Dominique Crenn, United States

Crenn is one of the few women that have battled to end up on this list. She knew from a young age that the restaurant industry was extremely difficult to break into as a woman, so she earned a master's degree in business and finance instead of going to culinary school. After making enough cash to sustain herself, she took an apprenticeship in San Francisco that snowballed her career forward. She ended up becoming the first female head chef in Indonesia at a point, and she later opened her own meat-free two Michelin star restaurant. 

David Kinch, United States

Kinch was born in Pennsylvania. He attended Johnson and Wales' culinary school and immediately moved to New York post-graduation. After he cooked his way through the Big Apple, Kinch saw a massive disparity in the quality of ingredients that are available on the west coast as opposed to the east coast. He relocated to California and opened his first restaurant. Since then, he has earned three Michelin stars.