When I cook I forget I’m blind. Even mum trusts me with a knife
TV Amar’s a MasterChef sensation
disabilities. And earlier this year, he appeared with stars such as Dom Joly and Adrian Chiles in Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul on BBC Two.
His was first approached to do Celebrity MasterChef last year and rejected it –but later changed his mind.
“I wasn’t much of a cook,” Amar said. “I’d use the microwave a lot. I didn’t chop up things or make sauces.
“But I believe if you have the right mindset, you can achieve something that may have seemed impossible.”
So how did coming face to face with John Torode and Gregg Wallace feel? “It was terrifying,” he said. “Walking up with your plate in the right direction. They can be pretty serious.
“When they’re tasting, they don’t speak. It’s hard to know what’s happening.
“So I imagine this longmarried couple having a romantic meal in a restaurant who have nothing to say to each other.”
Amar thinks his heightened sense of taste, touch and smell has given him an advantage on the show.
He said: “Getting through to the semifinals is incredible. My highlight was cooking for 120 people in the canteen. I asked people what they wanted. They didn’t know I was blind and for a moment, I forgot I was. That was quite a special moment for me.”
“Lots of people losing their sight or blind have got in touch. They have said I’ve inspired them to give cooking a go.
“That is so incredible as it’s changing lives.”
So what’s next for Amar in his career? Could a cookbook be on the cards?
“Who knows?” he said. “I want to show people anything is possible.”
AMAR ON BEING SHOW’S FIRST BLIND CONTESTANT
■■Catch Amar in the MasterChef semifinals from Wednesday on BBC One.