As the daughter of an esteemed cookbook editor, Alex Guarnaschelli spent her childhood surrounded by food. After graduating from Barnard College in 1991, she worked under acclaimed American chef Larry Forgione. Encouraged by Forgione, Guarnaschelli moved to France to study at La Varenne Culinary School in Burgundy. After school she worked for four years at the Michelin three-star restaurant Guy Savoy and moved up to sous chef at La Butte Chaillot, another Savoy establishment. After seven successful years in France, Guarnaschelli returned stateside, joining the venerable Daniel Boulud at restaurant Daniel in Manhattan as sous chef. She moved to Los Angeles for two years and worked at the acclaimed Patina restaurant in West Hollywood. In 2003, she became the executive chef at Butter Restaurant in New York, where she creates an eclectic American and green market-inspired menu. Guarnaschelli also helms the kitchen of NYC’s modern dining and cabaret concept, The Darby. Most recently, she became an Iron Chef after winning The Next Iron Chef: Redemption in December 2012. She has previously appeared on Food Network in her own show Alex’s Day Off, as both a challenger and a judge on the hit series Iron Chef America, and is a judge on popular primetime series, Chopped.
