[Nfbwv-talk] Master Chef

[Jack Yahnke]

Thanks Charlene.  You have no idea how timely and fortuitous this article is 
here at work.  We are just now beginning some cooking classes for our blind 
employees here at the Seeing Hand.  We are going to start with grilled 
sandwiches and paninis on a George Foreman grill and then some soups.  I'll 
keep you posted if you like.

Jack

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Smyth, Charlene R" <Charlene.R.Smyth at wv.gov>
To: "NFB of West Virginia Discussion List" <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 1:23 PM
Subject: [Nfbwv-talk] Master Chef


> Feature Writer Alena Roberts - Interview with the Winner of Master Chef,
>
>
> Christine Ha
>
>
>
> I recently had the privilege of interviewing Christine Ha, the visually
>
> impaired winner of this year's Master Chef contest. She was a pleasure
> to
>
> speak with and I hope that my questions shed a little more light on who
>
> Christine is and how we can learn from her example. My questions below
> will
>
> start with the letter "A" and her answers will start with the letter
> "C."
>
>
>
> A: I know our readers would really appreciate some tips. I myself am not
> a
>
> good cook, but I know a lot of us are. Do you have some simple things I
> could
>
> write up on how we can feel safer in the kitchen and how we might be
> able to
>
> expand on our potentially simple dishes?
>
>
>
> C: Sure, there are some things I can come up with off the top of my
> head, and
>
> this is not just for visually impaired cooks. I think it's really
> important to
>
> have sharp knives. Spend some money on a good sharpening block. Often
> times
>
> our knife sets come with that tool, it's actually a honing tool, that
> people
>
> think is a knife sharpener. That tool is actually for honing after you
> sharpen
>
> the knife to get metal bits off. The reason why it's so important to
> have a
>
> sharp knife is so you don't have to use as much pressure. It's much
> easier to
>
> cut things and the slice is cleaner. When you're slicing and using less
>
> pressure, there is less danger of the knife sliding out of your hand and
>
>
> causing injury. So, contrary to what you might think, a dull knife is
> more
>
> likely to injure you then a sharp knife.
>
>
>
> Organization, I think, is also key. I think that most vision impaired
> people
>
> know the importance of organization since that's one of the ways you
> gain
>
> independence. So in the kitchen, being organized is also part of gaining
>
>
> independence. Hopefully the people you live with will be respectful of
> your
>
> need for organization and put knives back where they found them, spices
> back
>
> where they found them, and other gadgets back where they found them. I
> think
>
> that this is key to being a successful cook when you're a visually
> impaired
>
> person.
>
>
>
> For those who want to start expanding on their cooking it's important to
> note
>
> that I am pretty much self taught. I started cooking from cookbooks. I
> would
>
> read recipes straight through and follow them to the T. So once you
> learn how
>
> to follow a recipe and understand certain techniques and how things will
> turn
>
> out, then you kind of start understanding the science behind it. I think
> you
>
> should then start venturing out. For example you can take a recipe and
> start
>
> adding different spices and playing with the ingredients and being more
>
> experimental. Once you're confident in turning a recipe that's already
>
> established into something that's more like your own, then you could
> step up
>
> to doing something like we did on the show with mystery boxes where you
> just
>
> mix up things that are in season or gather what looks good at the
> grocery
>
> store and then just come up with something. That is something that
> definitely
>
> takes time and the desire to learn such a skill, but I think if you
> learn
>
> flavor profiles, what goes well with what, I think that helps with
> cooking.
>
> Sooner or later you got to let go of that cookbook. There's going to be
> a lot
>
> of trial and error, a lot of bad food, but you've got to spread your
> wings and
>
> let go.
>
>
>
> A: I know that a lot of visually impaired cooks are fearful of
> under-cooking
>
> meat. I myself have turned to using the crock pot as a way of ensuring
> that
>
> the meat is done, but there are only so many things you can cook in your
> crock
>
> pot. I also don't want to overcook my meat. Some might say that you just
> cook
>
> it long enough to make sure it doesn't hurt you, but then it might not
> taste
>
> good because it's overcooked. So what do you do to ensure that you're
> meat is
>
> cooked properly?
>
>
>
> C: I myself have no problem with tasting my food as I cook it. If it's
> raw
>
> then I'll spit it out and continue cooking. It's important to use
>
> thermometers, especially when cooking meat. I myself use talking
> thermometers
>
> in my kitchen. When you're cooking steak, a rack of lamb, or other
> meats, it
>
> comes down to the temperature when you're determining if it's rare,
> medium
>
> rare, or well done.
>
>
>
> A: Are there things you avoid when cooking, or is everything fair game?
>
>
>
> C: There are definitely things I tend to avoid cooking at home just
> because
>
> it's messy or requires a lot of precision. For instance, I'm not a big
> fan of
>
> seafood. I will scale a fish if I have to, but I would prefer not to.
> When I
>
> was on Master Chef, though, I was open to everything.
>
>
>
> A: What was the overall reaction from your fellow contestants when they
>
> learned you were visually impaired? I know that I saw a number of
> episodes
>
> where there was a lot of negativity and bitterness. I realize that this
> is
>
> reality television and that there's an editing process, but I'm curious,
> was
>
> there any point where you said to yourself that you weren't sure you
> could
>
> deal with the attitudes?
>
>
>
> C: I wasn't taken seriously at the beginning when there were still 100
> of us.
>
> I was come up to and asked things like, "Do you use a knife?" A lot of
> people
>
> thought I was going to stand on the sidelines and tell a sighted person
> how to
>
> make the food. As the competition continued it got better, though. I was
> often
>
> picked last for the challenges, which makes sense from the other
> contestants'
>
> point of view. When this happened, though, I did my best to prove to
> myself
>
> and the other contestants that I wasn't a disadvantage to their team--I
> just
>
> had to do things a little differently. I felt like I had to give my 200
>
> percent in comparison to the other contestants, but all in all I'm good
>
> friends with many of the contestants on the show and I have never felt
> pure
>
> negativity directed at me personally.
>
>
>
> A: Now that you've won the competition do you have any plans for your
>
> winnings?
>
>
>
> C: Since part of winning the competition is getting my own cookbook, I'm
>
>
> working on that. As a writer I'm excited about the writing process and
> the
>
> narrative of the book. I'm also gathering recipes that I want to
> include.
>
> Outside of that, I'm trying to finish my masters program since my other
> love
>
> is literature. I'm working on my memoir. My memoir won't focus on
> cooking, but
>
> rather dealing with my vision loss and my medical condition. I'm also
> planning
>
> to write up a formal business plan to present to investors. My hope is
> to open
>
> a gastro pub and an ice-cream shop in Houston where I live.
>
>
>
> We wish Christine the best of luck as she moves forward with her new
>
> endeavors.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfbwv-talk mailing list
> Nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbwv-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Nfbwv-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbwv-talk_nfbnet.org/jack%40seeinghandassociation.com
>