"They didn't believe I could use a knife by myself!"

You are a writer where and how did food and cooking enter your life I began cooking out of necessity when I was in college Since then my love for cooking especially the idea of feeding others grew exponentially But Irsquod always viewed it as simply a hobby Writing and reading were more my vocation though I am equally passionate about food and cooking What made you want to try your luck for MasterChef US I am the kind of person that welcomes challenges and pushes myself to see how far I can go I think overcoming difficulties helps build character And even if you donrsquot overcome them it can still build character you learn from mistakes and can go about trying to figure out a different way of achieving it Once selected how did you prepare yourself mentally technically for the TV show knowing very well that this would be reality television at its hardest most competitive worst I honestly had no idea how hard it would be I thought because it was TV wersquod be made privy of our challenges a day in advance But no this was not the case We learn about them right when you learned about them on camera I didnrsquot really prepare myself much technically or mentally Perhaps I practiced cutting onions And I did practise preparing my audition dish many times so often that my husband got tired of my Braised Catfish But that was all I did to prepare Did you come across a wave of sympathy from fellow contestants and the crew If so how did you react to it and focus on your goal I donrsquot think anyone gave me sympathy If anything they saw me as noncompetition Or they thought I was just there for TV ratings Someone in the top 100 asked me ldquoSo whorsquos going to cut your food for yourdquo They didnrsquot believe I could use a knife by myself I was shocked that they thought I couldnrsquot cook just because I was sight impaired I didnrsquot mind that they didnrsquot take me seriously it gave me an edge in the competition because many dismissed me and focused on taking out other contestants What were some of the pleasant surprises that you encountered along the way on the TV show I was surprised at how much I began really caring for the other contestants We are all so different we come from different backgrounds we have different ideologies and personalities yet food and competing for the title united us Thatrsquos what we bonded over and many of them have become like family How much has life changed post winning the title My life has changed 180deg There have been so many amazing opportunities Irsquove made a guest appearance on the inaugural season of MasterChef Vietnam I travel the country to do cooking demos and give inspiring keynote addresses and now Irsquom working towards opening an establishment of my own in my hometown of Houston These are a few of my favourite things Favourite ingredient I have three garlic fish sauce and cilantro Favourite cuisine This is so difficult but I guess Irsquod have to say Vietnamese if I absolutely had to choose Favourite chef Lately Irsquove been a little obsessed with Chef Chris Kinjo He is a fabulous sushi chef who just opened a traditional sushi restaurant in Houston called MF Sushi His omakase is mindblowing a dish i can create in 510 minutes Fried Rice