Perhaps oddly, another celebrity chef that you will learn worthwhile things from is Heston Blumenthal (despite the fact that the actual dishes he makes tend to

Perhaps oddly, another celebrity chef that you will learn worthwhile things from is Heston Blumenthal (despite the fact that the actual dishes he makes tend to be the sort of incredibly complex creations that you'd never think of making at home). You wouldn't use his recipes, but if you listen you'll learn much about the basic chemistry and physics that underlies a lot of the "why" of cooking and baking (things like: salt binds together the meat in patties / sausages; the purpose of oil on a pan is to increase heat transfer into the food). The "in search of perfection" series is pretty good in this vein, because he takes routine dishes (eg fried chicken, pizza) and analyses how to optimise them, which gives you an insight into the most important parts of the preparation.