Swedish Chef aka The Original RC

A sculptor, artist, musician, and, uh... gourmet pastry chef, Goldman trained around the country with top chefs before returning to his hometown of Baltimore to open Charm City Cakes, his own shop specializing in “extreme cakes.”Read more on Fashion & LifeStyle
DRENCH Fashion & LifeStyle HOME ». From incorporating elegant flavors like Thai iced coffee to producing gourmet cakes shaped like old-school computers and Ali G, Goldman does it all.

The beginning of his culinary career was a little less elegant, however; at the age of 4, Goldman’s mother found him in the kitchen swinging a meat cleaver, and while carving a pumpkin in second grade, he nearly cut off his own pinky. But that close-to-the-bone, graffiti-writin’ impulse has also given Goldman a philosophy that works: "So much of the art of cake-making is being able to think on your feet. You never say no -- you can always do what a client wants, even if you've never done it before -- so you say, 'Sure, I can do that.' Later, you figure out how."

One of Anthony Bourdain’s favorite chefs (this distinction alone is nearly enough to merit the title of “renegade”), the foul-mouthed Ramsay has won both the title of Chef of the Year and, possibly, Most Scary Chef of the Year ( thanks to is his “coaching” of suffering restauranteurs in TV's Kitchen Nightmares). Ramsay is both the black sheep and the Champagne toast of the UK culinary scene; a fine line that the former footballer manages to stride confidently.

This double life has served him well: Ramsay not only owns a passel of restos in the UK, but he also opened his first US haunt this past fall, with plans to continue expanding his culinary empire to Florida and LA in 2007. The Guardian said Ramsay’s own tell-all bio, Humble Pie, was “so exuberantly angry, boastful, cliche-ridden, expletive-laden and touchingly sincere that I can't believe that a single sentence has been written by anyone but the failed footballer, great cook, telly star and businessman himself. He's the genuine bollocks, as he's so fond of saying.”

The leader of this wild culinary pack...

These nom-de-spatulas are just pseudonyms, as “Smith” and “Smythe” -- both cooks at respected Sonoma Valley restos -- run an illegal gourmet speakeasy called the Blind Pig in the off-hours. Part of a thriving coven of underground restos in the Northern California area, the Blind Pig serves prix fixe gourmet meals for a song ($15 to $30) while staying on the lam from city food inspectors. From gourmet sushi to handmade lychee ice cream, Smith and Smythe cobble it all together -- with a few homemade kung-fu food-fight movies -- in an Airstream trailer that holds a DJ booth and a conspicuous absence of liquor licenses.

While it can all seem very exclusive (the resto is strictly word of mouth), Mo describes his passion differently: "There is no hipness or attitude at the Blind Pig. I see it as more of a cultural restaurant. Like there are these great Chinese restaurants where Chinese people go to eat. This is a West [Bay] County restaurant where West County people go to eat. Everyday people who enjoy good food go and hang out, and we just do it as funky as possible."

The granddaddy of renegade chefs, this trash-talking, fat-loving gourmand brought border-smashing foodies into the spotlight. Surprisingly, as Bourdain himself detailed in his breakthrough bestseller Kitchen Confidential, this maverick started as a lowly teenage dishwasher (or, as they say in common kitchen parlance, “dishpig”) who was, “badly in need of a good ass kicking.” He only pledged his life to culinary excellence -- and, of course, excess -- after a particularly emotional experience at a wedding reception.

He is now executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in New York City, which involves acting more as a consultant and “headliner” than dealing with blood and guts on the cutting board. Still, the former crack and cocaine addict insists: “I always recommend to anyone interested in the restaurant industry to spend six months as a dishwasher. It will tell you all you need to know.”

A renegade New York pastry chef turned restauranteur, Mason is known for his odd combinations of sweet and sour flavors, such as caramelized apple with miso ice cream or a terrine of foie gras and peanut butter. Pegged by StarChefs.com as “part-rock star, part-comedian,” Mason parlayed apprenticeships with serious chefs like Jean-Louis Palladin into a chief dessert helm at New York’s wd-50 when it opened in April 2003. This renegade -- and accordingly, tattooed -- chef’s mantra solidifies his outside-the-box reputation: “Everything’s open game. Culinary or pastry, there are no boundaries.” His new restaurant, Tailor, is set to open in March.

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