MasterChef season 7: where are they now? One runner-up later won a second MasterChef title — at sea
Catching up with MasterChef US season 7 — winner Shaun O'Neale's route from Las Vegas DJ booths to running his own restaurant, Brandi Mudd's leap from primary-school teaching to a championship on the MasterChef Cruise, and poker pro David Williams's remarkably consistent record of finishing second.
MasterChef season 7 aired on Fox from 1 June to 14 September 2016, with Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi judging alongside a rotating cast of guests after Graham Elliot's exit. It was the first season to send three cooks into the finale — which means it produced one winner and two runners-up, and all three stories took odd turns.
Shaun O'Neale: from DJ booth to executive chef
Las Vegas DJ Shaun O'Neale took the title, the $250,000, and the cookbook deal on the strength of a halibut, venison, and salted caramel menu. "I think I'm done with DJing," he joked on the finale broadcast — and he largely was.
"Shaun has been a strong contender since the beginning of this season," Ramsay said in a statement after the 2016 finale.
His cookbook, My Modern American Table, arrived in 2017. He became co-owner of Las Vegas gastropub The Blind Pig in 2020, opened Larrea in 2021 (serving as executive chef until January 2022), and in 2024 opened Three Thirty Three, where he currently runs the kitchen.
Brandi Mudd: the runner-up who won on water
Brandi Mudd arrived as a 27-year-old primary-school teacher from Irvington, Kentucky, and left as co-runner-up. Then she quit teaching, joined the official MasterChef Cruise — the franchise's floating fan competition — and was crowned its champion.
Lost on land in 2016. Champion at sea not long after. As redemption arcs go, this one at least came with a buffet.
Back home she sold out a 50-person dinner in Brandenburg, Kentucky, built her catering business Southern Flair with Chef Brandi, and returned to the main show for MasterChef: Back to Win in 2022. These days the mother of three posts recipes and cooking content across her blog, Instagram, and TikTok.
David Williams: professional second place
The other runner-up had form. David Williams was already famous before the show as a professional poker player — he finished second in the 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event, a runner-up cheque worth roughly $3.5 million — and as a top-level Magic: The Gathering player. Then he finished second on MasterChef too. Between the card room and the kitchen, Williams has assembled two of the most distinguished silver medals in American competition, and he has continued working across both worlds since.
The rest of the kitchen
- Tanorria Askew — the credit-union coordinator eliminated one week before the finale went back to her private chef business, running it alongside full-time work.
- Barbara Savage — became a pasta chef, then had to leave the job because of a wheat allergy; she now caters and teaches gluten-free classes in Whole Foods stores.
- Brittany Craig — works as a private chef offering private dining, and moonlights as an amateur powerlifter and dog sitter.
For the record: season 7's experiment with three finalists produced a winner with his own restaurant, a runner-up with a maritime title, and a runner-up with a World Series of Poker final on his CV. Second place has rarely been this employable.
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