16. Ina Garten
This cheerful chef has become very popular thanks to her motherly nature, always able to solve a cooking problem and delivering these solutions with a warm smile. As it turns out, she’s more than giving when it comes to her customers, but not so much when it comes to extending a helping hand to the Make-a-Wish foundation.
Twice, she turned down the organization when someone with a terminal illness wanted to meet their hero. In 2011, Enzo Pereda was suffering from leukemia, and she sent through a polite no as she was on a book tour at the time. When a second occasion presented itself, she turned it down once more, citing that she was busy. After the public found out, Garten did a 180, but by that point, Enzo was keener to go swim with dolphins.
Ina Garten
15. Geoffrey Zakarian
After coming out on top in 2011’s Iron Chef: Super Chefs, there was still a bit of a sour tinge in the air thanks to the fact that Geoffrey Zakarian had declared bankruptcy shortly before. He had fallen into some financial difficulties after lawsuits with former employees at his restaurant, for which he reportedly forked out over a million dollars in damages.
At the time, Geoffrey was accused of tampering with pay records, docking wages for food that employees never touched, and refusing to pay his waiters overtime for their services. Although he refuted the claims, the now-closed restaurant, and his bankrupt status after indicates that life was teaching him a bigger lesson.
Geoffrey Zakarian
