Fox, MasterChef Dorian Hunter, Nick DiGiovanni, and Sarah Faherty are Masterchef's Season 10 finalists.
Masterchef closes out its 10th season with a surprise-filled episode. The three contestants left are set to do battle—all under the watchful eyes of Gordan Ramsey, Aarón Sánchez, and Joe Bastianich. As if the pressure wasn’t high enough, the show also closes out the season with a monumental 200th episode celebration.
Here’s everything you need to know about the three very skilled contestants vying for the title:
Dorian Hunter
Hunter is a native of Canton, Ohio that now resides in Cartersville, GA. The chef may call southern cooking her specialty, but she expresses an interest in a variety of dishes. Her fascination with food started at an early age and was fueled by the time spent with her mother. She has achieved an Associates Degree of Science and Le Courdon Bleu certification in Culinary Arts. When asked about her skills during an interview with Fox 5’s Good Day Atlanta, Hunter said she is a “chef that can bake.”
While some would be intimidated working in front of Judge Ramsey, she is more than ready for anything he brings to the competition. Speaking to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hunter said: “Who doesn’t want to be yelled at by Gordon Ramsay?” The 45-year-old contestant is married and has four kids, the oldest child being in their mid-20s.
Nick DiGiovanni
DiGiovanni was a student at the prestigious Harvard University when he received the call to join Masterchef’s 10th season. Though he had to leave without completing his senior year, the chef has no regrets about attending the college. “At Harvard, I learned a lot about drive, sticking with your gut, and going for something until you get what you’re working for,” he said. “There’s a way to do anything here, and it’s about putting in the work and asking for help — and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he told the Harvard Gazette.
At age eight, he developed an interest in cooking that came in part from his grandmother and great grandmother. In Boston Magazine, he went further in describing the impact his family had on what he tries to achieve as a cook.
“A big part of everything I cook and what I’ve learned over the years comes from the fact that my family catches a lot of its own food. I’ve caught all sorts of fish over the years: lobsters, crabs, and more obscure things like uni. I feel like the fact that we’ve caught so many of our own things makes it kind of different when you go to cook it, because you’re so much more connected to the whole process. You want to treat it really well because you caught it yourself. A lot of the stuff I cooked over the years is stuff that I literally caught maybe an hour before, and that changed the way I cooked.” Nick DiGiovanni in Boston Magazine.
The young chef has already gained a large following on social media in part thanks to female fans. The attention may not be a distraction, but the appearance of one special guest on the show did cause a pause for thought. “It’s hard to focus on a radish when there’s a supermodel standing there,” he said of supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio.
Sarah Faherty
Sarah Faherty is originally from Austin, TX and now lives in San Diego, CA. While she loves all things food, her background covers some very different skill sets. Her time as an Army Interrogator led to a growing love of culinary pursuits. According to Faherty, “I traveled often, and was almost always away from family, so cooking was a way for me to bring something familiar wherever I happened to be. Through traveling, I had the incredible opportunity to taste the story of other cultures through their food, and bring those flavor profiles home.”
Knowledge of the food industry doesn’t just end with Faherty, her husband Michael is a sommelier. The couple is parents to three children—two boys and a girl. Having such young children was one of the reasons Faherty had put off trying out for Masterchef in previous seasons. “I’ve wanted to do this for years and the time was never right. I have a daughter and twin boys, and over the past couple of years, with them being so young, it wasn’t feasible,” she said in a recent interview with La Jolla Light.
Away from the world of cooking, the contestant has a “day job” in real estate. “I have affiliate partners in every city in the US, so if you’re interested in anything real estate related, no matter where you are, please reach out, and I’ll be happy to put you in touch with a local that can help you!” Faherty writes on her official website. She also encourages fans and readers to check out certain products available for purchase on Amazon and is open to future partnerships with advertisers.