Gary White | The Foodie Eats

Gary White likes food. He really, really likes food. In third grade, he remembers taking Jiffy cornbread to school for show-and-tell. Who does that? When he was in middle school, he could cook dinner for the whole family and he often did. One of his specialties? Lasagna. So by the time he left for college, he could hold his own more than most 18-year-old guys.

Over the years, Gary worked in some fantastic restaurants with great chefs, who exposed him to new worlds of food, ingredients and cuisines. What he learned at work, he often tried to duplicate at home. He also went through seasons of eating different diets – everything from vegan to low carb – and that involved lots and lots of cooking.

Along with that, cooking shows have always been one of his favorite forms of television. From Gordon Ramsey to Vivian Howard, Gary learned quite a bit from cooking shows. When he had an opportunity to audition for season 8 of MasterChef in 2016, his cooking went to a whole other level. On the day of the first audition, he was completely shocked when he made the first cut. And the second. And the third. And then when they asked him to come back the next day. And it just kept going. With each cut, they just kept calling him back. Before he knew it, he was on his way to Los Angeles.