Hell’s Kitchen alum Mary Lou Davis returning to San Antonio to serve as Ida Claire’s executive chef

Hell’s Kitchen Season 19 runner-up and purple-haired pop-up chef extraordinaire Mary Lou Davis is back in the Alamo City — this time taking the reins as executive chef at Ida Claire San Antonio.

Officials with Ida Claire, a Dallas-based chain specializing in Southern fare, confirmed the news with the Current on Monday evening.

Davis, who trained at the Culinary Institute America’s San Antonio campus, previously led the kitchen at Whiskey Cake. In 2021, she earned a spot on Hell’s Kitchen — the Fox cooking competition show hosted by hot-tempered British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay — and ended up taking second place for the season.

After the Hell’s Kitchen media exposure, Davis embarked on a number of pop-up kitchen ventures and eventually relocated to Northern California. Her last San Antonio pop-up was at Best Quality Daughter in April 2024.

In a statement, Davis said she plans to bring her own signature flair to Ida Claire San Antonio, located at 7300 Jones Maltsberger Road, while staying true to the restaurant’s Southern roots. Teasing that she plans to introduce “flavors from her travels,” Davis added that she’ll combine her expertise with Southern culinary storytelling, “serving it all up with my signature sass.”

Davis has also earned a loyal online following for her humorous “Cosplay Chef” reels, in which she recreates popular dishes from notable anime series while clad in cosplay from the same show. Some of her past pop-ups have featured anime themes, a fun nod to the growing U.S. popularity of otaku culture.

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This article appears in Jul 10-23, 2025.