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 to grill, cook and bake makes her an asset to the kitchen — especially grilling. The more fire, the better, she says. "I want to come home from school and grill.
Men have stolen the grill from women when more of us need to turn that grill on ourselves and cook. Women need to get out there and light up that grill. Julia Child said every woman should have a blow torch, and I believe in that wholeheartedly.
" Supporting other women reaching for their own dreams also pushes Karabin to keep dreaming and grilling herself whenever possible. "There's enough love and success and happiness to go around for everyone," she said. "We lose so much in this life; if we're competitive with other women, we lose so much.
" Karabin remembers just how valuable that support from other women was in her own journey when she had only a psychology degree from San Francisco State University and not much else. "Turns out you can't do much with a psych degree without a master's or higher," she said. "I wanted to save the world for every kid with special needs or issues.
I wanted to help them. I had a BA in psych but couldn't get a job without a master's and was bartending. My friend graduated from culinary school and started teaching me the basics.
I started with sauces, and it sparked an obsession." Her passion pushed her past her comfort zone when she was competing with the 300,000 applicants who tried out for "MasterChef." Karabin was among the top 40 chefs in the country who got the chance to cook for Ramsay as well as Joe Bastianich and Aaron Sanchez.
"I was one of the oldest on the show, most contestants were in their 30s, 20s — there was even an 18-year-old," she recounted. "What I learned was those were my people and age is just a number. They're just like me: obsessed with food.
It's all they want to talk about. You have to be hyped, have to have drive, be loud, in your face, confident, have lots of charisma. All the other contestants, we all keep in touch, we go visit and cook with each other.
They don't care about age; food brings us together. It's a harmony I haven't experienced anywhere else. I want to show women, especially my age in their early 50s, that no dream is too big.
" Karabin has also found a way to mix her love for food with helping the disabled community in Northern Virginia. Using her experience of trying out for "MasterChef" six times before landing a spot before the judges, she reminds her students no dream is too big. "My goal as a teacher is to inspire kids who aren't school-savvy," she said.
"I work with students who struggle for several reasons. They're labeled early and are uninspired and beaten down. People don't believe in them.
They don't believe in themselves. My goal is to inspire and show them that they can be great. They have talents they haven't found yet.
Even with a learning disability, you can do big things. Just because you're labeled with something doesn't mean you can't do it. You certainly can.
" One of Karabin's other dreams was writing a cookbook. Dedicated to her two grown daughters, she wanted to leave them a lasting tribute and inspire them to keep striving for their goals as well. "My cookbook, 'Food Color Spice', is my tribute to my girls.
I wanted them to have this cookbook so they can be at home wherever they are. It's a 340-page coffee table book, filled with all their favorites, like homemade salad dressings, their favorite cakes and, of course, recipes for the grill." Karabin regularly travels across town to get the authentic spices she may need for a new recipe.
Her book, and her website also named "Food Color Spice," lives up to her mantra of making food beautiful for the eyes first. "You can't substitute miso or Sichuan peppercorn with any other spice and expect an authentic flavor," she said. "If a recipe calls for an ingredient you aren't familiar with, learn about it, study it.
The right spice makes for a delicious outcome." Not cutting corners and using proper ingredients also helped Karabin move forward on the set of "MasterChef." While Ramsay may seem ruthless on screen, she saw a kinder, gentler side of the chef while filming.
"Ramsay talked and visited with me throughout filming," she recounted. "He's lively and nice. Ramsay gave me some of the best advice when I was tasked with cooking crepes for that round of competition.
He reminded me that when cooking crepes, color is flavor. He showed me that browning crepes requires close attention to the butter." Listening to Ramsay paid off.
When the other judges made their rounds and critiqued her crepes, Karabin had perfected browning the butter and the crepe just right. "Joe Bastianich came to my cooking station, held up my crepe, and said, 'This, my dear, is the perfect crepe.' When Aaron Sanchez got to me, he said my dessert was whimsical, just like me.
All because I listened to Gordon's advice that color is flavor." These days Karabin continues to whip up new recipes and challenge herself to improve. While she is proud of herself, for making it as far as she did on "MasterChef," she's ready for the next hurdle.
She wants to win a barbeque show. "As a woman representing other women cooking over fire, I'll keep competing," she said. "I tried out for 'BBQ Showdown' on Netflix, but then I was called to do 'MasterChef.
' I won't be satisfied until I win a barbeque show. It's my dream, and if there's anything I know, it's that no dream is too big." Karabin finds peace at the grill, whether she's competing or cooking for friends and family.
She likes to remind herself what the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain said about barbeque: "Barbeque may not be the road to world peace, but it's a start." Feeling at peace around the grill and in the kitchen pushes Karabin to keep going. "I'll keep competing and grilling and adding flavor and spice to food as long as I'm able," she said.
" If I can inspire one person to try a new recipe and not fear the grill or a blow torch, then I've done my job. Adding food, color and spice to our lives will bring us peace." Heather Price Ives (434) 265-0181 hives@dailyprogress.
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