What Every MasterChef Winner Is Up To Now - Tasting Table (2023)

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Fengjessica harlan/May 24, 2023 at 1:36pm EST

It's hard to believe it's been 13 years since the first episode of MasterChef aired on Fox. Celebrity judges include Christina Tosi, Graham Elliot, Joe Bastianich thanks to host Gordon Ramsay's strong personality (Joe Bastianich) and Aaron Sanchez, the show is beloved by fans not only for the delicious food in the kitchen, but also for the dramatic appreciation and judging among the participants. From sexual harassment scandals to dramatic court defeats, the set is always full of intrigue, and it often follows contestants through their post-competition troubles while fans keep an eye out for how their favorite contestants end up.

Over the years, the American version of MasterChef has been a springboard for many aspiring chefs, many of whom have written cookbooks, opened restaurants, or capitalized on their newfound fame by performing and preparing specials at food festivalsGrubhub's MasterChef Kitchen menuOr be a guest on other cooking shows.

MasterChef returns for its 13th season, titled The UnitedTastes of America, where contestants are divided by country and compete first as teams to win the challenge. Let's talk to the winners of the past 12 seasons to see if their wins help further their culinary dreams.

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Whitney Miller, the inaugural MasterChef winner in 2010, wowed the judges with a simple but flawless Southern dish, including tacos with cabbage pesto and shrimp, cooked to perfection Chicken, Creamy Cabbage and White Chocolate Pudding Souffle.

in the years since she wonShe is the author of two cookbooks and serves as a cookbook developer, culinary teacher, host, and speaker with companies and organizations such as Big Green Egg, Vidalia Onion Committee, and Hampton Inn.

In 2019, she opened Whitney's Cookies, a cookie bakery that has an ever-changing flavor profile, from the classic chocolate chip to seasonal flavors like key lime and strawberry shortcake. The cookies ship nationwide and are also available for local pickup in her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and two young boys. She's looking forward to a third gender reveal video later this year, which she sharedInstagram pageForetells that the newcomer will be a girl.

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MasterChef Season 2 winner Jennifer Behm (now Jennifer Behm-Lazzarini) picked up trophies and cash in 2011, but that wasn't her only win in a live kitchen. In 2021, she competed against her husband, restaurateur Julio Lazzarini and Bobby Flay on the Food Network's "Beat Bobby Flay," winning with a Latin-influenced chicken soup. Lazzarini, who married Behm a year after her MasterChef win, is also a veteran of the food competition scene, having competed in "Chopped”

in the years after winningBehm also owns and operates a catering business and is a frequent guest judge and speaker at events. Behm and her husband also opened a tapas restaurant called Red Fin Crudo and Kitchen, which closed in 2020 after five years in business. Behm is also currently involved in a craft cannabis business that is slated to open in Rhode Island later this year.

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MasterChef Season 3 Champion Christine Hà, Visually Impaired,Returned to the set last season as a guest judge, she organized a mystery box challenge for participants. She is one of the most successful MasterChef winners, with approximately 158,000 followers on her Instagram account and a best-selling cookbook, Cookbooks from My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food, which is the result of a publishing agreement with her their victory.

Today, Hà is likely to be in the kitchen of one of her two thriving Vietnamese restaurants, The Blind Goat and Xin Chao, in Houston, both of which have received critical acclaim. Hà and her partner, Tony Nguyen, have two James Beard nominations for their restaurant: The Blind Goat, a 2020 Best New Restaurant in America semifinalist and a 2022 Texas State Chef Award.

This year, she and Tony Nguyen (also a partner at Xin Chao in Houston) were again semifinalists in the James Beard Awards Outstanding Chef category. She also appeared in a recent episodeLydia celebrates America, where she prepared a Vietnamese pork dish and recounted how she adapted to being blind by cooking.

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As the first male winner of "MasterChef," Luca Manfé beat his competition with a recipe for stewed beef short ribs with sunchoke bisque and chanterelles, which, according to his website, he may have made for him of catering customers served this dish 200 times. Fans can recreate another of his winning dishes, basil panna cotta, using a recipe from his cookbook, "My Italian Cooking: A Family Favorite," which he published as part of his MasterChef awards.

While in Texas, Manfé operated a food truck called The Lucky Fig, serving good Italian food, but it closed after a year. Now based in Pennsylvania, Manfé is currently busy hosting food tours (his most recent trip was to his hometown of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, this October), offering live interactive cooking classes online, a private chef and a Guide to the Restaurant Business, he travels the country posting delicious cooking videos on his Instagram feed, and his two young sons make occasional cameos.

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Courtney Lapresi was an exotic dancer and dance teacher before she auditioned and landed a spot on MasterChef season five, and became a fan favorite on the show with her strong personality and colorful outfits. Her inventive and sophisticated award-winning dishes include crispy pig's ears, sumac-coated duck breast and cherry meringueher victory made her dance the victory danceShe later recreated it for her followers on her Instagram page.

Lapresi used her winning recipe deal to publish Fancy Everyday: 65 Simple, Elegant Meals, Snacks, Candy and Beverage Recipes, which was featured on Holland America in 2014. America)'s first MasterChef cruise. Lapresi also worked in a bakery while pursuing her yoga certification. But La PresseFinally left the culinary industry and stepped out of the star spotlightNow, she's a Tesla salesman, and she posts a weird but adorable set of photos on Instagram for her devoted followers, including scantily clad selfies, pole-dancing videos and food snaps.

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Claudia Sandoval wows the judges in the 'MasterChef' season 6 finale with a feast that includes huitlacoche truffle tamales, swordfish with zucchini and poached hibiscus Pear Dessert - All dishes true to her Latin origins. She has stayed in her seat in front of the cameras since her win, and is instantly recognizable with her fire-truck red hair. She served as a judge on MasterChef Latino and starred in last year'sFrontier Cuisine, Food Travel ShowIn it, she explores the cuisine of the Mexican-American border region.

Sandoval's fame has also helped her launch a culinary consulting and catering business, appearing on big brands like Coca-Cola and Disney, and guest-starring at various food festivals around the world and on shows like Chopped. As part of her MasterChef award, she wrote and published Claudia's Cocina: A Taste of Mexico, and recently announced a book deal on her Instagram page for another cookbook called Taco Nation, to be published as Cross Country Culinary, Describes a road trip through Mexico across America as we explore how each region reshaped and reinterpreted the taco.

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Longtime Las Vegas DJ Shaun O'Neale Swaps Turntables for Chef's Knives to Win MasterChef Season 7”Immediately after his win, O'Neill created My Modern American Table, which includes a recipe for the venison dish that earned him the title of chef. Since thenSelf-taught chef proves his skillsBecome a consultant, speaker and chef. According to his website, he has done cooking demonstrations for Macy's, headlined Holland America Line, trained chefs at luxury resorts and created a five-course meal for Snickers at the SXSW music festival.

In 2021, O'Neill teamed up with reality TV veteran bartender Benjamin Browning ("Survivor: Samoa") to open Larrea, an ambitiously designed restaurant in Las Vegas, but a few months later, O'Neill and the owner There's little explanation: These days, O'Neale is active on his Instagram page, making barbecue-inspired cooking videos, thanks to a collaboration with barbecue brand Pit Boss. Late last year, he also announced his start as executive chef and culinary expert at Sysco Las Vegas.

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Dino Angelo Luciano, who has been spreading the plant-based gospel since winning MasterChef Season 8 in 2017, serves up an exquisite (and decidedly non-vegetarian) meal of squid capellini, lamb chops and pistachios Tiramisu with espresso caviar.

The quirky former dancer sure made his 'MasterChef' season one of the funniest yetthe years since his win have been busy.He opened La Mariachi, a vegan Cal Mex restaurant in Montreal in 2020, but it closed within a year due to all the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the restaurant, which calls itself Gourmet Rabbit, provides on-site catering for private events in Arizona and Southern California. Vegan lovers can try making some of Luciano's own creations; he shares his creative vegetarian recipes on his website, including dishes like BBQ Hawaiian Cauliflower, Plant-Based Tocino, and Homemade Vegan Mayonnaise Pasta Salad.

Luciano shines in the spotlight in other ways besides his cooking — he records songs and makes music videos on his YouTube channel, and his IMDB page lists him as part of a short film called Tomorrow Will Be Better.

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MasterChef's first black winner, Gerron Hurt, took home the MasterChef title in Season 9 with his unique take on Nashville Hot Chicken: a hot quail appetizer with poached quail eggs and baby potato salad, followed by shrimp and heirloom gratin. There was also a sweet almond chess piece cake with popped sorghum for dessert.

The following season, Hurt was back on the set of "MasterChef" -- this time for a wedding, hosted by Gordon Ramsay, and the season 10 cast split into groups to celebrate what he had prepared. Filet Mignon and Lobster Wedding Feast. He also made a surprise appearance in last year's All-Star season, bringing mystery box challenges to the players.

Hurt was a teacher before joining MasterChef, butHe left the industry to focus on his career as a chef.His mission is "Family on a Plate," bringing families together through food through its private dining experiences, cooking classes, summer camps, guest appearances, and consulting. He also tried running a food truck in Yigo, Iowa, in southern Iowa in late 2019, but it closed permanently, according to a Yelp listing. According to his Instagram feed, Hurt has other things to keep him busy: two adorable young children.

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When she won MasterChef season 10, Dorian Hunter was not only the first black winner, but also the oldest contestant at 45 years old. The menu that won her trophies and money included seared scallops with mashed corn and pickled beets topped with cornmeal tortillas, smoked short ribs with potatoes and roasted horseradish, and a lemon and cream cheese blueberry pie with meringue for dessert.

your victory hasmake her successful in cookingSince the 2019 Finals. In 2021, she returned to the cook-off as one of eight contestants in the great Soul Food cook-off, finishing in the final three. Today, the culinary school grad offers cooking services at her Georgia home, and her specialty is "upscale Southern cuisine," according to her website. Through their website, Hunter provides catering services for weddings, parties and corporate events. She also hosts online cooking classes and sells merchandise online, including a delicious Southern Lemon Pound Cake.

As if all of this wasn't busy enough, Hunter also writes her cookbook and runs a global platform for food and drink content for women in cooking and health, The Cultural Foodie Network. Judging by her Instagram feed, she appears to be a Traeger Grills spokeswoman, posting videos with photos of her grilling and even challenging fellow chefs to the Burger Bash, an extreme burger grilling competition held at Traeger Grills.

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After taking a seven-month production hiatus midway through filming due to the pandemic, Kelsey Murphy takes the title in the season 11 finale of MasterChef.

A highlight of the season of Legends, featuring Chef The Legend as guest judge, with chefs Curtis Stone and Michael Simarusti serving as judges in recent episodes, Murphy served a lobster and crab ravioli appetizer with blood orange and...  ..saffron and caviar wowed them with side dishes, duck breast with honey nut puree and cherry sauce, blueberry lavender pudding with crushed biscuits and lemon curd.

The hardworking mother of three — who became pregnant with her third in between takes — hasn't been slowing down since she's been working on the show. Since winning MasterChef: Legends, Murphy has rolled out a food concept from an Indianapolis test kitchen called Inspo, which opens in 2022 with an outpost at Lucas Oil Stadium and will also be at Indiana Motor Speedway Provide food.

She also continues to host private events and occasionally appears on cooking features on local morning TV shows. She also created a special dishGrubHub's MasterChef tableAnd with Pete Ferrillo, director of the documentary Her Name Is a Chef, hosts a podcast called "Real Food" with Kelsey and Pete. The season 13 trailer also says: "MasterChef: The Unified Taste of America"Kelsey will return to the set as a guest at some point this season."

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The final season of MasterChef is a special one: MasterChef: Back to Win brings back all-star players from previous seasons of MasterChef and MasterChef Jr. Champion again. andThe winner is Dara Yu, who placed second in the first season of MasterChef Jr. Back to 2013.

She was just 20 years old when she won MasterChef season 12, making her the youngest winner in the show's history. She beat the competition with crispy red snapper with miso mayonnaise, Chinese pork ribs and a delicate floating island dessert with tropical fruit and purple rice.

It's only been a year since the finale, but Woo is already pursuing a promising career as a chef that will be long and prosperous. A graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, she teaches courses at the Sweet and Savory Food School in Santa Monica. She also hosts pop-ups and other food events around Los Angeles, which she promotes through her Dine with Dara Instagram account. At a recent event, Congee & Crullers, she paired her Chinese feel-good porridge with creative pastries, like croissant dough with a cream filling, a sweet no doubt influenced by her time as part of the opening team at Los Angeles-based Dominique Answer Bakery. A supper club is also in the works, according to her Dine with Dara Instagram account.

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