In fact, the hit culinary competition series MasterChef is taking that to heart. For the show’s 12th season, which airs Wednesday nights on Fox, the series is featuring contestants from its 11 prior seasons. As Shanika Patterson, who was on MasterChef season 9 observes, “This will probably be the most competitive season in the history of MasterChef because everybody has something to prove.” In this riveting season, MasterChef: Back to Win, brings back a number of all-star chefs from prior seasons who did not win. Chefs Gordon Ramsay and Aarón Sánchez along with restaurateur Joe Bastianich will judge some of the most talented cooks in the history of the show. And get ready to witness two former MasterChef Junior contestants who are now competing as adults. The 20 chefs will go head-to-head with some of the most difficult challenges in the series’ history. The cooks are tasked with tackling a vegan dish challenge, feeding cowboys in Norco, California (aka “Horsetown, USA”) and handling a restaurant takeover at Wolfgang Puck’s famous Spago restaurant. The competition is fierce but so are the rewards. Not only will the winner be crowned MasterChef, they’ll get a $250,000 grand prize along with a state-of-the-art kitchen from Viking. Earning the title of MasterChef is also game changing. “Winning MasterChef opened the doors for me to go after dreams I would have never even dreamed of in 2014 when I auditioned,” shares season 6 winner Claudia Sandoval. “I have gone from contestant to judge to host, to supervising producer of my own television show of a major well-known network.” The chefs who were home cooks when they first appeared on the show have dramatically transformed. Here’s what the winners of past MasterChef seasons are doing these days.
MasterChef Winners
Whitney Miller: MasterChef season 1 winner
Chef Whitney Miller was just 22 years old when she won MasterChef and remains the youngest winner in the show’s history. Since then she has written two cookbooks: Modern Hospitality, with a foreword by Gordon Ramsay and New Southern Table. Miller has been featured in food and speaking events in Malaysia, Dubai, South Africa and around the globe. Her recipes have been included in magazines and she was featured on Good Morning America, FABLife show and Hallmark’s Home and Family. She’s been a recipe developer for companies including Big Green Egg, Tervis and SousVide Supreme and a food expert for multiple brands like POM Wonderful, Revere Brand and PRIME cutlery. A food judge for the World Food Championships, she is also Chef de Cuisine for 4R Restaurant Group/The COOP in Winter Park, Florida and been a private chef to the stars. And if that’s not enough, she is a wife and mother to two boys who she calls the “best taste testers.” “I have been blessed to do what I love since winning the first season of MasterChef. I am always creating recipes, whether for magazines, companies, private dinners or my cookie company, Whitney’s Cookies,” says Miller. “I love making people happy through food.” She began her cookie company in 2019 and started shipping nationwide in January 2020. “When a lot of businesses were closing due to Covid, I was fortunate to be open and bringing joy to people all over the United States during a difficult time,” she shares.
Jennifer Behm-Lazzarini: MasterChef season 2 winner
After her win, chef Jennifer Behm Lazzarini opened Pink Martini Catering with her husband Julio Lazzarini. She has judged cooking challenges, been a motivational speaker and appeared on MasterChef season 10 and Beat Bobby Flay. A former Realtor from Wilmington, Delaware, Behm-Lazzarini opened the restaurant Red Fin Crudo, which closed during the pandemic in 2020. She now works as a private chef and continues to do cooking classes and events in Rhode Island.
Christine Ha: MasterChef season 3 winner
Chef Christine Ha currently has two restaurants in Houston, Texas: The Blind Goat, which started as a 400-square-foot station inside a food hall, and Xin Chào. In 2020, The Blind Goat was nominated for The Best New Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation. Currently, Ha is a finalist for the 2022 James Beard Best Chef, Texas region, category. She is also in the process of moving The Blind Goat into its own brand-new brick-and-mortar space which should open this fall. Ha, who is legally blind, is working on her memoir and has been the subject of an in-progress independent documentary film. “We hope to raise more funds for the documentary project soon and enter it into film festivals,” says Ha. Being on MasterChef has given Ha countless opportunities. “Especially as a visually impaired Asian woman, I learned a lot not only about cooking but about myself. I realized that I, like so many other individuals facing their own unique challenges, am a lot more capable than I once thought,” shares Ha. “With grit and a willingness and hunger to learn, you can achieve many great things. MasterChef helped launch my own personal story into public view, and I am honored to be gifted this platform to advocate for women, Asian-Americans, and those living with varying levels of ability.”
Luca Manfé: MasterChef season 4 winner
Talk about second chances! Chef Luca Manfé was given a life-changing one. After getting cut from season 3, he came back the following year and won the MasterChef title. Afterward, he wrote the cookbook, My Italian Kitchen: Favorite Family Recipes from the Winner of MasterChef Season 4 on Fox. These days the father of two boys is married to wife Cate and living in Pennsylvania. Manfé offers online cooking classes and personal chef experiences through his Dinner With Luca catering company. “I have cooked for parties of two up to 250 people so there is no limit to the number of people or the type of reception,” he writes on his website. “Just ask!”
Courtney Lapresi: MasterChef season 5 winner
After her win on MasterChef, Chef Courtney Lapresi wrote the book, Everyday Fancy: 65 Easy, Elegant Recipes for Meals, Snacks, Sweets, and Drinks. She ultimately ended up working at Tesla in sales. On her Instagram page she also lists herself as an “aerial dancer” and features several videos of herself showing her talents.
Claudia Sandoval: MasterChef season 6 winner
Chef Claudia Sandoval has been working nonstop since her win. Most recently she has hosted Taste of the Border on Discovery+, been a judge on MasterChef Latino, Chopped, Chopped Jr., Food Network Challenge and Worst Cooks in America. She opened Cochi Dorado Bakery, appeared on Best Thing I Ever Ate and also published Claudia’s Cocina—A Taste of Mexico. Plus, she has brand partnerships with Disney, Kellogg’s, Nestlé, Verizon, Coca-Cola, TMobile, Verde Valle and Lettuce Grow. “I take nothing for granted, keep learning and keep crushing every single job I have to keep opening doors for the next opportunity,” says Sandoval. “MasterChef U.S. and the judges taught me that hard work, perseverance, and the ability to take criticism is one of the keys to this industry. I will forever take that with me. Everyone always asks what Gordon Ramsay is like, and I always say, ‘Gordon is like a strict dad.’ When you bring him a B report card he says, ‘It could have been an A!’ And when you bring him that A report card he says, ‘Yeah, but it could have been an A+.’ He will always push you to be a better version of yourself. He shows you through action that you should never be satisfied with the status quo and that we can always be better and do better. And I try to do that with my food and career.”
Shaun O’Neale: MasterChef season 7 winner
Chef Shaun O’Neale continues to be a force in cooking. He was featured on MasterChef Celebrity Showdown and appeared on seasons 8, 9, 10 and 12 of MasterChef. O’Neale can also be seen in the show Best in Food and in several episodes of Home & Family. He released his own cookbook, My Modern American Table and has been a featured celebrity chef at Disney World Epcot International Food & Wine Festival and Disneyland California Adventure Food & Wine. Currently, O’Neale is a spokesperson for PitBoss Grills, CookCraft Cookware and Rhineland Cutlery. He has partnered with pro sports events and teams for menu creation and event appearances for the 2020 Super Bowl, the Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox and Florida Panthers. In addition to being featured at ChefDance in Partnership with Sundance Film Festival, he has been a guest chef or speaker at 150 events in more than 30 states and nine countries including Italy, Ireland, Costa Rica and Singapore. If that’s not enough, O’Neale was a featured Chef at MasterChef, The TV Experience Restaurant in Dubai and has partnered with Snickers, SXSW, Bulleit Bourbon, Green Giant, Morning Star Farms, Kraus, Toll Brothers, Arenas Del Mar, Villa Montecastello, Eataly, Dandy, Shoes for Crews and more. “I continue to travel relentlessly to events around the globe to not only share my love of food and my MasterChef journey but also to learn about local flavors, cuisines and customs,” says O’Neale. “Stay tuned for a brand-new digital cookbook based on my travels and my love of the history and flavors of pastas and noodles from around world.”
Dino Angelo LucianoMasterChef season 8 winner
Chef Dino Angelo Luciano continues to be devoted to helping those who are struggling. “It’s important to give to others what they don’t have and need. Even if I don’t have much, it’s more than some people have,” he shares, adding that he would rather be poor and watch someone eat than have a nice house and see people starve. In addition to being a full-time private chef around the world, he won Best Chef in Montreal and has been painting, writing poetry and feeding the homeless. He donated his prize money to various causes in the United States and Canada, including leukemia lymphoma research. He gave to local Montréal homeless shelters and some at-risk children’s foundations. “And the rest I passed around to local homeless on the street,” shares Luciano. “After winning MasterChef, I literally spent two years volunteering at soup kitchens and passing out money to as many people in need and various causes. I didn’t realize how quickly the money would run out,” he shares. These days he and his partner are running their own private chef business. “I donate what little we have when we can, but my family is still poor and we all struggle like anyone else,” says the MasterChef. Luciano says if he could do it all over again, he would have invested and turned that money into more stable money. “Then I’d be able to help more people. But, I also don’t regret it.”
Gerron Hurt: MasterChef season 9 winner
Since winning MasterChef season 9, Chef Gerron Hurt has opened a restaurant, judged local culinary competitions, been on MasterChef Live and has partnered with several brands including Kroger, Real Good Foods and Arovo. He’s also working on a cookbook, manufacturing a line of hot sauces and teaching cooking classes. He also married his longtime love, Brandi Beckham on MasterChef Season 10. “Covid-19 slowed my business down, but as the world opens back up, opportunities continue to grow and flourish,” says Hurt. “Keep your eyes out for my cookbook and Nashville hot sauce brand. I miss being on camera and sharing my food and personality with the world!”
Dorian Hunter: MasterChef season 10 winner
Chef Dorian Hunter has been a finalist for the cooking competition, The Great Soul Food Cookoff on OWN & Discovery +. In addition to appearing on Beat Bobby Flay and hosting online classes, she has been a brand ambassador for Traeger, Garcia De La Cruz Olive Oil, Hedley & Bennett, Taylor Garrett Whiskey, Casafina Gifts and Grill Grates. Hunter is also releasing her first cookbook. “Winning MasterChef has provided me the opportunity and the platform to do what I love full-time,” says Hunter. “It has also given me the chance to meet so many people from all walks of life and be a beacon of hope and inspiration for people to chase their dreams.”
Kelsey Murphy: MasterChef season 11 winner
“I am loving diving head first into my new life as a chef and entrepreneur,” says the newest MasterChef winner, Chef Kelsey Murphy. She has already established the pop-up restaurant, Inspo by Chef Kelsey Murphy and makes public appearances doing live and Zoom cooking demonstrations, appearing in shows like the International Housewares Show in Chicago. Currently Murphy is writing a cookbook which will be released in Spring, 2023. In addition to being a brand ambassador for MasterChef Cookware, appliances and accessories, she is doing private tasting dining events in Indianapolis and Chicago. “Although I am the newest member of the MasterChef Winners Circle, I hope to continue to make huge waves in the culinary and media space. I strive to not only be an inspiration for my own family, but for women everywhere to dream big and believe we can make it happen,” says Murphy. She has her sights on more books, TV, YouTube, restaurants, cookware lines, you name it. “I want to build a brand that is not only about food, but is inspirational to others to do the same.” Next, Everything We Know So Far About MasterChef Junior
