All 15 Real Professional Chefs In The Bear Season 3

Summary

• The Bear, a critically acclaimed TV series, features several real-life chefs and restaurateurs who make cameo appearances throughout the third season. These cameos add authenticity to the series, as many of the characters share similar backgrounds and experiences with the real-life chefs.
• Dave Beran makes a quick appearance in the first episode of The Bear season 3 and had previously worked with Jeremy Allen White when he was preparing for the series.
• A dinner scene in the season finale features many famous chefs, including Christina Tosi, Malcolm Livingston II, and Anna Posey.

Since the beginning of the series, The Bear has become known for its impressive roster of guest stars, but season 3 is the first time a wide number of real-life chefs appear alongside The Bear’s restaurant staff. The Bear has previously had real chefs star in the series, such as Matty Matheson as Neil Fak, a recurring character. Additionally, Donnie Madia and Chris Zucchero are two other familiar faces in the culinary industry who have had minor roles in previous seasons. The choice to include a variety of chefs in this season makes sense following the opening of the titular restaurant.

Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) culinary education before The Bear restaurant also plays a large part in season 3, taking shape in the form of flashbacks. These flashbacks are where a few of the real-life chef guest appearances occur. The chefs, portraying themselves, are mentors throughout Carmy’s career. The remainder of the cameos occur in the season finale. During the scene, they share career advice that aligns with the biggest concerns Carmy and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) have by the end of The Bear season 3.

Matty Matheson

Owner of Matty’s Patty’s Burger Club

Matty Matheson has been a recurring character on The Bear since season 1 as Neil Fak, but oddly enough, Matheson never cooks as his character. The Fak family are close friends of the Berzattos and Neil works as the handyman for the restaurant. Behind the scenes, Matheson is more than just an actor in The Bear. He’s also a producer for the series and helps out as a culinary consultant. Born in Canada, Matheson began his career at local restaurants and worked as the executive chef at Parts & Labour in Toronto until its closing in 2019. Now, Matheson owns multiple restaurants in the area, including Prime Seafood Palace and Matty’s Patty’s Burger Club.

Chris Zucchero

Owner of Mr. Beef

Before there was The Bear, there was The Original Beef of Chicagoland, the restaurant at the center of the FX series. The fictional Italian beef sandwich shop in The Bear is inspired by a real restaurant, similarly named Mr. Beef. Located in Chicago and founded by Joe Zucchero, Mr. Beef has a close connection to the series. Zucchero’s son, Chris Zucchero, is longtime friends with The Bear‘s creator, Christopher Storer, and has made a few appearances on the show. Previously, Zucchero’s character Chi-Chi could be seen delivering boxes of food to Carmy. This continues in season 3, but Zucchero also helps out Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) at the sandwich window in “Legacy.”

Daniel Boulud

Owner of Daniel

Before returning to Chicago to fix up his brother’s restaurant, Carmy explored the culinary offerings of New York City. Daniel Boulud is one of the first chefs he encounters, and the first real chef to guest star during the season. Audiences see the French chef mentoring Carmy during one of the many flashbacks in The Bear season 3’s first episode, “Tomorrow.” In the episode, Carmy works at Boulud’s real-life eponymous restaurant, which currently has two Michelin stars. Boulud is the perfect chef to transform Carmy, as his career is quite remarkable. Starting as a chef, Boulud now has his own management company and owns multiple restaurants worldwide.

Thomas Keller

Head chef at The French Laundry

It’s understood that Carmy has had the opportunity to refine his culinary skills with prominent chefs, but The Bear season 3 is the first time we see the full extent of his days of learning. One of the real-life chefs Carmy learns from is Thomas Keller. Both Keller and his restaurant The French Laundry make cameos during the season. During a flashback in the finale, “Forever,” Keller is teaching Carmy how to make roast chicken. The advice Keller lends to Carmy during the scene is one of the best quotes in The Bear season 3, making a strong impact on Carmy and informing the type of chef audiences see in the present day during his operation of The Bear.

René Redzepi

Founder, head chef, and co-owner of Noma

Copenhagen, Denmark is the location for The Bear season 2, episode 4, “Honeydew.” There, Marcus builds upon his pastry skills, learning from Chef Luca (Will Poulter) at a restaurant audiences are made to assume is Noma. The restaurant has three Michelin stars and is operated by René Redzepi, but season 3 is the first time the renowned chef is seen in The Bear. Redzepi’s cameo is quick, but for those familiar with his career, his brief appearance says a lot. During “Tomorrow,” the Danish chef is seen when Carmy walks by and Redzepi is looking over images of plated meals.

Paulie James

Owns and operates Uncle Paulie’s Deli

Alongside Zucchero’s Chi-Chi is Paulie James as Chuckie. Both worked at the restaurant when it was run by Michael and “Legacy” sees the two returning to their jobs. Together, Chi-Chi and Chuckie help Ebra operate The Bear’s sandwich window to get things moving at a quicker pace. James’ role in The Bear season 3 is quite similar to his actual job as a sandwich maker. In real life, James operates Uncle Paulie’s Deli, which has been open since 2017 and has locations in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The menu at Uncle Paulie’s Deli is inspired by the sandwich shops James ate at growing up in New York City.

Dave Beran

Executive chef at Pasjoli

The chef and owner of Pasjoli, Dave Beran, fits in with The Bear‘s Chicago setting. Before owning the California restaurants, Pasjoli and the now-closed Dialogue, — both of which have earned one Michelin star — Beran worked in the Windy City. Beran was a chef at Next and Alinea, working at the former as executive chef. In The Bear, Beran is working with Carmy at a fictionalized version of Chicago’s Ever restaurant, owned by Chef Terry (Olivia Colman) on-screen and Curtis Duffy in real life (via Eater Chicago). However, The Bear season 3 is not the first time Beran and White have worked together. In preparation for season 1, White went to Pasjoli and learned from its staff.

Grant Achatz

Head chef at Alinea

The Bear‘s season 3 finale reveals that Chef Terry is closing Ever. To honor Terry’s accomplishments and the esteemed restaurant, a great number of chefs arrived in attendance. One of these chefs is Grant Achatz. Awarded six James Beard awards, Achatz is the head chef and co-owner of the famed, three-Michelin-starred Chicago restaurant Alinea. During his cameo, he’s talking to Luca, who is visibly fascinated by the chef’s culinary accomplishments. Achatz is known for combining food with science — molecular gastronomy. An example of this is edible helium balloons, one of the menu items Luca is eager to discuss (via Business Insider).

Will Guidara

Co-founder of the Make It Nice hospitality group

The words of Will Guidara make a cameo in The Bear before he does. In season 2, when Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) stages at Ever, he’s seen reading Unreasonable Hospitality, a book by Guidara. While at Ever’s closing dinner, Guidara talks about being a young child and dreaming of opening a restaurant because of how fun it seemed. Guidara describes the environment as an “orchestrated frenzy.” In real life, Guidara is well accomplished and 2011 was the year he and chef Daniel Humm founded the Make It Nice hospitality group. Guidara also co-wrote the story of The Bear season 3’s “Doors” episode with Storer.

Wylie Dufresne

Chef at Stretch Pizza

During the start of Ever’s closing dinner, Carmy has a conversation with Wylie Dufresne. Many of Dufresne’s restaurants have closed their doors, including New York’s wd~50 and Alder, but he does currently own Stretch Pizza in Manhattan. Similarly to Achatz, Dufresne is famous in the world of molecular gastronomy and, in 2001, Food & Wine magazine gave him the America’s Ten Best Chefs award. During this conversation, Carmy and Dufresne are not alone. They are joined by restaurateur Kevin Boehm. Though not a chef, Boehm is a big name in Chicago’s dining scene, with many of the restaurants he operates being located in the city.

Christina Tosi

Head chef at Milk Bar

The culinary world is made out to be quite small in The Bear. Plenty of the real-life chefs with cameos have a similar start and are connected — with some having connections to individuals working on the show. The tight-knit community is made clearer during the dinner scene in “Forever,” when award-winning pastry chef Christina Tosi talks about working for Wylie Dufresne when she first started her career. Tosi specifically recalls working tirelessly to perfect a cornbread-flavored ice cream. In real life, Tosi also worked for David Chang at his Momofuku restaurant and was the one who suggested a bakery should be added. Tosi is now the chef and co-owner of the popular dessert destination, Milk Bar.

Rosio Sanchez

Chef at Hija de Sanchez and Sanchez

Like a few other characters in The Bear, Rosio Sanchez got the opportunity to work at some of the best restaurants in the industry after growing up in Chicago. This includes wd~50 owned by Dufresne, who happens to be sitting behind her during the dinner scene with the other chefs. Following her time in New York City, Sanchez moved to Copenhagen and was the head pastry chef at Noma. After a few years at Noma, Sanchez left and opened up two of her establishments. The first is Hija de Sanchez, a taquería inspired by her mother’s cooking, and the second is a high-end Mexican restaurant named Sanchez, which opened soon after.

Anna Posey

Executive pastry chef at Elske

At the dinner table in the season finale, an honest conversation starts as the attending chefs reflect on their early days of working at a restaurant. One of these chefs is Anna Posey. In real life, Posey works as the executive pastry chef at Elske, whose website describes the mission of the restaurant as one that focuses on “centering on simplistic fare.” A similar description is given by Posey when discussing the type of dessert she makes today. It differs greatly from her first few desserts, which had a regrettable number of elements to them.

Malcolm Livingston II

Founder of August Novelties

As the chefs laugh and recount memorable moments from the beginning of their careers, there is also a valuable conversation about the importance of strong mentorship and what that looks like — a message that resonates with both Sydney and Carmy. During the conversation, flashbacks of the two’s kitchen experiences are inserted. Malcolm Livingston II, a real-life pastry chef, praises one of his bosses for the encouragement he gave him about a meal he once prepared. Livingston has a notable career, working in restaurants such as Le Cirque and Keller’s Per Se. He then moved on to become the head pastry chef at Dufresne’s wd~50 and a pastry chef at Redzepi’s Noma. Livingston now owns August Novelties, which sells dairy-free frozen desserts.

Genie Kwon

Co-head chef at Kasama

As the other real-life chefs share their favorite part of the kitchen in “Forever,” chef Genie Kwon admits she doesn’t love the cooking part as much as others do. To Kwon, the most rewarding part is making food to see others’ reactions. She specifically recalls her childhood and serving her parents things that brought them joy. Kwon has previously shared a similar story in which she made barely edible cookies as a kid, but her mom ate them anyway (via Chicago Gourmet). Her mother’s actions made an impact on Kwon and her decision to be a chef. Kwon is now the co-owner of Kasama in Chicago, the only Filipino restaurant in the United States with a Michelin star.