MasterChef season six winner Claudia Sandoval has a message for women, “take a chance!” She knows full well how doing so can change your life. Last year she debated applying to the FOX Network competitive cooking reality show. Had she not taken that leap, she would not be working on her first cookbook, nor would she be a quarter of a million dollars richer today.
It was no easy task, however. She had to battle some of the top competitors the show has ever seen as well as her own self-doubt. “I was up against the best of the best,” Claudia said at the Los Angeles Cover FX event held last week. “Up until that point, Nick, Katrina, Stephen, and Derrick were all deserving people. They are all so incredibly talented in their specific fields that really any of them could have won.
It had been a male-dominated season. So I second-guessed myself. Up until they announced my name, I kept thinking that Derrick could take it.”
At the Cover FX event, Claudia—in her trademark red lips and fiery red hair— was able to bring together two worlds that are extremely familiar to her: cooking and beauty. “I used to do makeup on the side. When I was invited to host this event for the brand, I was really excited. They are very in line with the kind of cooking that I like to do: organic and additive free. It was really easy working with them and it gave me the opportunity to share my craft.”
Claudia hopes to continue inspiring women through a possible cooking or lifestyle show in the near future. No matter what the platform, she expressed the importance of being an active member of your community. “I want to continue to show that women can and should be a good part of society that gives back. I’ve always been a fan of non-profit organizations. I’m a member of Mana, where they pair mentors with younger at-risk Latinas. Things like that that give back to the community and inspire change are so important to me.”
Many lessons were learned throughout her MasterChef journey and Claudia admits she wants to inspire others to follow their dreams as well. “I learned a lot about myself and that’s what I hope to continue to pay forward,” Claudia explained. “So many of us hold ourselves back because we’re scared. We hold ourselves back because we’re afraid to take it to the next level. We’re afraid about how we will pay our bills or who will take care of our kids or our family. We have to step out of our comfort zones and really take that opportunity to just reach for the stars. I have tried things and failed but the beauty of it all is you can try again.”
