How does a blind person cook?
When we talk about food, we engage all of our senses – from how a food tastes, how morsels feel against our tongues, how aromas carry flavor, how sounds of crackling evoke appetite, and how colors make food vividly attractive.
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But what if you can’t see? How can you enjoy eating?
How can you prepare dishes that you and your family will enjoy?
Christine Ha was catapulted into culinary fame not because she won in the 3rd season of Master Chef.
She won people’s hearts because, despite being legally blind, she could whip up the most amazing dishes that celebrate her creativity and culture.
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Ha has always been passionate about cooking.
She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston.
While she started her career in literature, she still found her way into the culinary scene.
So how did Ha bested other competitors in her Master Chef run?
With the help of a cane and her husband, Ha was available to navigate her cooking area and identify which ingredients were which.
But besides that, she had to rely on her other four senses.
She knows how an ingredient should feel, smell, taste, and sound when she cooks.
She revealed her story during her audition for the show.
Ten years before entering the competition, Ha was diagnosed with an auto-immune condition that affected her sight.
Her vision worsened, and things looked like what one would see when looking in a fogged-up bathroom mirror.
But for those who are curious, the Season 3 winner and New York Times best-selling author made a video to show her perspective when cooking.
In collaboration with GoPro, she took people on a cooking tour.
One of the things that quickly stands out is how organized her kitchen is.
Not only does it help with cleanliness, but she also said that it is extremely important to place things right where they’re supposed to be so she can find them just by patting them.
Spice racks are organized, knives are arranged according to size, and ingredients are laid out properly.
She also uses adaptive tools like digital assistants and Alexa for timers and such.
As she explained in her video, however, her craft is primarily done by touch.
She carefully touches the edges of knives to see the shape, pats around tubs to know which paste she’s using and feels every part of the fish, so she knows where to cut.
Ha has defied expectations with sheer skill, passion, and determination.
The video ends with a sumptuous dinner of steamed red snapper in black bean sauce with Sichuan green beans on the side.
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It is an amazing dish.
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Her first restaurant was named a semi-finalist in the 2020 Best New Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation.
Ha also became a finalist for the 2022 Best Chef, Texas, by the same organization.
Click the video below to see this blind, award-winning chef whip up a dazzling meal!
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