About Chef Josh
You want to cook food people remember. Here's what I know about that.
I'm Josh Gale, professional chef, TV competitor, and the guy behind The Chef Out West.
My job on this site is simple: take everything I've learned in professional kitchens and make it work for you at home. My specialties are healthy comfort food, creative format cooking (rice paper, Wellington builds, protein desserts), and making professional techniques accessible for home cooks. No gatekeeping or watered-down versions here. I want cooking to feel fun and easy for you.
How I got here:
Honestly, cooking found me by accident.
A snowboard crash left me couch-bound with too much time and a constant loop of food shows. I started cooking because I was bored. Then it helped. Then I couldn't stop thinking about it.
For a while, cooking stayed on the edges of my life. I worked in corporate tech sales and just looked forward to getting home to cook every night — it was the most engaging part of my day. Then my friends literally forced me to apply for MasterChef. I never thought I'd get on the show.
And then... I did.
And, guess what. I absolutely-freaking-loved it. I got sent home over a cheesecake, which still makes me laugh and think about how important those small turning points can be. That same cheesecake became one of the most loved recipes I've ever shared. Full circle food life.
MasterChef changed everything. I left sales and went all in on kitchens. I worked demanding services, ran restaurants, cooked for high-profile clients, and competed on Chopped, Fire Masters, and Beat Bobby Flay, where I walked away with a win (still feels wild to write).
Everything I learned in those kitchens is behind every recipe on this site.
My cooking philosophy:
Bold and comforting. Rooted in nostalgia, practical for busy weeks, and built on the same instincts I use when I cook professionally. Also: I don't believe in secrets. If I cook it, I'll tell you every detail about how and why it works, so you actually learn something every time you make it.
The truth about why I cook the way I do:
My favorite meal isn't in a Michelin-starred restaurant. It's at a street cart, a hole-in-the-wall, a plastic-stool-and-fluorescent-lights kind of place where nobody's thinking about plating and everybody's thinking about flavor.
Strip away the white tablecloths and the tasting menus and what's left is what matters most to me: food with bold flavor, attitude, and memory. That's what I'm chasing every time I cook.
My favorite way to travel is to load up Google Maps with every must-eat spot in a new city and go full send. Eight, nine, ten restaurants in a day. Coffees in between to keep things moving. I want to try everything, experience everything, eat it all. I genuinely can't help it.
That obsession with bold, unpretentious food is behind everything on this site. You won't find safe or fussy here. You'll find food that has something to say.
To hear more of my story, check out:
- The Perfect Bite — From Broken Back to MasterChef: The Chef Out West Story
- Food Empires — He Quit Cooking for The Rock to Go All In On Instagram
And, if you're just getting familiar around here, start here:
Let’s get cooking.
PS: Have a question about a recipe? Reach me at josh@thechefoutwest.com and I'll do my best to get you sorted!
The Chef Out West is independently run. Some posts contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them (at no extra cost to you). I only recommend things I actually use and stand behind.