Tom Colicchio's Net Worth: The Top Chef Host Makes More Than You Think

While "Top Chef" viewers know him best as one of the show's judges, those in the food industry know Tom Colicchio best as a talented chef and successful restaurateur.

Colicchio fell in love with cooking while working in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother. He used cooking manuals by celebrity chef Jacques Pepin to improve his skills, and got his first job at 17 at Evelyn's Seafood Restaurant in New Jersey (via TV Guide). He eventually became a line chef at Quilted Giraffe in New York City.

"It was a four-star restaurant. I was still planning on culinary school, but once I was promoted from line cook to sous chef, that was it," Colicchio told Bloomberg. Despite his lack of a formal education, he went on to work at the Hôtel de France in Auch, France, and as the executive chef at the Mondrian in New York. In 1994, he became a co-owner of Gramercy Tavern and won the James Beard Award for Best Chef, New York, in 2000. The following year he launched Crafted Hospitality, a restaurant group that includes New York's Craft, Temple Court, Long Island's Small Batch, Craft Los Angeles, and Heritage Steak and Craftsteak in Las Vegas. 

And in 2006, Colicchio brought his vast culinary knowledge to "Top Chef "as executive producer and head judge. "It's not so different from my regular job, which is to give young cooks honest feedback about their work," he explained.