought crema catalana was essentially a Spanish version of crème brulée; pudding textured dessert, cooked in a water bath, served in a ramekin, topped with burnt sugar. Josep deconstructed the classic dessert applying new techniques to the original recipe. The dessert reminded me of a classic crema calatala but had more depth and texture - hot, cold, crispy, creamy, jellied.

Josep disappeared for a moment, and then returned with a shot glass of sweet bright green alcohol.

"It goes great with a little shot of orujo de hierbas." Josep tilted his head back a chuckled.

And there I was, having my first shot and dessert before breakfast. Viva España!

The concept of deconstruction - applying new cooking techniques to classic recipes is the foundation for "modernist" cuisine. In this slide show I have taken one of my favorite Sunday brunches - bagel, lox and cream cheese - and applied this philosophy to the dish. The result is my expression of a classic.

Enjoy!

These days, it's not enough to have a great restaurant with innovative dishes and good service, or to have parlayed a restaurant into a successful career as a celebrity chef on television. It's not necessarily even enough for a chef to have a blog. If you're not in social media -- if you're not on Twitter -- you're not in the game.

For some chefs, sharing new dishes, recipes, latest meals, and comments about everything from social activism to competitive cooking shows in 140 characters or less is a natural extension of giving concise direction in the kitchen and glad-handing customers. For example, Jamie Oliver has more than a million followers and 4,000 tweets. For others, Twitter might not seem a natural medium, but notoriety is enough to still draw thousands. Alice Waters, who just recently joined Twitter, as of this article had yet to tweet, but still had more than 2,400 followers. Then again, you don't necessarily need to tweet that much for people to hang on your every word. Guy Fieri has only tweeted about 460 times, but still has more than 225,000 followers.

So, who are the most followed chefs on Twitter? With new people joining Twitter every day it's a fluid, dynamic game -- this a look at 15 of them. Does Anthony Bourdain have enough followers to edge out Tyler Florence? Who has more followers: Giada or Bobby Flay? View the slideshow below to find out. Think one of your favorite most followed chefs is missing? Let us know!

- Arthur Bovino, The Daily Meal

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Time to play What Would You Take with You on a Deserted Island? The essential kitchen tools edition. We asked 13 chefs what kitchen equipment they couldn't live without to find both surprising and expected answers.

The tools that chefs use to create their food dictates to a certain extent the type of cuisine that they create: whether it's exact and detailed food that's made by chef Tony Conte using a pressure cooker or a more home-grown and comforting type of food made by chefs like Gabrielle Hamilton who prefers her two hands before anything else. The choices that the following chefs made indicate to some level their approach and attitude toward cooking. It also shows which chefs are up on their social media efforts.

Let us know what tools you couldn't live without. Me? My mortar and pestle, for sure.

In the same vein, we recently posted an article about the 50 Most Important Inventions (and Discoveries) in Food and Drink that includes many of the tools listed below. For kicks and giggles, make sure to check out our list of inventions we just didn't need.

Below, the Chefs' 5 Favorite Kitchen Tools Gallery.

- Yasmin Fahr, The Daily Meal

More from The Daily Meal:
Win the New Nespresso Pixie Machine!
Kitchen Fantasies: High-End Equipment
Stocking the Bar: 10 Essential Tools
10 Over-the-Top Kitchen Appliances
5 Beer Bottle Opener Alternatives

With Women's History Month in full swing, we present to you some very talented Denver women. These chefs, mixologists and restaurant owners have worked hard in the male-dominated culinary world, and it shows. They have very different backgrounds and styles, but one thing they all have in common: they love what they do. Whether you're looking for a great cocktail, a hearty Italian meal, fresh seafood or unique sausages and mustards, these women will cook--or mix--it up for you.