David Williams Becomes Official MasterChef Contestant

A few eyebrows were raised after David Williams announced that he would be competing at this season’s MasterChef. After all, when the poker pro auditioned for the TV show last August he had less than two years worth of cooking experience under his belt, unlike the majority of his fellow competitors who claim to have had a passion for cooking most of their lives.
The 35-year-old is a quick study, though, and has now progressed past the preliminary round consisting of 40 people to become one of the official 20 contestants on this season of the popular cooking show. Williams managed to win over the panel of judges with his dish of pork chops with blue cheese grits, while his opponent was given his marching orders after serving up a dish consisting of brandied cherry pork chops with cauliflower puree. Following announcement of the news, Williams later tweeted:
“What an amazing night! So excited with how everything went with the premier of @MASTERCHEFonFOX. Thank you for the all the love and support!”
David Williams is one of poker’s most successful players having amassed $8,658,386 from live tournaments, including in 2006 winning a WSOP bracelet at the $1,500 Seven Card Stud event for $163,118. Williams biggest ever score, however, came in 2004 after finishing runner-up at the $10k WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas for $3.5 million. Greg Raymer ended up winning the event for $5 million, while Josh Arieh came in 3rd for $2.5 million. Lending his support for Williams new cause, Arieh tweeted yesterday that he was excited for Williams, and that he couldn’t wait for the next episode.
Explaining how he developed his recent passion for cooking, Williams said: “I think that came from a love of eating. And, being in Vegas, I’m exposed to so many amazing restaurants and amazing meals that I actually wanted to know how and why things worked.” He then added; “Competing has always been something I’ve had a love for. I just like winning competitions. I like the personal satisfaction.”