Summary
Since the beginning of the series,The Bearhas 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 Bearhas previously had real chefs star in the series, such asMatty 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 rolesin 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 bythe end ofThe Bearseason 3.
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Matty Matheson
Owner of Matty’s Patty’s Burger Club
Behind the scenes, Matheson is more than just an actor inThe Bear
Matty Matheson has been a recurring character onThe Bearsince season 1 as Neil Fak, but oddly enough, Matheson never cooks as his character.The Fak familyare close friends of the Berzattos and Neil works as the handyman for the restaurant. Behind the scenes, Matheson is more than just an actor inThe Bear.He’s also a producer for the seriesand 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 inThe Bearis 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 withThe 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 inThe Bearseason 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
It’s understood that Carmy has had the opportunity to refine his culinary skills with prominent chefs, butThe Bearseason 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 cameosduring 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 thebest quotes inThe Bearseason 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
Copenhagen, Denmark is the location forThe Bearseason 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 inThe 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 inThe Bearseason 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.
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Dave Beran
Executive chef at Pasjoli
The chef and owner of Pasjoli, Dave Beran, fits in withThe 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. InThe 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 (viaEater Chicago). However,The Bearseason 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
The Bear’s season 3 finale reveals thatChef 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 (viaBusiness Insider).
Will Guidara
Co-founder of the Make It Nice hospitality group
The words of Will Guidara make a cameo inThe Bearbefore he does. In season 2, when Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) stages at Ever, he’s seen readingUnreasonable Hospitality, a book by Guidara. While at Ever’s closing dinner,Guidara talks about being a young child and dreaming of opening a restaurantbecause 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 ofThe Bearseason 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 gastronomyand, 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.
