Iowans are continuing to try their hands at reality TV. We've had two Survivor winners, an American Idol champion, and soon we could have the next 'MasterChef'! Two chefs from Iowa are taking on Gordon Ramsay and competing on the latest season of the hit show on Fox that premiered last night.

28 year old Matt Houck is an optometrist from Iowa City, and Samantha Daily is a college student from West Des Moines. They are competing against 41 other chefs for the title of Master Chef and a top prize of $250,000! For the first time, judges will be able to choose their favorite cooks and mentor them throughout the season. Contestants hail from 23 different states and three countries.

Houck has only been cooking seriously for about 2 years. The former self described picky eater has been at McDonald Optical in Iowa City for 2 years as well. He says he picked up a lot of his cooking knowledge by watching videos online and reading recipes.

Daily lives in West Des Moines and is a senior at the University of Kentucky. She says she has been cooking since the age of 5 and picked up a lot of her style from her mom and stepdad. She taught herself more advanced skills once she got to college. Both contestants say that appearing on the show is a dream come true.

 

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