His first cooking show, Season by Season, debuted on PBS in 2001. He hosted two more series for PBS, Michael Chiarello's Napa and Michael Chiarello's Napa: Casual Cooking over the next two years before moving to the Food Network to host Easy Entertaining in 2003. In 2004, Chiarello's latest show, NapaStyle, premiered on the Food Network's sister network Fine Living Network. Chiarello was included as a contestant on Top Chef Masters, winning his preliminary round and advancing to the championship round, placing second to Rick Bayless (first place).