Photo courtesy of Michele Karabin
Michele Karabin of Alexandria is a contestant on "MasterChef" debuting May 24 on Fox.
The sixth time is the charm. An Alexandria area teacher and home cook, Michele Karabin, tried out six times for "MasterChef," before she was selected to participate in "MasterChef, Season 13: United Tastes of America".
The show debuted Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. Episodes can also be watched online.
"I've been trying out since 2015," said Karabin, a special education teacher at Hayfield Secondary School. "This was the sixth audition for the show, and so I gave Gordon my bucket list." (That's Gordon Ramsey, the British celebrity chef who strikes fear in most contestants.)
The number one thing on Karabin's bucket list? "Being selected for MasterChef," she said.
Her daughters, ages 19 and 21, asked her why she kept trying. "I told them, 'No dream is too big.' I wanted to be an inspiration to my daughters and the students I teach."
"I'm very competitive, and that's why I keep plugging along," she said.
On "MasterChef," Karabin is the only home chef representing Virginia. "Here's the twist," she noted. "We can't guarantee when or if we'll even be on the show. Nobody knows."
FOX is not revealing the identity of the contestants until after the June 14 episode when all the white aprons have been handed out, according to Parade Magazine.
Photo courtesy of Michele and Jim Korbin
Alexandria residents Michele and Jim Korbin have published "Food Color Spice."
Filming began in January in Los Angeles.
Born and raised in Alexandria, Karabin graduated from West Potomac High School.
She now lives in Waynewood, in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County, with her husband, Jim. The two began working on a cookbook (published in January) together during the pandemic, dedicated to their daughters, who were going off to college. Jim, owner and director of photography for Infield Productions, took the photos.
The cookbook is titled "Food Color Spice: Bringing a World of Flavors and Recipes to Your Home."
Michele got interested in cooking from her best friend, who became a chef.
"I call myself 'the triathlete of cooking,'" Michele said. She not only cooks and bakes cakes, cupcakes, pies and macarons for friends and good causes, she's also a Pit Boss ambassador. "We call ourselves Pit Masters, we use smoke and fire in our food."
One of her specialties is Korean short rib barbecue with bao buns. And she gets creative with desserts, recently making a smoked rhubarb and strawberry pie, dying the dough with natural beet powder.
Photo by Jim Korbin
Smoked pork belly on bao buns, created by Michele Korbin.
She notes that she is a somewhat finicky diner when it comes to eating out at restaurants. Her local favorite? Vermilion.
