Speaker4:

This woman is legally blind, but the same woman won a cooking competition and cooked this food without
seeing. So how do you win a cooking competition if you cannot see what you're cooking and how does she cook
with a knife? In Texas, USA, I found Christine.

Speaker2:
Hi Noss Daily, I'm Christine Ha and I won MasterChef in 2012.

Speaker4:
Christine fell in love with cooking when she was young, but then around the age of 20 she started to lose her
vision. Everything she knew changed, including her dreams.

Speaker2:
I started losing my vision around the same time that I started really getting into cooking so this was in my 20s. I
felt sad and sorry for myself, wondering what my purpose was in life at this point. I told myself well this is the
hand that I was dealt with so I had to figure it out and try to be a part of society and give back to the world in
spite of my challenges.

Speaker4:
She had to relearn everything, how to walk, how to read, and how to cook without seeing. But she decided if she
cannot see then she has to learn how to cook using taste and sound.

Speaker2:
I believe that in losing my vision it has made my other four senses more focused and so when I taste food now I
find that I notice a lot more the different nuances like the texture, temperature, flavors, and ingredients used in a
dish. Of course it's super hard.

Speaker4:
Simple stuff like using a knife or even boiling water can be dangerous when you cannot see.

Speaker2:
I think I'm very meticulous so I use a knife carefully and make sure my knife is sharp.

Speaker4:
So what does she do? She organizes. Everything in her kitchen has a system. Her knives are in one place, her
pots and pans are in another, and her spices are in another place.

Speaker2:
Now when I cook I have to have a very organized kitchen. Everything is, for example, alphabetized as my spice
cabinet. When I cook my mise en place is set up all in order that I'm going to use on the stove.

Speaker4:
That is how a blind person was able to make dishes like this and this. And she didn't stop there. She decided to
take part in a cooking competition in a kitchen she's not used to. And against people who could see.

Speaker2:
The producers were coming to a nearby town and holding open call additions. They said that someone with a
vision impairment that can cook is an amazing story and that the rest of America needed to learn about how a
blind cook works in the kitchen.

Speaker4:

Speaker3:
You have a great advantage. As you talk about your food, not only are you able to express it in words, but your
face speaks volumes.

Speaker2:
Your eyes beam with happiness and pride and passion.

Speaker3:
And you have a lot to be proud of. Thank you, sir. It's an amazing, amazing accomplishment.

Speaker2:
Thank you, sir.

Speaker4:
That's how Christine won round after round after round until she won the competition itself. And people realized
just how good a blind chef can be.

Speaker2:
To me, I love cooking because food is universal. Everyone in this world needs to eat and we need food to
sustain ourselves. So I feel like when I travel or meet new people, if we can sit down and share a meal together,
that's how we bond and connect.

Speaker4:

Speaker2:

LISTENING: LISTEN TO A YOUTUBE BLOG AND FILL THE BLANKS.

The Incredible Blind Chef
This woman is legally blind, but the same woman won a cooking competition and cooked this food without
seeing. So how do you win a cooking competition if you cannot see what you're cooking and how does she cook
with a knife?
In Texas, USA, I found Christine.
Christine fell in love with cooking when she was young, but then around the age of 20 she started to lose her
vision. Everything she knew changed, including her dreams.
She had to relearn everything, how to walk, how to read, and how to cook without seeing. But she decided if she
cannot see then she has to learn how to cook using taste and sound.
Simple stuff like using a knife or even boiling water can be dangerous when you cannot see.
So what does she do? She organizes. Everything in her kitchen has a system. Her knives are in one place, her
pots and pans are in another, and her spices are in another place.
That is how a blind person was able to make dishes like this and this. And she didn't stop there. She decided to
take part in a cooking competition in a kitchen she's not used to. And against people who could see.
But then Christine discovered her lack of vision made her cooking better than anyone else.
That's how Christine won round after round after round until she won the competition itself. And people realized
just how good a blind chef can be.
Since then, Christine opened two restaurants, wrote a cookbook and became famous all over the world, all
because she didn't let her blindness stop her.
In this world, we're all human beings. We all bleed. We all laugh. And every human being wants to feel
understood, loved, respected and treated with dignity. So if we remember that, I think the world will be a much
better place.
That's why this able is the wrong word to use. People like Christine are just differently able. Hey everybody,
thank you so much for watching Nas Daily. Nas means people in Arabic, humans. And we are on a mission to
show you the stories of humans from all around the world. I'm actually very excited about the videos we're
working on. So please follow us on Facebook and Instagram so that you don't miss a video. We think everybody
in the world should watch them. Thank you and see you soon.