re: Who is the best living chef?

That's why I said it's hard to make the criteria up for "best." Redzepi is absolutely pushing cuisine to a new level and transforming cooking and what we consider food (similar to Ferran Adria). I agree that he's a far cry from comfort food, though, not that I've ever tasted anything he makes.

His restaurant has won best restaurant in the world 4 out of the past 5 years (and placed second in 2013), and that's from people who HAVE eaten at many of the best restaurants in the world.

But yeah, it's a silly argument to have unless we set parameters. One thing that I dislike these days with celebrity chefs (and I think this trend was started by Wolfgang Puck) is the franchising of their restaurants. Thomas Keller has done it. Mario Batali has done it. Daniel Boulud has done it. David Chang has done it (though at least he limits his establishments to NYC). For some reason, it seems that they become more of a businessman than a pure chef once they start making multiple locations like that. All that being said, I've eaten at restaurants by all four of the people listed above, and they're all spectacular.

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Redzepi? You have to be joking. Foraged wild herbs and burnt carrots? I'll pass.

Better question is, which chef if you could only pick one, would you want to cook every meal for you for the rest of your life. Redzepi doesnt make anyone's list under that criteria.

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Gordon Ramsay easily, then. His travel and number of restaurants mean that I'd never wish I could eat a certain food.