Gerron Hurt: Where Are They Now?

Spoiler note: this post confirms that Gerron Hurt won his season of MasterChef.

Gerron Hurt won the ninth season of MasterChef US in 2018, taking the title in the finale that aired on 19 September. A 25-year-old high school English teacher from Louisville, Kentucky, who was teaching in Nashville at the time, he was one of the show's most likeable home cooks, and his win came with the trophy, a cookbook deal, and the cash prize. Here is where the years since took him.

The teacher who could cook

Gerron's day job was a big part of his story. He taught English at a Nashville high school and was known for cooking for his students, and the underdog framing of a working teacher taking the MasterChef title gave his win real warmth. It also meant he came into the competition as a genuine home cook rather than a trained professional, which is exactly the profile the show is built around.

Southern Ego and a memorable return

After winning, Gerron moved into food ventures around Louisville. He launched a food truck called Southern Ego that drew strong attention for its fried chicken, and he took part in culinary events and traveling chef work in the years that followed. In one of the more charming footnotes to any MasterChef win, he returned to the show for a special episode in which Gordon Ramsay officiated his wedding, an appearance widely covered at the time.

His cooking is rooted in Southern comfort food, the kind of frying and baking that rewards solid basics like a good baking sheet and a reliable cooling rack more than any fancy gadget.

Where things stand now

The clearly documented core of Gerron's post-show story is the Southern Ego food truck, the event and traveling chef work, and the on-air wedding. Beyond that, the specifics of his current projects are where the reliably verifiable trail thins out. He expressed hopes at one point of building a culinary program at the school where he taught, but it would be guesswork to state where that stands today. What is solid is the food truck, the events, and the fact that he built his post-win identity around Southern cooking in his home region.

The takeaway for fans

Gerron's story is a warm example of a MasterChef winner staying close to home and turning the title into a local food business rather than a national television career. If his Southern comfort cooking has you inspired, the honest starting point is good fundamentals, and a dependable cast of basics will carry more of your cooking than any single tool.

For other champions, Grant Gillon and Jennifer Behm took their own routes after winning, and every MasterChef US winner has the complete list.