[Nfbwv-talk] Master Chef

Thu Oct 18 19:26:04 UTC 2012

Thanks Charlene,

I forwarded your offer to the appropriate personnel.  I usually muddle along 
with a grille and a microwave oven.  I like my veggies lightly steamed and 
my meat grilled.

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: Thursday, October 18, 2012 1:53 PM
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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>
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