These Chefs Brought the Heat to the #GilmoreGirlsRevival

If you happened to do some heavy Netflix ‘n snacking over Thanksgiving weekend, you likely stumbled upon the highly-anticipated Gilmore Girls revival series.

The four-episode reboot, titled A Year in the Life, may as well have been called A Year in the Kitchen, with all the food and chef references thrown into the mix. The new foodie perspective is no surprise, though – the Gilmore gals have been making their stomachs a prioritiy since the show’s inception in 2000. But this time around, the duo traded frozen pizzas and burgers from Luke’s Diner for fancier food made way of some of the industry’s best chefs. 

Without giving away too much, Lorelai and the rest of the Dragonfly Inn team were tasked with finding a replacement for the bubbly but chaotic Sookie. The chefs ahead were seen or mentioned as contenders in the revival epsiodes, but if we had it our way, José Andrés, Aarón Sánchez or Marcela Valladolid would have successfully taken over the Stars Hollow food scene.

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Roy Choi

First up, cool-guy food truck guru Roy Choi enters the kitchen, much to Lorelai’s dismay. The Korean chef didn’t make his infamous Kogi tacos, but he did move Lorelai’s coffee maker, which resulted in him getting kicked to the curb.

Rachael Ray

Ray made the second cameo appearance in the show, channeling her real-life skills by serving up “soup and sammies for days.” 

David Chang

Chang’s name was dropped as one of the chef’s driven out of the inn after his food was too similar to the town’s confusing fusion restaurant, Al’s Pancake World.

Anthony Bourdain

To no one’s surprise, Anthony Bourdain took it upon himself to park his car in Sookie’s spot, leaving Lorelai no choice but to let him go.

April Bloomfield

Lorelai got specific when discussing why April Bloomfield wasn’t the best chef for the inn. “She served too much pork,” she said.

Alice Waters 

And Alice Waters? She was too “flighty” – whatever that means.

Dan Barber

Later, we find out why Sookie isn’t at the Dragonfly. She left the small town to work at Dan Barber’s Blue Hill Farm.