Master Chef Contestant Christine Ha Doesnt Let Being Blind Stop Her

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Published on Wednesday, 27 June 2012 11:05

Christine Ha is proving herself a force to be reckoned with on the reality series Master Chef. Christine received her B.B.A in finance from the University of Texas in 2001. 10 years ago  she was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica an autoimmune condition that would eventually cause her vision to deteriorate. "The very first bout I had was in 1999," she says of the condition in an interview with People.. "It only happened in one eye then. It didn't recover completely so I learned to adjust to seeing out of one eye. In 2004, it decreased to the level where I could no longer drive. In 2007, it decreased to where I am now. I have to use a cane to walk around or take somebody's arm and be guided."

Her love for cooking came from her mother. "She was a wonderful cook. When I was fourteen, before I'd had any interest in cooking, she passed away. She left no recipes. After I moved away for college, I had to learn to cook for myself. I realized that cooking required both scientific precision and artistic freedom." Christine said in an interview with FOX.

This is why it was so important to learn her way around the kitchen without her sight. Christine has mastered this skill and is now become MasterChef's first contestant that is blind. Her dish for her audition was Vietnamese catfish with pickled vegetables. "I have to depend a lot more on the other senses to cook — taste, smell, how certain ingredients feel," she said  "I'll know if a piece of meat is close to being done by how it feels against my hand or utensils."

"It's hard to see ingredients," she says. "I have to figure out by smell and touch if an ingredient is fresh. Cutting with knives – fortunately, I'm pretty careful and I have a proper knife technique. Since I've lost my vision, I've cut myself once. And it was minor. I've never had to get stitches. It's really about being organized, careful and using my other senses."

Christine is a front runner in the show, now in its 8th episode. She recently had a run in with a fellow contestant who tried to trip her up by forcing her to cook with a live crab. But Christine eloquently overcame this challenge impressing the judges with two stellar dishes. Her work prompted Chef Gordon Ramsay to say, " Are you sure your blind?!"

Just another person saying "What Disability?!"



Picture Source: CutelyPoisoned.com

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