MasterChef Winner Christine Ha Stirs Up A New Winning Partnership

Chef Christine Ha, known widely as the Blind Cook, who took home the season three trophy from FOX’s “MasterChef” with Gordon Ramsay, says she’s excited by a new opportunity to help other innovative entrepreneurs with sight limitations who share her passion for food.

Ha has been named as chair of the Chef’s Advisory Council for a partnership of experienced blind entrepreneurs who operate food service operations in multiple locations across the country. This group is now preparing a proposal to serve as the food provider for 15 Marine Corps bases in the U.S.

The partnership says its strong proposal, if accepted by the Marine Corps, would be the largest contract ever awarded to blind entrepreneurs. Currently, there are more than 40 blind entrepreneurs who run food service companies supporting American troops with food service contracts that provide high quality, healthful meals on military bases.

Ha, through her husband’s family, is related to two former Marines and a former Navy seaman.

She says, “It’s an honor to advise this determined group of entrepreneurs competing to provide healthy, nutritious, delicious food to our Marines. We believe it’s important to demonstrate how visual impairments should not be impediments to being independent and to being food purveyors to the military and their families across the country. You could say I have a little experience in competitions, and together with this competitive group of chefs and managers, I think we have the winning recipe.”

Ha, who is legally blind, is always eager to explain to skeptics how she uses her memory and technology to successfully navigate the kitchen.

Ha received the 2014 Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind. Chef Ramsay has said, “The lady has an extraordinary palate, a palate of incredible finesse. She picks up hot ingredients, touches them, and she thinks about this image on the plate. She has the most disciplined execution on a plate that we’ve ever seen. But the palate is where it’s just extraordinary. And honestly, I know chefs with Michelin stars that don’t have palates like hers.”

The members of partnership are accomplished in their own rights. For instance, Ron Long of Barstow, California, entered the U.S. Navy at 17-years-old and served until a tragic accident occurred.

While on duty in Okinawa, Japan, Long was exposed to chemical agents that affected his vision and resulted in legal blindness. Following his honorable discharge, Long knew he wanted to find new ways to excel. He opened a BBQ restaurant and started a mobile food preparation service.

Long’s food service supported the U.S. Forest Service as it fought fires in the High Sierra Mountain Range and Lake Isabella regions of California. His more recent endeavors have included providing food service at the U.S. Navy installation in San Diego and at the U.S. Army National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.

Long and the other partnership members are grateful to Ha for providing her insights and expertise as they prepare sample recipes and other details for their proposal. The Marine Corps is expected to make its decision in early 2018.