Why Does Everyone Call Chef Alex Guarnaschelli "ICAG"?

There is so much to love and enjoy about the Food Network. There are cooking and baking shows that teach us everything from basic kitchen skills to how to bake the most intricate delicate desserts. 

We've met some really talented chefs along the way, ones that make us think or laugh or pull us in with their way of telling a story. One of the most famous is Alex "ICAG" Guarnaschelli, but what is the meaning behind the acronym? Here's what we know. 

Alex Guarnaschelli is one of the more decorated chefs on the Food Network. She's hosted, judged, and competed on many of the network's flagship shows. She runs her own restaurant in New York, has authored a few cookbooks, and she's really good at making good food. 

One of the more coveted titles a Food Network chef can earn is on the show Iron Chef: America. The show pits super talented chefs, named the Iron Chefs, against other cooks from across the country. They do a show-down style competition where the guest chef tries to beat out the Iron Chef. 

How does one become an Iron Chef on the American version of the show? The Iron Chefs are usually Food Network personalities, from the original Iron Chef from Japan, or they earned their spot on the Food Network competition show, The Next Iron Chef.

And that brings us back to Alex Guarnaschelli. She first competed on The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, where she made it into the semi-final battle before being beaten. 

Then in Nov. 2012, she was brought back to compete on The Next Iron Chef: Redemption, which featured a roster of chefs who were returning for a second chance at becoming an Iron Chef, plus a few newcomers to round out the competition. 

After an eight-episode battle, Alex made it to the finals, where she faced Chef Amanda Freitag. Current Iron Chefs Masaharu Morimoto, Michael Symon, and Bobby Flay were judging. Alex was named the overall winner and won her title, joining the ranks of Iron Chefs and earning her the nickname "ICAG," or Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli. She's now won 7 out of the 11 times she's competed, or 63.6 percent of the time. 

Alex is a favorite among fans of the Food Network. They not only love her for being an Iron Chef but also for all the other shows that she's featured on, including Chopped, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Guy's Grocery Games, Alex's Day Off, and The Kitchen.

The reason Alex Guarnaschelli is on so many shows on the Food Network is that fans love her. She has earned the nickname "ICAG" by competing on and winning Iron Chef, and if you ask anyone, she totally deserves it.