Returning Food Network Contestant Doug Walls Quits ‘Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime’

Food Network buffs may have recognized Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime contestant Doug Walls, one of the entrepreneurs who vied for a chance to impress Guy Fieri and earn the opportunity to run their own Chicken Guy franchise.

With that kind of opportunity on the line, why did Doug leave Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime in Episode 2? We’ve got the backstory below…

The North Carolina chef’s time on the competition followed his past appearances on the Food Network shows Cutthroat Kitchen and Supermarket Stakeout. “I’m trying to build a name and a brand, and being on TV helps builds a footprint,” he told The Citizen-Times in 2019.

So his exit from Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime must be disappointing, especially after his recent setbacks…

Doug was born in Charleston, W.V., but has spent most of his life living in Asheville, N.C. While studying at culinary school in the 1990s, Doug got a job doing prep work in the kitchen at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville. “That’s when I found the love of culinary,” he said in a 2016 blog post for the retreat center. “I’d always walk by this office and say, ‘I want to become the executive chef here one day.’”

He became sous chef at The Cove in 2011 and later became executive chef. “This kitchen has changed me,” he says. “The Cove has grown me into a manager, a leader, a chef.”

These days, Doug has his own catering business, Walls Catering Co., where he is “incorporating southern classics with local influences” as his cooking “provides the perfect balance of comfort, ingenuity, and creativity,” according to the website.

According to his Food Network bio, this past year marked the first time Doug didn’t love every minute of being a chef. A fire shut down his kitchen, and the place reopened just in time to be shut down yet again amid by the pandemic. “He went from serving 100,000 people a year to serving… zero,” the network adds. “For a type-A alpha chef who runs a tight ship and prides himself on his food and leadership skills, not being able to thrive in a kitchen drove him insane.”

But Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime could have been a lifeline. “Douglas brings the same energy as Guy to everything he does and is no stranger to hard work — or tough times,” Food Network adds. “After surviving a brutal divorce, he knows he has the grit to handle anything — including launching a Chicken Guy franchise. He’s ready to make his dream of owning a restaurant come true and sees this opportunity as his golden bridge — complete with Guy’s stamp of approval!”

Doug exited Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime at the start of Episode 2, leaving Guy “not pleased,” according to The Dallas Morning News. Reality Blurred, meanwhile, reports Doug left for unspecified family reasons.

Here’s hoping that everyone in Doug’s family is OK and that he’ll get another shot at fulfilling his culinary dreams!

Meanwhile, you can tune in to see how the rest of the contestants fare as Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Food Network.