Grant Gillon was named the winner of MasterChef Season 13 and took home $250,000 in prize money after preparing three scrumptious meals for celebrity judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Aarón Sánchez.
“Gordon looks straight into the camera and says, ‘Are you the next head chef?’ And it’s like, I have to at least try, right? I got to find out how I did against everybody,” Grant told Local 5. “I’m so glad I have the support of my family. And, you know, they’re the reason I’m here, the reason I’m doing this.”
Grant narrowed the field from 40 contestants to 20, with candidates from the West, South, Northeast and Midwest. He struggled throughout the season to reach the top three. He created exquisite dishes during a season of “MasterChef: United Tastes of America” while representing the Midwest.
Read everything we know about his wife, children, family and more in this biography.
Meet Grant Gillon, winner of MasterChef season 13
The final pitted Grant Gillon against festival vendor Kennedy U, 26, and blogger Jennifer Maune, 42. One of the many viewing sessions he organized during the season attracted his friends, family and even former rivals on Wednesday to Spectators Sports Bar and barbeque in Altoona. Less than 30 minutes into the event, there was a line out the door, and every table was filled with spectators eager to see how Gillon compared to his opponents.
“I have no regrets,” Grant said before the show revealed the winner of the MasterChef title. “I played the game exactly the way I wanted to. The goal was to be unnoticed at first. I was looking for safe dishes that I liked to cook with. I’m proud of how I did it.”
“I’m extremely proud of myself and what I’ve done, but for everyone to see how I’ve developed over the course of the season, I think it’s really cool,” Grant said. “I started out knowing I was a good cook, but I didn’t know how I was going to cope with everyone else from all these different regions.”
Grant and the other two contestants had one hour to prepare an appetizer, main course and dessert for the grand finale. With each dish he created, he tried to emphasize his Midwestern and Italian origins, noting that his ancestors came from Sicily. “I’m going to use a lot of Italian recipes that I learned growing up, and I’m going to stick to a lot of what makes the Midwest great,” he said entering the finale.
“The Midwest is known as a flyover state, and we’re often overlooked,” Grant said.
Grant cooked soft ravioli stuffed with eggs al uovo as an appetizer, which at first seemed like it was going to go wrong. Morel cream sauce, truffle butter and grated truffles are added as garnishes. His dish held up. For the meal, he chose pork loin medallions because he wanted to represent Iowa on the plate. Ramsay called this a “brave move”, as it would take hours to perfect the dish. He served the pork medallions with salmoriglia sauce, agrodolce, pureed celery root and fennel and onion braised in beer.
Grant prepared his favorite food on the dessert plate: Torn Coffee Cake topped with Coffee Mousse, Chocolate Pizzelle and Coffee Ice Cream. To produce his ice cream, Gillon claimed he used liquid nitrogen for the first time on the show.
“I nailed two of my three dishes, and one wasn’t that outrageous,” Grant told the Register. “That last menu was authentically me—an Italian landscape rolling through the fields of Iowa.”
You can watch the reaction after his recent win here on YouTube.
Grant Gillon’s career
Grant Gillon told Axios that he always enjoyed cooking as a hobby growing up in Altoona, changing pizzas, kneading dough and adding herbs and spices. His enthusiasm for cooking continued at the University of Iowa when he made a deal with his roommate: he would cook if the roommate cleaned.
Later, amid a difficult period in his life, his extensive culinary skills began to flourish. Grant took to YouTube late at night in 2018 for solace while going through a divorce and caring for a newborn. He watched Gordon Ramsay videos until the wee hours of the morning before trying to recreate such recipes the next day.
On Instagram, where he posted photos of his masterpieces, fans invited him to apply for “MasterChef”. His future wife pushed him to try out for the program in 2022, and Gillon was selected for this season.
According to his LinkedIn, he works as the Director of Sales for Kinship Brewing Company as of August 2020. He has also worked for Drury Hotels as an Area Sales Manager, Stoney Creek Hotels as a Sales Manager, Herff Jones as a Professional Sales Associate, and Golf Galaxy as a Player’s Assistant.
Grant attended Southeast Polk and the University of Iowa.
Grant Gillon Age
In September 2023, Grant Fillon is 33 years old. He was allegedly born in February 1990.
The Grant Gillon family
Matthew Gillon and Laura Maxwell Gillon are the parents of MasterChef winner Grant Gillon. Laura is 62 (born September 1961) and Matthew is 60 (born November 1962).
The parents of the MasterChef Season 13 winner have been happily married since December 28, 1985. So, they have been married for 37 years and are still happily together.
Additionally, Laura is the Board Chair at Dress for Success Des Moines. She attended Marshalltown High School and the University of Iowa. Matthew attended Regis High School and the University of Iowa.
In addition to Grant, Laura and Matthew also have a daughter, Lindsey Hanke (Gillon). She is married to her husband
Wife of Grant Gillon
Grant Gillon is married to his wife Emily Gillon. The couple exchanged wedding vows on August 21, 2021.
Emily works as the Director of Training at Eyes Open Iowa. She studied clinical mental health counseling at Drake University and psychology at Central College. You can find Emily on Facebook.
The married couple are parents to a son named Grady, whom Grant had from a previous marriage. Meanwhile, in July 2023, Emily and Grant announced that Grady was going to be a big brother.
They announced, “As if this year wasn’t busy enough, we decided to squeeze one more big thing into 2023… Grady has been promoted! Little brother should see the new year!”
Related FAQs
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Where is Grant Gillon from?
Grant Gillon came from Altoona, Iowa.
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When is Grant Gillon’s birthday?
Moreover, Grant Gillon’s birthday is February 10th.
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Is Grant Gillon on Instagram?
Yes, Grant Gillon is available on Instagram (@grant_gillon) and Facebook (@grant.matthew.5).
Categories: Biography
Source: newstars.edu.vn