Carmy stares at a wall of culinary titans. | FX
An exhaustive list of the chefs, restaurateurs, and hospitality pros who paid a visit to Carmy and the gang this season
The third season of hit Hulu show The Bear dropped in full on Wednesday night, and with it came an absolute bounty of chef and restaurant cameos — perhaps too many. Throughout the season’s 10 episodes, a slew of food world luminaries make appearances in both the past and present of chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), serving as both his culinary influences and his professional peers.
Many of these appearances occur in the series finale, when a gaggle of prominent chefs and hospitality pros gather at Chicago restaurant Ever for a “funeral” of sorts. (Scroll to the end for the full accounting of those names, which make up fully half the list of cameos.) Others arrive right at the onset, as we get a look at Carmy’s professional history, including learning how to cook as a stage in some of the world’s most lauded restaurants.
In case you couldn’t keep up with the onslaught of famous food folks, we’ve rounded up every real-life chef that makes a cameo in Season 3 of The Bear.
They got Daniel Boulud and René Redzepi! #TheBearFX pic.twitter.com/aHJtVcheWs
— floyd (@ericfloyd_) June 27, 2024
The chef and restaurateur cameos throughout Season 3
Daniel Boulud
When Carmy heads off to New York City long before the Bear ever opens its doors, one of his first jobs is staging at Daniel Boulud’s restaurant Daniel. In Season 3, we see Boulud in multiple flashbacks instructing Carmy in the kitchen during a busy dinner service.
Thomas Keller
Keller also makes multiple appearances in Season 3, as does his Napa restaurant the French Laundry. We see the restaurant in multiple scenes — Carmy sketching ideas for dishes in the restaurant’s lush gardens, working dinner service inside the kitchen — and Keller delicately teaching the chef how to properly truss a chicken in an Episode 10 flashback.
René Redzepi
Previous seasons have referenced Carmy’s time in Copenhagen, and now we’ve got definitive proof that he did indeed stage at Noma. The soon-to-shutter restaurant made an appearance in Episode 1 of the new season, in a montage that includes Carmy foraging, cooking, and prepping alongside Noma staff. (And of course, the restaurant posted behind-the-scenes shots from those scenes on Instagram.)
Will Guidara
Hospitality whiz and former Eleven Madison Park co-owner Will Guidara is a co-producer on The Bear, and his influence permeates the series. In Season 2, we see Cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) reading Guidara’s book Unreasonable Hospitality, and later texting him for advice.
Paul James
The NYC-born chef who operates Uncle Paulie’s Deli in Los Angeles appears as temporary help for the Bear’s Italian beef window, in Episode 6.
Adam Shapiro
Fictional chef Andrea Terry (Olivia Coleman) and right hand man Adam Shapiro are definitely interested in poaching Sydney away from the Bear. Even though the Adam Shapiro in the show isn’t actually a chef at Ever, actor Adam Shapiro (yes, his character has his real name) does have his own bakery, the Snappy Pretzel Company, which once provided Philly-style soft pretzels for the Oscars ceremony.
Every funeral dinner cameo in Episode 10 “Forever”
Will Guidara
The restaurateur appears in the season finale, sharing his restaurant wisdom with Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) and Marcus (Lionel Boyce) at the dinner table.
Christina Tosi
Naturally, the former Momofuku pastry chef, the mastermind behind Milk Bar, and Will Guidara’s spouse of is here too.
Grant Achatz
The chef behind groundbreaking Chicago restaurant Alinea brings a little levity to the finale’s funeral when he is accosted by “hot pastry chef” Luca (Will Poulter), who can’t stop asking him questions about some of his most famous dishes.
Wylie DuFresne
The molecular gastronomy titan behind WD50, among other eateries.
Anna Posey
The award-winning Chicago pastry chef at Elske, and James Beard finalist in 2024.
Kevin Boehm
A prolific Chicago restaurateur at the helm of Boka Restaurant Group.
Genie Kwon
A James Beard Award winner as co-owner and pastry chef of Kasama, the only Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant in the world.
Rosio Sanchez
A Chicago-born chef, formerly of Noma, who now operates two restaurants, Sanchez and Hija de Sanchez, in Copenhagen.
Malcolm Livingston II
The former Noma pastry chef.
