FOOD & DRINK Michele Karabin was eliminated five times before she landed in front of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay on Season 13 of Food Network's "MasterChef." "Being on 'MasterChef' was on my bucket list," Karabin told The Daily Progress. "Everyone said I'd never make it and questioned why I kept going for 'MasterChef' when I kept being eliminated early on.
But I kept at it, I kept improving, I had it in my heart to do it and I got on." Karabin loaned her talents to the Lafayette Inn and Restaurant in Stanardsville on Aug. 11.
Combining her skills in the kitchen with her passion as a Northern Virginia special education teacher, Karabin took over as head chef for a night, raising funds for Greene County Public Schools' special education services department. "'MasterChef' is my experience in not giving up," she said of her participation on the program. "Each time I didn't get picked, I didn't call it a failure, but a way to learn.
I wasn't that good on camera. So, I practiced being on camera more. I stuttered, because I talked too fast, so I practiced slowing down my speech.
I realized it's not about avoiding failure; it's a step. I used it as an advantage to keep going and keep strengthening my talents." Before Karabin made it far enough to cook for Ramsay on "MasterChef," she had reached various levels of the competition but never landed in front of the three-judge panel known for grading food without mercy.
Karabin prides herself on being a triathlete of a chef: Her ability t.