5 Famous Chefs that Never Graduated from Culinary School

I would never recommend to someone that they should not go to college but if you haven't gone to college that does not mean that you can not reach your goals in life. Take for example famous chefs. Normally when a famous chef talks about their path to being a chef it includes spending some time at some stuffy culinary school in France or England. Not all successful chefs went to culinary school though. These are five chefs you've probably heard of that did not graduate culinary school.

Mario Batali
Mario Batali nearly took the "normal" route to being a chef. Batali actually did spend time at the famous Le Cordon Bleu but did not graduate. Batali was like one of those kids that doesn't do well in school because they aren't challenged enough. Batali found classes about cooking to be too slow and boring and decided that the only way he was going to learn to cook is to work in a professional kitchen. Batali then took apprenticeships, learning under some of the best chefs in Europe and worked his way up the ranks.

Paula Deen
It might not be a big surprise that Paul Deen did not attend culinary school. That is not meant as an insult to Mrs. Deen, it's just that she doesn't make fancy dishes. Deen learned how to cook the same way that people have been learning to cook since the beginning of time, her grandmother taught her. Deen then started her own small lunch catering business and then eventually her own restaurant.

Guy Fieri
At the age of 17 Guy Fieri actually bypassed high school graduation and went to France where he attended a junior college. Later Fieri went to the University of Nevada but did not attend a culinary school. Instead Fieri began working as a manager at restaurants until he decided to start his own restaurant. Fieri was then selected to be in the second season of "The Next Food Network Star". Fieri won and has hosted several shows for the Food Network since then.

Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay's first aspiration was actually to be a soccer player. Ramsay even got a tryout with the team he rooted for as a child but a knee injury forced him change professions. Ramsay then got a degree in Hotel Management at North Oxfordshire. Eventually Ramsay became a chef at the Wroxton House Hotel and worked his way to the top.

Rachael Ray
Rachel Ray's parents managed restaurants so she began learning how to cook at a very young age. Eventually Ray moved to New York City where she had a job at the candy counter at Macy's and learned to manage the fresh foods department. Rachael Ray slowly worked her way up the cooking ranks by first managing a pub, then she became a buyer at a gourmet market and eventually got a television show with a local CBS TV affiliate. In just her first year on the air she won two regional Emmys.