[Nfbwv-talk] Master Chef
Karen McDonald
karen at eioproductions.com
Thu Oct 18 19:06:36 UTC 2012
Yeah, I'd hate to ruin his day tomorrow with a steak, (smile.)
Karen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Koch, Sheri L" <Sheri.L.Koch at wv.gov
To: NFB of West Virginia Discussion List <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:55:36 -0500
Subject: Re: [Nfbwv-talk] Master Chef
I'm so glad you're not serving him a steak (smile) Karen, save
me a slice of cake; sounds yummy!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ED!!!!!
Sheri Koch, MS, CRC
WVDRS
Program Specialist
Blind & Visually Impaired Services
4701 MacCorkle Ave., SE
Charleston, WV 25304
sheri.l.koch at wv.gov
Phone: (304) 356-2380 Ext. 55322
FAX: (304) 926-1740
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-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbwv-talk [mailto:nfbwv-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Karen McDonald
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 2:43 PM
To: NFB of West Virginia Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Nfbwv-talk] Master Chef
Ed's birthday is tomorrow and I'm baking him a black forest cake
for his birthday, and I will add that this will not be from a
cake mix of any kind. The meal on Friday evening will be beef
stroganoff, which is a family favorite, and I'm thinking of
making either a green bean casserole or a colorful vegetable
casserole. Ed and I are both efficient in the kitchen and we
often cook together but tomorrow it's my game plan except for a
couple of little jobs I might ask the "birthday boy" to do, like
chopping an onion or two, (smile.) Karen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Smyth, Charlene R" <Charlene.R.Smyth at wv.gov
To: NFB of West Virginia Discussion List <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:53:52 -0500
Subject: Re: [Nfbwv-talk] Master Chef
Hi Jack,
There are many of us on this list who are totally blind who are
pretty good cooks from simple things to making complete meals
from scratch. If we can be of assistance, just let us know and
we will be glad to talk with you and any of the trainers at the
Seeing Hand Association.
Charlene
-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbwv-talk [mailto:nfbwv-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Jack Yahnke
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 1:43 PM
To: NFB of West Virginia Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Nfbwv-talk] Master Chef
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.
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