The Magnificent Seven

Among the chefs who continually impress and inspire:

Jeremy Fox: Such a bad ass that he doesn't even need protein to impress diners with his culinary prowess.

David Kinch: Such a bad ass that he can open a restaurant where he wants to live so that people come to him to experience his two Michelin star fare (he deserves all three).

Johnny Monis: Such a bad ass that he does all tasting menus all the time in his matchbox kitchen and is named in Food & Wine's Hall of Fame Chefs (rightly so) only one year after he is named among the Best New Chefs, all at the ripe old age of 28.

Sang Yoon: Such a bad ass that he serves food the way he wants, no substitutions, no modifications, take it or leave it.

Dennis Leary: Such a bad ass that he himself is cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner in his two restaurants, with no investors to tell him what to do.

Sam Sugiyama: Such a bad ass that at age 60+, he works alongside his cooks every lunch and dinner, running effectively two restaurants in one, with modern ginza-style omakase sushi behind the scenes and a dragon roll/spicy tuna hellish extragavanza in the main dining room.

Sotohiro Kosugi: Such a bad ass that he can transplant his restaurant from Atlanta to Manhattan without missing a beat. If you want unforgettable Japanese cuisine but lack the net worth to splurge on Masa's, head down to the village and experience the most sublime and authentic fare of all time.

What these bad-ass chefs have in common:
They are all in their kitchens, touching, tasting, and/or seeing the plates that go out. Thank goodness for their obsessive-compulsive tendencies.