The world's most Googled chefs aren't those with the most Michelin stars

The British chef Jamie Oliver is the world's 2nd most popular chef in terms of annual Google searches. Image: Valery Hache / AFP©

While connoisseurs of fine French dining will be looking out for the announcements hailing from the Michelin Guide France 2024 ceremony set for March 18 in the French city of Tours, a new comparative study shows that a chef's popularity in terms of Google searches is not proportional to the number of stars they hold.

In the world of the Michelin Guide, stars can make and break reputations. In France, the inspectors' choices are closely scrutinized and always foster a great deal of anticipation—and just as much anxiety —when the ceremony announcing the new list approaches, as is the case for the March 18 event in Tours. In many respects, the ceremony is viewed as the highlight of the year in the world of French gastronomy, even if you don't necessarily share Michelin's assessments or the Guide's way of doing things.

However, stars are not proportional to a chef's popularity when the spectrum is broadened to global level. Looking at Google, and the searches conducted by internet users over the last 12 months, as a means of measuring a chef's popularity, it turns out that it's not the most Michelin-starred names that come out on top. And yet, the data set comprises a sample of 1,700 chefs selected by the platform Explore Worldwide.

In Europe as a whole, Scotland's Gordon Ramsay takes first place for popularity, with some 12 million searches last year. The media-savvy chef with the famous temper has three Michelin stars for his London restaurant on Royal Hospital Road, two for his collaboration with the Pressoir d'Argent at the Intercontinental in Bordeaux, and one for his restaurant at the Trianon Palace in Versailles. However, Gordon Ramsay is not the world's most-starred chef. He has a total of seven stars, compared with 20 for the master of the genre, Alain Ducasse.

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The great chef from Castel-Sarrazin, who has held Monegasque nationality since 2008, only ranks seventh among Europe's most Googled chefs. In fact, despite the legendary status of French cuisine, it's three chefs from the UK who monopolize the podium. In fact, the top 10 counts six UK chefs! And the second name in this European ranking—none other than Jamie Oliver—doesn't hold a single Michelin star, despite being the subject of 4.4 million Google searches last year, compared with 1 million for Alain Ducasse. On a global scale, the great chef ranks 12th, while Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver are the world's two most popular chefs.

Europe's Top 10 most Googled chefs:

1.     Gordon Ramsay (12,000,000)
2.     Jamie Oliver (4,416,000)
3.     Nigella Lawson (2,952,000)
4.     Giada De Laurentiis (1,980,000)
5.     Gino D'Acampo (1,620,000)
6.     Wolfgang Puck (1,320,000)
7.     Alain Ducasse (1,086,000)
8.     Heston Blumenthal (726,000)
9.     Ainsley Harriott (594,000)
10.     Marcus Wareing (486,000)

In Asia, it's Singapore-based chef Tariq Helou, known for fusing French and Japanese flavors, who takes the title of most-searched chef with 1,620,000 searches followed by Vicky Lau of China with 1,320,000 searches. Nigerian chef Hilda Baci, who set a record for cooking for four days, is the most-searched chef in the African continent (1,320,000). In the US, it's popular restaurateur and celebrity TV chef Guy Fieri (4,416,000) who has generated the most interest on the web, followed by Bobby Flay (1,980,000).