Mary Ann Esposito was so funny. I still remember her making “The Eyes of St. Lucy”, which are cookies, and her telling the story of St. Lucy ‘who was so beautiful she plucked out her own eyes so that God would know she was worthy.’ Mary Ann was mixing and rolling the cookies and talking about plucking out eyes and never missed a beat.
I haven’t seen Mary Ann Esposito’s show in ages. Is it still on PBS?
DH has always been awestruck by Jacques Pepin’s knife skills. He and Julia together were a hoot.
Caio Italia is still on PBS. Like all of the PBS programming, you never know when it will be on.
I also love Ina!
Some others I enjoy:
Jamie Oliver
Martha Stewart
Bobby Flay
Tom Colicchio
Pati Jinich (Pati’s Mexican Table)
Also not the biggest Giada fan. She’s okay but I can only take so much of her!
Not sure she qualifies as a “chef,” but I like The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. I
find almost all of her recipes accessable for a non cook/baker, such as myself. And her recipe books have lots of pictures to help make them idiot proof (important for me)! My favorite recipe is for Lemon Blueberry pancakes. Got to love breakfast!
All of Ree’s recipes that I’ve tried have been good. I’ve been following her since she just had a food blog. I’m impressed by the successful empire she’s created, too, although having heaps of money from her husband’s side sure didn’t hurt.
I also like Ree Drummond . It’s been fun seeing her kids grow up!
I’m a big fan of Ina Garten (I want her to adopt me), Jacques Pepin, and the GOAT, Julia Child, whose recipes may be long but they are so beautifully written it’s impossible to go wrong.
My husband, OTOH (who never cooks) is quite smitten with Nigella Lawson.
I can’t imagine why 
Julia Child. What a trailblazer!!!. Like her so much I planted a Julia Child rose.
Alton Brown/Good Eats. I like learning about how and why ingredients interact. His show is entertaining and enlightening (to me).
Want to add Christopher Kimball and his entire America’s Test Kitchen Milk Street Kitchen team.
Also speaking of early TV chefs, anyone else remember the Frugal Gourmet? Before his career-ending scandal, he was a fixture on the PBS cooking show lineup
Christopher Kimball broke away from America’s Test Kitchen and started his own operation that’s called Milk Street Kitchen. Milk Street Kitchen is in downtown Boston and there are lots of offerings for the public. I’ve taken several hands-on cooking classes and also been to programs with local chefs who do a demonstration from a recipe in a new cookbook. I believe there are free online classes now.
Nobody has mentioned foulmouth Gordon Ramsay! I think he’s a very talented chef, but his mouth gets in the way - and he’s gone into so many spinoffs, the shows are no longer enjoyable. I used to like Masterchef with the original chefs, not so much anymore.
One of Gordon Ramsay’s best recipes, as far as I’m concerned, is his easy peasy Yorkshire pudding. Yum! Instead of making them by hand (as the recipe states), I put everything in the blender. They are foolproof!
https://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/recipes/yorkshire-puddings/
Gordon Ramsay is the antithesis of Ina Garten. I can’t stand watching him.
I was thinking of Jeff Smith! I have his Frugal Gourmet cookbook.
Ina good as is Flay. I liked Alton Brown in Good Eats, but nothing of his since then is any good IMO. His personality exceeds his cred.
How about Robert Irvine? I used to love his Kitchen Impossible show and now occasionally watch Restaurant Impossible.
I used to make that Frugal Gourmet deep dish pizza all the time - back in the day.
I really find myself missing Anthony Bourdain.
Big yes to Anthony Bourdain but to me he was much more than a chef. He was an ambassador to the world. Marcus Samuelsson seems to have picked up his baton with his PBS show No Passport Required.
I’ve been watching Jamie Oliver and his 5 Ingredient recipes. I like them because they are doable for my kitchen and the time I have to prepare them. Watching a cooking show is often like watching “This Old House” for home renovation. So much is done ahead of time that it can look easier and less time consuming than it is. I’ve done a couple of Jamie Oliver’s recipes and they are easy and very good. What I really need is someone to clean up the kitchen when I’m done. That can take as long as the cooking and is far less satisfying.