Dancer from McMurray gives ‘MasterChef’ a shot
There aren’t many people who would do well on both of Fox’s signature reality shows, but Caitlin Jones is a chef who definitely knows she can dance.
Ms. Jones, who just turned 25, will be one of 40 “MasterChef” contestants when the program returns Tuesday at 8 p.m.
McMurray native Ms. Jones, who has a degree in business administration from Carnegie Mellon University, is a freelance hip-hop dancer in New York City. She has won roles in commercials including Comedy Central, American Eagle and L’Oreal, has danced at NBA games and is working toward her dream of becoming a Radio City Music Hall Rockette.
But it is her love of cooking that might land her a primetime-spot on television.
“I was looking for dance auditions and came across a casting notice for ‘home cooks with personality.’ I had been running a food blog (paleostateofmindblog.com) for a year and a half at that point, and my roommates were like, ‘This is perfect for you.’”
She said she attended an audition to see how far she could go. “MasterChef” chooses 40 cooks from all different walks of life, and they compete in the first episode to win one of 20 spots, as well as a white apron.
One other contestant has Pittsburgh ties: Nurse Heather Dombrosky of Brooklyn. Her father, Robert Dombrosky, grew up in Scott, and a number of relatives still live in the area.
In Los Angeles to shoot Tuesday’s program, Ms. Jones said she approached the challenge as she would a dance audition. Her confidence was hard-won; at age 14 or so she developed an eating disorder and taught herself to consider food as art, not something just to be measured in calories.
“Being a young woman, and being a dancer ... it wasn’t great,” she said. “I think cooking was a huge part of my healing process. Once I started to think about food in a much more positive way, to think I didn’t need to restrict what I’m eating ... [and] that foods are healthful and delicious.”
She said the experience, while difficult, helped her maintain a healthy attitude when she arrived in New York.
“There are always directors who will tell you to look a certain way or lose weight or say, ‘We want this,’ and having become stronger because of that experience has helped me a lot in finding out who I am.”
Besides dance, Ms. Jones works as a fitness instructor. Her recipes take into consideration an active lifestyle: “I’m a firm believer that eating well for performance, whether it be dance performance or fitness performance or general lifestyle, ‘healthy’ doesn’t have to be a plain salad or a green smoothie that doesn’t taste great.”
She said someday she hopes to return to Pittsburgh and open her own dance studio.
Although her blog has “paleo” in the title, she said, she doesn’t believe in strict adherence to any one type of diet. Rather, she embraces the “paleo framework that’s so packed with nutrients.”
So how does a supremely fit,health-conscious cook fit in among the others on “MasterChef”? Ms. Jones is sworn to secrecy, of course, butdid note, “One of my favorite parts was all the different personalities. Everyone had such different perspectives, notjust on food, but on life.
“I have such respect for everyone in the Top 40, white apron or not.”
‘Alone’
Season four of History’s “Alone” finds the survivalists not quite lonely.
Seven teams of two family members will be dropped into desolate areas of Vancouver Island, although not together. The first challenge will require the teams to reunite, and then they must try to outlast the others, using a variety of tools such as a flint for fire or a tarp.
As always, there are no camera crews, just remote control cameras and those the contestants carry with them. At stake is $500,000. The participants’ names haven’t yet been announced.