MasterChef US Winners: Where are they now? All Updates
Ever wondered what the MasterChef US winners are up to after winning one of the world’s biggest cooking competitions?
In this post, we share updates for all eleven MasterChef winners.
MasterChef is considered to be the biggest cooking competition in the world.
The show’s premise is that five world-class chefs would judge the culinary skill of amateur chefs from the USA.
The format of MasterChef US was such a hit that it has now become a global franchise.
In the season finale, the winner is announced and that lucky participant wins a coveted MasterChef trophy, $250,000, and a contract for their own cookbook.
Let’s take a look at the list of all the winners of MasterChef and how their life changed after winning the reality show.
Whitney miller – MASTERCHEF SEASON 1 WINNER
Whitney Miller was still in college when she won the first season of Masterchef. Even after achieving this milestone she went back to college and finished her education.
Then she released her cookbook titled Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes with Southern Charm in 2011 and it was followed by another one called Whitney Miller’s New Southern Table in 2015.
Over the years she has made frequent appearances on TV shows and has become more of a consultant than a traditional chef.
In 2020, Miller launched her cookie company called “Whitney’s Cookies”.
Jennifer Behm – MASTERCHEF SEASON 2 WINNER
Jennifer worked as a realtor in Wilmington before taking part in the life-changing show. Judges were extremely impressed by the three-course dinner she prepared consisting of quail, scallops, and poached pear.
She was then declared the winner of the second season. Since then Behm has opened her own catering company and restaurant called Red Fin Crudo.
However, in July 2020 Jennifer and her husband closed the restaurant and released a statement saying they will be focusing on offering private chef services.
Jennifer appeared in the tenth season of the show alongside other MasterChef winners.
Christine Hà – MASTERCHEF SEASON 3 WINNER
If there was a competition between all the winners there is a 99% chance Christine would have won that too.
She was just a student in Houston when she won the Masterchef’s third season. She is truly an inspiration to differently-abled people around the world.
In 2014, Christine was honored with the Hellen Keller personal achievement award for her work on the show Four Sense, a program specifically made for visually impaired people.
To this day she has opened two restaurants, one in Houston called The Blind Goat and the other called Xin Chao (which means “hello” in Vietnamese).
The Blind Goat has a four-star rating on Yelp and Xin Chao also has a four star rating.
Luca Manfé – MASTERCHEF SEASON 4 WINNER
Luca Manfe was already working as a restaurant manager when he participated in the fourth season of the show.
After winning, he launched his cookbook My Italian Kitchen: Favorite Family Recipes. The book has an excellent 4.5-star rating on Amazon.
Beyond his cookbook, Luca also went into the catering business and even started giving online classes with other winners of MasterChef.
You can book Luca’s classes via his official website. They start at $750 for a two-hour lesson with a maximum of four people, so they certainly aren’t cheap.
Classes go up to $1,500 for personalized recipes and open classes with no participant limits.
Luca is also Donna Italia’s brand ambassador.
👉 View updates for all MasterChef Season 4 contestants
Courtney Lapresi – MASTERCHEF SEASON 5 WINNER
Courtney has to be one of the most memorable contestants due to her whole glamour avatar.
Even after getting some judgmental looks, she didn’t compromise on her style. Luckily, with each passing episode, her culinary skills became more prominent to the audience and the judges.
Her impeccably made three-course meal floored the judges and she won the fifth season.
After that, she also took the same route as the previous contestants and released her own book titled Everyday Fancy: 65 Easy, Elegant Recipes for Meals, Snacks, Sweets, and Drinks.
The book doesn’t have as many reviews as some other MasterChef winners, but it does have a solid 4.5-star rating.
However, later on, she switched careers and moved away from the restaurant industry, and today she works at Tesla in the sales department.
Claudia Sandoval – MASTERCHEF SEASON 6 WINNER
The fiery Mexican contestant Claudia had the potential to be a winner right from the start.
Before MasterChef, she was an event manager in California.
She won the show after preparing a difficult three-course Mexican dish.
After winning, she released her book Claudia’s Cocina: A Taste of Mexico. It has great reviews on Amazon, with a 4.5-star rating.
Later she also opened her catering business from the same name.
Sandoval was a judge on MasterChef Latino and in 2020 she fulfilled one of her biggest dreams and opened a Mexican bakery.
👉 View updates for all MasterChef Season 6 contestants
Shaun O’Neale – MASTERCHEF SEASON 7 WINNER
Shaun was a fan-favorite right from the start of seven 7.
In the finale, he created halibut, venison, and pear dishes which made him the official winner of that season.
Since then he has released his cookbook My Modern American Table: Recipes for Inspired Home Cooks and also hosted multiple dining events.
Shaun also hosts online cooking classes with some of the other MasterChef winners and has become a co-owner of The Bind Pig, which is Christine Ha’s restaurant (the MasterChef season 3 winner).
As of 2021, he’s working on opening his own restaurant in Las Vegas, called Larrea.
Dino Angelo Luciano – MASTERCHEF SEASON 8 WINNER
In season 8, Dino shocked everyone; first with his whole look and then with his cooking.
He was originally a dancer from New York but then decided to try his luck in cooking.
His winning meal was squid ink pasta, lamb chop, and tiramisu.
Since his win, Dino has been busy hosting multiple exclusive dinners and popup dining experiences under the name of The Gourmet Rabbit.
You can learn more at The Gourmet Rabbit’s website and also book Dino to cater your event. The food pictures look delicious!
For a time, he was also an executive chef at a restaurant in Phoenix called Muse and Market. However, Muse and Market is permanently closed as of 2021.
Gerron Hurt – MASTERCHEF SEASON 9 WINNER
Before winning the 9th season of the MasterChef US, Gerron was living a simple life as an English teacher in Louisville, Kentucky.
This relatable situation led to a lot of people rooting for Gerron, so lots of people were happy that he became the MasterChef season 9 winner.
Since the show has ended, Gerron has guest-appeared at a lot of cooking events in his hometown and also launched Family on a Plate LLC.
Through this business, he is offering cooking classes and a private dining experience.
In 2019, he appeared in Camp MasterChef where he was a traveling chef.
In season 10 of the hit show, he came as a challenge where contestants had to prepare food for his wedding.
Hurt has now launched his food truck Southern Ego which has got rave reviews from the people.
Dorian Hunter – MASTERCHEF SEASON 10 WINNER
Dorian was the ultimate underdog of season 10.
She only cooked for her husband and children but then she decided to do something for her passion.
Her winning dish was scallops, short rib, and lemon blueberry tart.
After winning, Dorian had plans of taking training at the judges’ restaurants.
She is also working on her cookbook and has hopes of opening a restaurant from the sales of her book.
In 2021, Dorian Hunter was also featured on The Great Soul Food Cook-Off.
If you want to learn more or connect with Dorian, you can check out her official Dorian Hunter website or go to Dorian’s Instagram page.
👉 View updates for all MasterChef Season 10 contestants
Kelsey Murphy – MASTERCHEF SEASON 11 WINNER
Kelsey was a physical therapist from Indiana. She won Masterchef season 11 because of her daring choice for the finale.
She masterfully prepped and cooked lobster and crab ravioli, duck, blueberry, and lavender panna cotta.
Currently, she is working on a partnership with GrubHub where she shares her favorite recipes.
Since she only recently won MasterChef Season 11, she hasn’t had a lot of time to work on projects like the other MasterChef winners on our list.
That wraps up all our updates for what the MasterChef US winners are up to as of 2024.
If you have any thoughts on these contestants, let us know in the comments! And if you want to share any of your own updates, we also love that as well.
If you want to see what other MasterChef contestants are up to, you can also use the links above to view the updates for all of the contestants for all eleven seasons of MasterChef.
Love Gerron! He was my favorite MasterChef winner. It’s great to see that he’s doing well, even if he doesn’t own a restaurant like some of the other people.
Although we focus on the season’s winner, there are many more who fall short of the finish line whose lives are changed and given the opportunity to succeed. Gordon has pledged culinary school for some, asked to be called so he can possible open some doors for them as well as hire others for his own restaurants. That also goes for some of the other judges during the series. Gordon is undeniably critical and totally honest but has a heart of gold for those that deserve it. He so much more than just a world renown chef.
You’re absolutely right. Will never forget that frumpy home chef whom appeared to live off the grid with her husband! LOL. Gordon was so nice to her and, I think she made it to the final 3 or 4. Didn’t Gordon offer her to come cook in his restaurant or invite her to Paris for training? Something like that, which she did accept. We ate at Hells Kitchen Lake Tahoe, and the food was amazing! MUCH smaller portions than they show on their show lol