Congratulations to Christine Ha for winning Master Chef season 3. Not a reality TV fan myself, this mornings news that a blind woman had Master Chef was my first knowledge that a blind woman was even participating in Master Chef. Immediately, I wanted to what the press had to say about her victory.
To my disappointment, the first article from the L.A. Times portrayed a negative picture of Christine's victory. Although the author was able to clearly identify the flaws in the cuisine prepared by the runner up (undercooked lobster and a greasy pie crust) and the only negative thing that was said about Christine's meal was that the presentation could have been better it was insinuated throughout the entire article that she won because she was blind.
The second article which included an interview with Christine was posted on realitywanted.com. I was a little nervous when I started reading this article because the author started out by stating that Christine won "despite a huge disadvantage." The article turned around when the author interviewed Christine and focused on her performance in the show rather than her blindness. It turned out to be a really nice article "despite an author who automatically assumes that blindness is a huge disadvantage."
The third video clip from ABC News was interesting. Although blindness was portrayed as a huge challenge by the reporter, the video showed Christine working in the kitchen successfully, traveling with her cane, shopping at the grocery store, and cooking in the kitchen. The news clip even gave brief attention to some of the alternative techniques that Christine used as a successful chef.
The last article posted on the people.com website was the best and it was written by Master Chef judge, Joe Bastanch. Bastanch did not focus on Christine's disability at all. He focused on her ability to prepare meals that were consistent and delicious. While she might not have been the biggest risk taker in the kitchen, Christine was able to ultimately outcook the other contestants time after time. Bastach commented that half way through the season he would not have picked Christine as a winner, not because of her disability, but rather because she was less flashy and did not go out on a limb like many of her peers and previous winners. He explained that it was her consistent ability to out cook the other contestants that ultimately gained her the winning spot in the competition.
Christine showed the world competence and skill that had nothing to do with her vision. Shame on the people who cannot realize that her consistently excellent meals allowed her to win the competition and not her blindness. Congratulations Christine and thank you for helping in the movement of the National Federation of the Blind to show the world that with the proper training and tools, we, the blind, can compete on equal footing with our sighted peers! Not only did Christine compete on equal footing, but she came out on top!!!
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-masterchef-winner-20120911,0,4973823.story
http://www.realitywanted.com/newsitem/5732-masterchef-season-3-exclusive-interview-with-winner-christine-ha#.UFC7sJgrlrU
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/blind-chef-masterchef-winner-17214566
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20628911,00.html
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