Christine Ha Bio | Wiki
Christine Ha is an American chef, writer, and TV host. She is the first blind contestant of MasterChef and the winner of its third season in 2012. Ha is speaking out about neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), the condition that caused her vision loss. As part of the NMOSD Won’t Stop Me campaign, she hopes to inspire others to share their stories.
She grew up eating her mom’s home-cooked Vietnamese dishes. But as a child, Ha didn’t take interest in learning how to make her recipes. When her mom passed away from cancer when Ha was 14 years old, it seemed she might never taste her food again.
But when she went off to college, she thought to herself, ‘I really miss mom’s comfort food and home cooking, so I’m going to teach myself [by] trying to reconstruct her dishes by memory’. Through trial and error, she began to recreate what tasted like home, and in the process, she developed a love for cooking.
Christine Ha Age
Ha was born on May 9, 1979, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. She is 43 years old.
Christine Ha Height
She is a woman of average stature and stands at a height of 5 ft 5 in (Approx. 1.65 m).
Christine Ha Family
She was born and raised as an only child in Los Angeles County, California by her parents. Ha’s parents were of Vietnamese origin. They immigrated from Saigon to the United States in 1975 after the Vietnam War. She lived in Lakewood, California, and Long Beach, California as a young child before her family moved to Houston, Texas. Sadly, Ha’s mother died from lung cancer when Ha was 14.
Christine Ha Husband
Ha is married to her husband John Suh. The couple celebrated their wedding in 2011. Together, they opened a Korean restaurant called “The Sighted Pig Test Kitchen” in Bravery Chef Hall. The restaurant is a combination of her husbands zodiac sign.
Christine Ha Education
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance along with MIS from the University of Texas at Austin. Ha also earned a master’s of fine arts in creative fiction and nonfiction from the University of Houston’s nationally acclaimed writing program.
Christine Ha Masterchef
Ha competed on the third season of MasterChef, she won seven times in both individual and team challenges. She placed three times in the top three group. However, Ha was also in the bottom group twice. On September 10, 2012, Hà was announced the winner of the competition and was awarded $250,000, the MasterChef title, the MasterChef trophy, and a cookbook deal.
In 2015, she revealed on her blog and Facebook page that she would become a judge on the third season of MasterChef Vietnam. In the meantime, Ha also returned along with Luca Manfé and Courtney Lapresi as guests of US MasterChef (season 6). Later in the year, she also made an appearance in MasterChef Celebrity Showdown in the battle of “Champions vs Juniors”.
She alongside Season 4 winner Luca Manfe and Season 6 winner Claudia Sandoval, cooked against 3 contestants from MasterChef Junior season 4 in a Salmon Wellington tag team battle. The three champions emerged as the winner and donate their winnings to their chosen charity
Christine Ha Cookbook | Books
Her cookbook, Recipes from My Home Kitchen: Asian and American Comfort Food became released on May 14, 2013. Beginning June 2018, Ha began working on her memoir and second cookbook.
Christine Ha And Gordon Ramsay
Ha shares how Gordon Ramsay made her a better cook. Gordon can sometimes get a bad rap. Certainly, he’s fierce on “Hell’s Kitchen.” And he’s definitely harsh on “MasterChef.” But for Ha, she didn’t have too many complaints about Ramsay being too tough on the show. Going into the show, Ha had certainly heard of Ramsay, but she says she didn’t think of him as anything other than just another judge.
Christine Ha Restaurant | Houston
In 2018, Ha opened a Vietnamese gastropub in Bravery Chef Hall in Houston, Texas named “The Blind Goat”. The name is a combination of her disability and her Vietnamese zodiac sign. The restaurant received three stars from the Houston Chronicle and was named a semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation in 2020.
In the same Bravery Chef Hall, she and her husband John opened a Korean restaurant called “The Sighted Pig Test Kitchen”, which is a combination of her husbands zodiac sign.
At the start of 2020, Ha collaborated with Saigon House chef and owner, Tony Nguyen, to open Xin Chao restaurant in Houston. The menu showcases their Vietnamese-American heritage and culinary skills with a contemporary approach to traditional Vietnamese dishes with a touch of Texas BBQ and Gulf Coast seafood.
Christine Ha Net Worth
She earns her wealth from her career, therefore, she has amassed a fortune over the years. Ha’s estimated net worth is $2 million.
Who Is Christine Ha
Ha is an American chef, writer, and TV host. She is the first blind contestant of MasterChef and the winner of its third season in 2012. Ha is speaking out about neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), the condition that caused her vision loss. As part of the NMOSD Won’t Stop Me campaign, she hopes to inspire others to share their stories.