The food biz is full of people who’ve managed to become famous through a combination of moderate culinary talent and heaps of skillful bullshitting.
Decades ago, I managed to get a job at a parisian chocolate shop run by a guy who was even then considered the ultimate authority on all things chocolate (if anything, his reputation has inflated even more since then). I was somewhat starstruck in the beginning, but quickly came to see that, although he did have a great palate, he had no technical grasp of the craft whatsoever. He was all bluff, and depended entirely on his silver tongue and the support of underlings who actually knew what they were doing to maintain his reputation. Oh, and he groped the kitchen staff.
I had very similar experiences with a couple of other culinary demigods, but I’ll just raise my blood pressure if I go on.