Cardozo, continued

There is life after MasterChef Canada elimination, and it’s exciting

1 of 2Danielle Cardozo is examining her career options, making the most of her MasterChef Canada experience. — Photo by Chad St. Pierre Photography

2 of 2Danielle Cardozo is examining her career options, making the most of her MasterChef Canada experience. — Photo by Chad St. Pierre Photography

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Danielle Cardozo, former MasterChef Canada (MCC) competitor, said that life is pretty busy right now. She spent the weekend of March 22 in Calgary, producing a collaborative dinner at Market Restaurant with her mentor, chef Dave Bohati, and absorbing as much knowledge as she possibly could. On March 24, when the MCC episode revealed that she had been eliminated from the competition, Cardozo was in Toronto, preparing to face the media.

Whirlwind tour

Like the other MCC contestants, Cardozo participated in a whirlwind media tour the day after her elimination episode was aired. The tour included three live TV broadcasts—Canada AM, the Marilyn Denis show and CP24 Breakfast Television—two CTV news interviews and nine other radio interviews.

“I did the Ward and Al show at the Sirius XM station,” Cardozo said, “and the other radio interviews were done in the car, between the TV spots and on the way to the airport. It was busy, but fun.

“I was nervous for the telecasts because they were done live, but I was most nervous for Marilyn Denis because I am such a big fan, and I knew that everyone at home would be watching. She’s cool, and she’s just so lovely in person—she’s a hugger.”

Cardozo was excited to meet chef Connie DeSousa of Charcut Roast House in Calgary, who competed in Top Chef Canada, and Dr. Travis Stork of The Bachelor and The Doctors fame. She enjoyed having a relaxed chat with Claudio Aprile, a judge from MCC, because all of their previous conversations had been in the context of the competition.

A family event

Back home in the East Kootenay, Cardozo teamed up with her family to produce and serve a pre-sold five-course dinner for 67 guests at her dad’s restaurant, Funky Pizza, in Sparwood on March 29.

“I have to thank chef Dave Bohati for teaching me how to produce this event,” she said. “I never could have pulled it off if I hadn’t spent the previous weekend working in his kitchen and learning so much.

“My brother, my sister, my dad and my stepmom were all working with me for the first time, and I was the boss, which was cool. It went like clockwork. I’ve never seen a bigger smile on my dad’s face in my life.”

A little bit lost

In the three months between her return from the filming of MasterChef Canada on October 19, and the airing of the first episode on January 20, Cardozo struggled with feeling disoriented after the intensity of the MCC experience. It helped when, in November, she obtained a part-time position working in the kitchen at The Heid Out Restaurant & Brew House in Cranbrook, planning with the restaurant’s owner, Heidi Romich, to feature “MasterChef Mondays” at the restaurant once the MCC series began to be shown.

Cardozo said that until about Christmas, her frequent conversations with two of the other MCC contestants—Eric and Josh—were her emotional stabilizers.

“For a while, I really questioned why I had put myself through that competition,” she said. “Then the show started airing, and I started to see its impact. I started getting lots of tweets and Facebook messages and emails from all kinds of people who said they were inspired by it, and by me. And I got it—I understood why I had done it.”

Riding the wave

Strengthened by a wave of support that grew as the series continued, Cardozo regained her sense of purpose. She has changed jobs and is now business development co-ordinator for the St. Mary’s Band—a step forward in terms of her area of interest. She is actively engaged in further training in the culinary field, seeking opportunities to make an eventual career move into that field.

“I feel like I did a really did a good job of showing Canada who I am and what I’m capable of,” she said, “and once the elimination happened I felt that I could push off and openly get started on my new career. It’s a good feeling.”

Cardozo engaged Cranbrook’s GenEx Marketing to create a website,  which was launched on March 24. www.daniellecardozo.ca will celebrate food as an art to be enjoyed by everyone, and will chronicle her experiences, insights and growing expertise in the kitchen. She has arranged to go to Tel Aviv, Israel, in mid-April, to study for two weeks under chef Alexander Lachnish.

Cardozo said that at the moment, the only stressful aspect of her life is deciding which opportunity she wants to take—and that’s a very positive thing.

“I’m exploring a number of options, but I don’t want to jinx any of them by talking about them too much,” she said. “I feel like I’m going to do more with eighth place than I would have done with the (MCC) win. I still feel like I have a lot to prove, and I’m excited about the opportunities ahead.”