Visually impaired cook Christine Ha, who won the crown in hit-TV series US MasterChef claims that passion for food was what allowed her to sweep the USD250,000 prize.

The 33-year old Vietnamese American woman returned to Vietnam on February 20 to join the Vietnamese version of MasterChef slated to be shown on Vietnam Television (VTV) every Friday at 8pm, beginning from March 8.

“MasterChef Vietnam offered me a chance to return to my hometown and I received a warm welcome from the show’s production crew and the contestants. It’s obvious that they all have a love for cooking,” she said.

Christine became hugely popular after overcoming the obstacles caused by her disability. However she remains modest, saying that for her, the biggest change in her life was that more people recognised her when she went out. She also added that she was waiting for a book of 100 delicious dishes she wrote to be launched in the US in the near future.

She said that secret to good cooking was very simple. “Firstly, you have to follow recipes to get the basics, before cooking dishes in a creative way. However, the most important thing is you must have a passion for this. You must think that you are cooking for those you care most about”.

Wearing a Vietnamese ao dai

Christine Ha surrounded by reporters and fans

Christine presented a highly Vietnamese-inspired winning menu consisting of papaya salad with crab, a main course of braised pork belly with rice, maitake mushrooms, and crispy kale and dessert of coconut lime sorbet with ginger tuile.

She said she liked cooking for her friends and family and so she decided to participate in MasterChef.  “I like cooking when I was at the college. I’m happy when people enjoy my food. Spending time and effort cooking for other people is really my passion,” she said.

She will graduate from a master degree in literature in May. She is now writing book about the challenges in her life and the MasterChef contest experience.