July 14--Tommy Walton is a DePaul University graduate and a longtime South Loop fashion designer but on Wednesday's episode of "MasterChef," he's a "nice little Southern boy."
The challenge is for the 11 home cooks to make a dish that embodies their roots. Walton, 53, said his family's background inspired him to make dirty rice jambalaya.
"I've got the holy trinity of vegetables: Celery, onion and bell pepper so that's going to give that traditional New Orleans flavor," Walton says in a first look of Wednesday's episode provided exclusively to the Tribune. "My family grew up in Louisiana and even though I've lived all over the world, I still am a nice little Southern boy."
Walton is the only Chicago resident left on this season of "MasterChef." Wicker Park model/engineer Dan Collado quit the show for "personal reasons," while Lincoln Park blogger Nate Love didn't make the top 22.
"MasterChef" airs Wednesdays on FOX at 7 p.m. The winner gets $250,000 and a cookbook deal.
