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People say I'm too American to be Mexican, but too Mexican to be American.

Cesar Cano was a contestant on Season 9 of MasterChef, mentored by Aarón Sánchez. He was the co-runner-up of that season.

Personality

Cesar started out quietly being an inconsistent performer, but he gradually improved and became one of the strongest cooks of the season as the competition progressed. He had a lot of talent and passion stemming from his Mexican heritage. While he tended to be reserved for most of the time, he could act controlling and overbearing especially during team challenges, which led to him having some clashes with Samantha and a long-lasting, yet hilarious, rivalry with Bowen due to their polar opposite personalities despite working considerably well together. Due to his strong cooking skills and consistent high performances in the second half of the competition, he got along the most with the other strong cooks of the season, especially Gerron, Farhan, Emily, and a closer student-teacher friendship with Mark.

Season 9

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 12

Episode 13

Episode 14

Episode 15

Episode 16

Episode 17

Episode 18

Episode 19

Episode 20

Episode 21

Episode 22/23

Competition History

Week 4 In/Immune
Week 5 In/Immune
Week 6 No Pressure Test
Week 7 Win/Immune
Week 8 Win
Week 9 Win/Immune
Week 10 Low/Low
Week 11 Pressure Test
Week 12 In/Low
Week 13 Win/Immune
Week 14 Win
Week 15 In/Win
Week 16 Win
Week 17 Win/Immune
Week 18 Win
Week 19 High/In
Week 20 Win/Immune/Immune
Week 21 Win
Week 22 Co-Runner Up

Season 10

Episode 4

Cesar made an appearance at the 10th Season pool party celebration.

Post MasterChef

  • After his appearance, Cesar returned to teaching at Pasadena Memorial High but still has an interest in cooking and has done a number of charity cookery events. He was offering private dining and dinner party experiences. and has done guest appearances, cookery events and classes and pop up dinners. He began teaching as a culinary instructor in September 2019 and appeared at Camp MasterChef in July 2019. He currently posts food dishes and recipes on on his social media, as well as hosting occasional pop-ups and offers private chef services.
  • In 2024, he joined the PX Project in Houston, working as a private chef who teach culinary skills to young people to help them begin a culinary career.

Trivia

  • With 11 challenge wins, he is tied with Cate (Season 8) for having the third most challenge wins of any contestant in the American version of the show.
  • He is the fourth contestant to win 3 Mystery Box Challenges.
  • He is the second Mexican-American finalist on the show, next to Claudia (Season 6).
  • Along with Gerron, he is the third schoolteacher to be a finalist, following Brandi (Season 7) and Jason (Season 8).
  • He is the second Houstonian finalist after Christine (Season 3).

Quotes

  • (To Bowen) "Don't be scared of the fire! You're a cook for crying out loud!"
  • Bowen: "Yes, I trust him. Even [though] I don't like him.
    Cesar: "Even after this, you don't like me? Come on.
    Bowen: "No because like, he has his opinion. I have my opinion. Sometimes-.
    Cesar: "That's called being human."
  • (To Bowen) "Bowen, I love you man! Let's just hug it out."
  • (After being named Co-Runner Up) "I'm grateful for this experience because it really defined what I need to be doing with my life and what I'm passionate for and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

Gallery

Season 9

Season 10

External links

References

MasterChef U.S. Season 9
Judges
Gordon RamsayAarón SánchezJoe Bastianich
Contestants
Cesar CanoRyan CortezJuni CuevasSamantha DailyJulia DannoRalph Xavier DegalaLindsay HaighEmily HallockSid HoeltzellMatt HouckGerron HurtMark IngrahamDarrick KrauseBowen LiSal MaidaAshley MinceyFarhan MominOlusola OgbomoShanika PattersonChelsea SargentTaylor WaltmonStephanie WillisAlecia WintersSJ Yun
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