Lance’s Jalapeño Cornbread

Chef Lance McWhorter’s Veterans Day Feast from the Heart

7 Minute read

10 Nov 2025

Jillian Dara

Journalist

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For Veterans Day, the Texas chef brings his military past to the table with a deeply comforting menu of gumbo, jalapeño cornbread, and deep-fried bread pudding—a true taste of homecoming.

Television fans may recognize Lance McWhorter, chef and owner of Heritage East in Tyler, Texas, from The Texas Bucket List’s “Bite of the Season” for his heritage pork chop or from Food Network’s Chopped for his famed chocolate mousse (both are always on his menu). Before his time in the kitchen, McWhorter served in the U.S. Army and Navy and as a high-threat security contractor in Iraq. It wasn’t until he returned home from Iraq in 2013, at age thirty-nine, that he began his culinary career.

“Veterans Day is a very special day for me, as I spent many years of my life in uniform,” says McWhorter. “I love taking the day to remember those I served with, the places we traveled, and all the crazy times we had together.”

During his military career, McWhorter recalls spending “so many holidays and special occasions in a base dining facility or huddled around eating MREs [meals ready to eat] in the dirt of Iraq,” so it’s especially important for him to mark the holiday with “a great meal that is warm and comforting.”

Lance McWhorter in the military

This year, McWhorter is celebrating by cooking his andouille sausage, chicken, and shrimp gumbo, served with Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice, jalapeño cornbread, and deep-fried bread pudding for dessert. “November is when the air starts to chill a bit here in Tyler, Texas, and that brings my favorite foods with it—rich, hearty, stick-to-your-ribs goodness,” says McWhorter. It’s a season all about “things that warm the soul when you eat them, invoke memories of your childhood and holiday meals with family,” he says, adding that “these are the meals we really thought about and missed when we were deployed around the world.”

When shopping for gumbo ingredients, McWhorter suggests stocking up on your favorite hot sauce, and if you’re open to trying a new brand, he recommends Texas Pete. “It’s what we had on the tables at the base dining facilities overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he says, before nodding to his fellow service members. “Thank you all on this and every Veterans Day; I hope that these recipes serve you for years as well as y’all did alongside me for years!”