Là thí sinh khiếm thị đầu tiên tham gia cuộc thi Vua đầu bếp Mỹ, Christine Hà gây ngạc nhiên và ấn tượng cho cả ba vị giám khảo khó tính.
Christine Hà (33 tuổi) bị khiếm thị từ năm 19 tuổi. Hà được mẹ dạy cho nấu ăn từ nhỏ. Tuy nhiên mẹ cô đã mất năm cô 14 tuổi.
Master Chef (Vua đầu bếp Mỹ) là chương trình truyền hình thu hút hàng chục triệu người xem trên khắp thế giới. Trong hơn 30.000 thí sinh tham gia vòng sơ khảo mùa thứ ba, Christine Hà, cô gái gốc Việt có bố mẹ người Việt Nam định cư tại Mỹ, gây ấn tượng vì tài nấu ăn đặc biệt của mình.
Bị mù từ năm 19 tuổi do căn bệnh tự miễn dịch hiếm gặp có tên Neuromyelitis optica, Christine Hà (33 tuổi) cho biết cô có thể tự mày mò, xoay sở nấu ăn mà không cần sự trợ giúp từ 10 năm nay. Trong buổi ghi hình, Hà trổ tài nấu món cá kho tộ truyền thống của người Việt Nam
Ấn tượng bởi ý chí và khả năng của người phụ nữ khiếm thị đặt biệt, cả ba vị giam kháo khó tính, trong đó gồm đầu bếp danh tiếng Gordon Ramsa cũng bầu cho Hà tiếp tục vào vòng trong.
Christine Hà cho biết cô sẽ tiếp tục cố gắng để có thể vào sâu hơn trong cuộc thi. Dù có đạt được giải thưởng trị giá 25.000 USD hay không, cô cũng tự tin đã chiến thắng chính mình.
John - chồng của Hà, người luôn động viên và giúp đỡ cô.
Vì mắt không nhìn thấy nên Hà phải huy động mọi giác quan để nấu ăn.
Cô nghe âm thanh của nước, xem độ nóng của chảo, ngửi mùi hành tỏi phi...
Món cá kho tộ của Christine Hà ở cuộc thi.
Video với phụ đề tiếng Việt.
(Để xem phụ đề tiếng Việt hãy click vào nút có chử “CC” dưới màn hình video).
Article from People website: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20601024,00.html
Chefs rely heavily on their sense of taste and smell to cook -- especially if they're blind like MasterChef contestant Christine Ha.
"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."
Christine, 33, has been diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a condition of the central nervous system that affects the optic nerves and spinal cord.
"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."
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."
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."
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."
"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."
Christine, 33, has been diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a condition of the central nervous system that affects the optic nerves and spinal cord.
"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."
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."
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."
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."