Thanks in part to television channels such as the Food Network and Cooking Channel, chefs that might have otherwise only be known locally have become major stars. With this stardom of course comes money, and Forbes has recently ranked the top ten earners. Not all of the names on the list are television cooking celebrities, however. There are also a few restauranteurs who have made their fortune simply from providing excellent cuisine and being business savvy.

The top name on the list is one that is well known in most households. Gordon Ramsay, star of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen, takes the top spot with $38 million dollars in earnings. Ramsay is the owner of 23 restaurants. However, it is his television career that accounts for most of his income. Hotel Hell is Ramsay’s latest television endeavor. The new show premieres sometime this August.

The full list of names, as well as their earnings, is as follows:

Gordon Ramsay – $38 million

Rachael Ray – $25 million

Wolfgang Puck – $20 million

Paula Deen – $17 million

Mario Batali – $13 million

Alain Ducasse – $12 million

Todd English – $11 million

Nobu Matsuhisa – $10 million

Bobby Flay – $9 million

Guy Fieri – $8 million

Oddly enough, Rachael Ray, who holds the second spot, does not own a restaurant. She is the only one on the list that does not. Ray has been very public about that fact that she is not a professionally trained chef, and has never tried to convince her fans otherwise. Despite that fact, Ray has her own television program, has released several cookbooks and also has her name on several different product types, including her own line of pet food.

Wolfgang Puck and Paula Deen have each tasted television fame, each own restaurants, and each have their name attached to a line of cookware. Deen, the “Queen of Southern Cuisine” recently announced that she suffers from diabetes. With her fame born out of offering high fat, high sugar foods that are tasty but not healthy, it remains to be seen how this announcement may affect her earning potential in the future.

Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and Guy Fieri have each had their own shows on the Food Network. Fieris’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives quickly became a hit due to the fact that it appeals to a broad audience. Flay and Batali each focus on specific types of cuisines – Flay, southwestern, Batali, Italian. Each chef is now considered an expert in their specialty cuisine of choice.