Post filming for Hell’s Kitchen, Chef Mary Lou Davis has been working at Viridian and filming content for her YouTube channel, amongst all of her other culinary ventures.
Although the celebrity chefs that we see on television often seem larger than life, many of them actually started out as contestants on cooking competition shows.
Chef Mary Lou Davis recently appeared on the 19th season of Hell’s Kitchen. She is well on her way to establishing a successful career not only in the culinary industry, but in the social media and television industries as well.
The rise of the television chefs
Many of the celebrity chefs that we all know today, including Chefs like Michael Symon, Alex Guarnaschelli, Eddie Jackson and many more actually got their start by competing on food competition shows.
And although appearing on a culinary competition show definitely does not guarantee that you will turn into a small-screen celebrity right away, there are just some contestants who stand out from the crowd and become fan-favorites.
What Chef Mary Lou from Hell’s Kitchen is doing now
Mary Lou Davis is a plucky and talented chef who is originally from San Antonio in Texas. She competed on the 19th season of Hell’s Kitchen, which is hosted by the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
And (fair spoiler alert for the ending of the season) although Mary Lou did not end up winning this competition in 2021, her bubbly personality and uniquely whimsical approach to cooking has made her a firm favorite among the show’s fans.
Fans who have been following Mary Lou’s rise to fame quite closely will know that her social media presence was one of the reasons why the Hell’s Kitchen producers approached her to be on the show initially.
And it seems like Mary Lou has continued to use this skill to her advantage even after leaving the show.
She started a YouTube channel called Geeks&Grubs back in 2020. Mary Lou posts new videos of dishes inspired by her favorite television shows to this channel weekly, and she has already garnered an audience of over 14,000 subscribers.
When Mary Lou first left Hell’s Kitchen, she initially returned to her former job as a Chef Partner at Whiskey Cake Kitchen and Bar before deciding to work as a private chef.
Mary Lou has also focused on expanded her culinary horizons by accepting a part-time position at Viridian, a hip bar in the Bay Area, which was founded by William Tsui, Raymond Gee, Jeremy Chiu, and Alison Kwan in 2022.
This up-and-coming television chef also does not shy away from participating in television interviews, pop-up events and even cosplay-opportunities.
Where Mary Lou’s culinary journey began
Like all great chefs, Mary Lou’s love for cooking developed at a young age.
However, she has admitted that she wanted to be a “vampire or an assassin” and not a chef growing up, but she changed her mind once she realized that her journalism major was not working out.
Mary Lou later refined her skills and even got a formal education at the University of North Texas and Culinary Institute of America, before moving on to Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, then Perry’s Steakhouse and thereafter, Whiskey Cake Kitchen and Bar later on.
Since moving to California, Mary Lou has learned to appreciate the colors and flavors of fresh, local produce and has been working on showcasing these ingredients in simple and refreshing ways.
What Mary Lou took away from her experience on Hell’s Kitchen
There is no doubt that filming an ultra-competitive show like Hell’s Kitchen is no cakewalk, but Mary Lou looks back on the experience positively.
Mary Lou explained in a 2021 interview with UNT North Texan that appearing on the show “boosted” her confidence and made her “a stronger individual”, two traits which she has since put to good use ended in both new jobs and her various pop-up restaurants.
Mary Lou’s bold plans for the future
Although Chef Mary Lou has been steadily building her online following since her run on Hell’s Kitchen in 2021, she revealed in a segment that was filmed for SALIVE.com in July 2023 that her ambitions and plans for the future are much bigger than social media fame.
Mary Lou has expressed that she would be interested in having a cooking show of her own one day.
And, although she has not announced any official plans for such a show just yet, there is absolutely no doubt that when she eventually does get her own show, it will be brimming with Mary Lou’s energetic approach and the “quirky and eclectic” dishes that she has become so well renowned for over the last few years.
