<HTML><HEAD></HEAD>
<BODY dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<H1><FONT face="Times New Roman"><A
href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20601024,00.html">Christine Ha Is
MasterChef's First Blind Contestant</A>.</FONT></H1>
<DIV> </DIV>
<P class=byline><FONT face="Times New Roman">By Aaron Parsley and Liza
Hamm</FONT></P>
<P class="timestamp "><FONT face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
class=slug>Update</SPAN> <ABBR class=published title=2012-06-04T19:45:00Z>Monday
June 04, 2012 07:45 PM EDT</ABBR> <SPAN class=updated>Originally posted <ABBR
class=published title=2012-06-04T20:15:00Z>Monday June 04, 2012 08:15 PM
EDT</ABBR></SPAN> </FONT></P>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Chefs rely heavily on their sense of taste and
smell to cook – especially if they're blind like <EM>MasterChef</EM> contestant
Christine Ha. <BR><BR>"I have to depend a lot more on the other senses to cook –
taste, smell, how certain ingredients feel," she tells PEOPLE. "I'll know if a
piece of meat is close to being done by how it feels against my hand or
utensils." <BR><BR>Christine, 33, has been diagnosed with </FONT><A
class=tracklink2
href="http://www.health.com/health/library/mdp/0,,nord479,00.html"
target=_blank><FONT face="Times New Roman">neuromyelitis optica</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> (NMO), a condition of the central nervous system that
affects the optic nerves and spinal cord. <BR><BR>"The very first bout I had was
in 1999," she says of the condition. "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." <BR><BR>Christine is ready to prove herself on
the show, which premieres Monday (9 p.m. ET) on Fox. "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." <BR><BR>And she won't be getting
any special help from the judges Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot and Joe
Bastianich. "Joe, Gordon and Graham didn't treat me any differently," she says.
"They told me what was wrong and right with my dish. There was constructive
criticism. I feel like they judged fairly." <BR><BR>Still, nerves were a factor
for Christine when she began the competition. "I had never been this nervous in
my life – even on my wedding day," she says. "It was the most anxiety I've felt
in a day. It's already scary to be in an environment you can't soak up visually
what's happening around you. It was challenging and scary." </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>