Grant Gillon has been crowned the winner of MasterChef season 13 and walked home with a cash prize of $250K after dishing up three delectable courses for celebrity judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Aarón Sánchez.
“Gordon looks right into the camera and says, ‘Are you the next Master Chef?’ And it’s like, I gotta give it a shot at least right? I got to find out how I stacked up against everybody,” Grant told Local 5. “So, so glad to have that support from my family. And, you know, they’re the reason I’m here reason I’m doing it.”
Grant narrowed the field from 40 competitors to 20, with candidates from the West, South, Northeast, and Midwest. He struggled throughout the entire season to reach the top three. He created exquisite dishes during the “MasterChef: United Tastes of America” season as he represented the Midwest.
Read all that we know about his wife, children, family, and more via this bio.
Meet Grant Gillon, MasterChef Season 13 Winner
In the final, Grant Gillon competed against festival vendor Kennedy U, age 26, and blogger Jennifer Maune, age 42. One of the numerous viewing sessions he’s organized throughout the season drew in his friends, family, and even former rivals on Wednesday at Spectators Sports Bar and Grill in Altoona. Less than 30 minutes after the event began, there was a queue out the door, and every table was full of spectators anxious to see how Gillon compared to the opposition.
“I don’t have any regrets,” Grant said before the show revealed the winner of the title of MasterChef. “I played the game exactly how I wanted to. The goal was to be unnoticed in the beginning. I went for safe dishes I was comfortable executing. I’m proud of how I did.”
“I’m super proud of myself and what I did, but being able to have everybody see, really how I developed throughout the season, I think is what’s really cool,” Grant said. “I started out knowing I was a good cook, but didn’t know how I was gonna stack up with everybody else from all these different regions.”
Grant and the other two participants had one hour to prepare an appetizer, entrée, and dessert for the grand finale. With each dish he created, he sought to highlight both his Midwestern and Italian background, noting that his ancestors come from Sicily. “I’m going to use a lot of the Italian recipes that I learned growing up, and I’m going to stick in a lot of what makes the Midwest great,” he said going into the finale.
“The Midwest is known as a flyover state, and we’re often overlooked,” Grant said.
Grant cooked a soft egg-filled raviolo al uovo as his starter, which at first seemed like it would go wrong. A morel mushroom cream sauce, truffle butter, and shaved truffles were added as garnishes. His dish held up. He chose pork loin medallions as his meal because he wanted to portray Iowa on a plate. Ramsay referred to this as a “bold move,” as it would take hours to perfect the dish. He served the pork medallions with salmoriglio sauce, agrodolce, pureed celery root, and fennel and onions that had been simmered in beer.
Grant prepared his favorite foods on a plate for dessert: a torn stout cake topped with a coffee stout mousse, chocolate pizzelle, and coffee ice cream. In order to manufacture his gelato, Gillon claimed to have utilized liquid nitrogen for the first time on the show.
“I nailed two out of three of my dishes, and the one wasn’t that egregious,” Grant told the Register. “That final menu was authentically me — Italian countryside run through the fields of Iowa.”
The reaction after his recent win, you can watch it here on YouTube.
Grant Gillon Career
Grant Gillon told Axios that he always enjoyed cooking as a hobby while growing up in Altoona, altering pizzas, kneading dough, and adding herbs and spices. His enthusiasm for cooking persisted at the University of Iowa when he struck a deal with his apartment roommate: He’d cook if the roommate cleaned.
Later, amid a trying period in his life, his extensive culinary skills began to bloom. Grant went to YouTube in the late hours of the night in 2018 for solace as he was going through a divorce and taking care of a newborn. He used to watch Gordon Ramsay videos into the wee hours of the morning before attempting to recreate such recipes the following day.
On Instagram, where he posted photos of his masterpieces, fans urged him to submit an application for “MasterChef.” His future wife pushed him to try out for the program in 2022, and Gillon was chosen for this season.
Per his LinkedIn, he has been working as a director of sales for Kinship Brewing Company since 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
Grant attended University of Iowa.
Grant Gillon Age
As of September 2023, Grant Fillon is 33 years old. He was reportedly born in February 1990.
Grant Gillon Family
Matthew Gillon and Laura Maxwell Gillon are the parents of MasterChef winner Grant Gillon. Laura is age 62 (born in September 1961) and Matthew is age 60 (born in November 1962).
MasterChef season 13 winner’s parents have been happily married since 28 December 1985. So, they have been married for 37 years now and are still happily together.
Furthermore, Laura is a Board President at Dress for Success Des Moines. She went to Marshalltown High School and the University of Iowa. Matthew went to Regis High School and the University of Iowa.
Other than Grant, Laura and Matthew also have a daughter called Lindsey Hanke (Gillon). She is married to her husband
Grant Gillon Wife
Grant Gillon is married to his wife Emily Gillon. The couple exchanged their wedding vows on 21 August 2021.
Emily works as a 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 his 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 isn’t busy enough, we figured we’d squeeze one more big thing into 2023… Grady is getting promoted! Baby brother is due to ring in the new year!”
Related FAQs
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Where Is Grant Gillon From?
Grant Gillon hailed from Altoona, Iowa.
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When Is Grant Gillon Birthday?
What’s more, Grant Gillon’s birthday is on 10 February.
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Is Grant Gillon On Instagram?
Yes, Grant Gillon is available on Instagram (@grant_gillon) and Facebook (@grant.matthew.5).
