All the Chef Cameos in 'The Bear' Season 3, Explained

FX Networks

What does it take to make it in fine dining? The third season of The Bear again attempts to attack this question with authority—this time, led by a parade of real-life celebrity chefs and famous restaurateurs. The season kicks off with a series of flashbacks from Carmy Berzatto’s (Jeremy Allen White) career that show him learning from culinary heavyweights such as Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller. And the season finale packs in cameos from more than 10 chefs and industry leaders, who share their restaurant acumen with Carmy and his sous chef Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edibiri).

Here’s a list of every chef, restaurateur, and baker who appears in season three, listed chronologically by appearance. (Haven’t seen this season yet? Be warned: Light spoilers below.)

The Flashbacks

In several episodes, Carmy reflects on his culinary training at acclaimed restaurants early in his career. The chefs in each of those restaurants make an appearance.

Daniel Boulud

Appears in: multiple episodes

Recognized as the Best Restaurateur in the World by restaurant guide Les Grandes Tables du Monde in 2021, the French-born and -trained Boulud began working in commercial kitchens as a teenager. His restaurant conglomerate, The Dinex Group, today includes 18 restaurants and a catering company. Throughout The Bear’s third season, Carmy flashes back to staging in Boulud’s eponymous restaurant Daniel in New York City, where Boulud guides him through peeling vegetables, plating meals, and more.

René Redzepi

Appears in: Season three, episode one

The head chef at Noma in Copenhagen has popularized what’s been dubbed New Nordic Cuisine by foraging, fermenting, and dehydrating hyperlocal ingredients. Noma, which has been recognized a number of times as the best restaurant in the world but is slated to close this year, also appears in a Carmy flashback, where he picks flowers, spring onions, and pea pods from its gardens.

Thomas Keller

Appears in: Season three, episode one; season three, episode ten

Keller didn’t gain acclaim in culinary circles until well into his career, but today, his restaurants Per Se and The French Laundry are household names in fine dining. Local and seasonal ingredients drive Keller’s cuisine, which has earned him seven Michelin stars and nine James Beard awards. Keller is no stranger to the media world: He consulted on the movie Ratatouille and taught Adam Sandler how to cook for the 2004 movie Spanglish. In The Bear, he shows Carmy how to prepare a roast chicken for a family meal.

Nobu Matsuhisa

Appears in: Season three, episode seven

Matsuhisa’s eponymous restaurant empire extends across 15 countries with 40 restaurants. He doesn’t appear in person on The Bear, but he gets a spotlight in a photo with Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud while the latter reminisces about his career.

The Action

During the season, The Bear team crosses paths with a number of other chefs.

Paul James

Appears in: Season three, episode six

James, the Queens, New York, born sandwich slinger, runs Uncle Paulie’s, a deli in Los Angeles that has rocketed to fame thanks to its celebrity fans and street-style merchandise. In The Bear, he plays a former line cook at the defunct The Beef who helps out at The Bear’s sandwich window.

Matty Matheson

Appears in: multiple episodes

The Canadian chef and actor plays a main role in The Bear as Neil Fak, a handyman-turned-server and constant chatterbox. In real life, Matheson’s culinary career spans a YouTube channel, four celebrated restaurants, and a packaged-food brand.

Adam Shapiro

Appears in: multiple episodes

Shapiro wears many hats in his career as an actor and pretzelmaker (including making pretzels at the Oscars last year). In The Bear, he appears as a manager for the fictional fine-dining restaurant Ever, working with chef Terry (Olivia Colman). He attempts to poach Sydney from The Bear.

The Closing Dinner

In the season finale, Ever hosts a final dinner before it closes its doors. That dinner brings together a star-studded group of chefs and restaurateurs alongside Carmy and Sydney. This culinary cohort opines on Ever’s (fictional) past and the (real life) future of the industry.

Grant Achatz

Achatz operates Alinea in Chicago. Once the sous chef at The French Laundry, Achatz today focuses on molecular gastronomy with Alinea’s multi-course tasting menu. He has also spent time at Charlie Trotter’s and Trio, both in the Chicago area. In the season finale, he has a long conversation with pastry chef Luca (Will Poulter) about Achatz’s more unusual culinary creations.

Wylie Dufresne

Dufresne started his career working for Jean-Georges Vongeritchen, becoming sous chef at Jean Georges. He’s best known for his now-closed restaurant WD-50 in Manhattan, and his restaurants have been awarded accolades from the James Beard Foundation, New York Magazine, and Food & Wine. These days, he’s the owner of New York City’s Stretch Pizza, where he blends classic pizzas with inventive and New York-inspired flavors.

Christina Tosi

Created the dessert program at David Chang’s Momofuku, then founded bakery chain Milk Bar in 2008. Her cereal milk-flavored sweets arguably define her pastry career, but in The Bear’s season finale, she regales the gathering of chefs with tales of dishes she made early in her career. (She worked at the now closed WD-50 before joining Chang.)

Kevin Boehm

A former bartender turned restaurateur, Kevin Boehm opened his first restaurant in 1993. Today, his James Beard Award-winning Boka Restaurant Group oversees 22 restaurants across the country. Boehm is also a writer whose memoir, The Bottomless Cup, comes out next year. He co-founded the Independent Restaurant Coalition, a trade group founded during the pandemic to lobby for assistance for restaurants and their employees. In the season finale, Boehm discusses the struggles and stresses of the business with Carmy.

Anna Posey

Another hometown chef, Posey owns Chicago restaurant Elske with her husband David. (We named Elske on our Best New Restaurants list in 2017.) She was also formerly the head pastry chef of The Publican in Chicago.

Rosio Sanchez

The Chicago-born Sanchez worked as the pastry chef at Dufresne’s WD-50 before moving to Copenhagen, where she built her career as the pastry chef at Noma. Today, her restaurants Sanchez and Hija de Sanchez, both in Copenhagen, blend traditional Mexican flavors with Nordic ingredients.

Malcolm Livingston II

Livingston II’s resume essentially lists the world’s best restaurants: Le Cirque, Per Se, WD-50, Noma. But these days, the Bronx-born pastry chef is working on something different—August Novelties, a non-dairy ice cream brand. The Bear creator Christopher Storer says that Livingston’s stint as Noma’s pastry chef inspired the character of Marcus (played by Lionel Boyce).

Will Guidara

The one-time force behind names like Eleven Madison Park and NoMad, with locations in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. He and his former business partner, Daniel Humm, co-wrote four books—one of which (entitled Unreasonable Hospitality) appears in season two, episode seven. He’s married to fellow cameo-maker Christina Tosi.

Genie Kwon

The pastry chef at Chicago’s two Michelin-starred Oriole restaurant. Kwon has worked in Boston, New York (including at Nobu Fifty Seven and Eleven Madison Park), Singapore, and Chicago. She hails from New Orleans.

Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit

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