by Todd Betzold

 

Monti Carlo had the story that made everyone root for her: single mom, unemployed, struggling to make ends meet. Sounds like something we hear all too much in this country, but Monti went against all odds and made it to the Top 5 on MasterChef this season, which even impressed the judges. Despite not winning it all, Monti came out a better person because of this experience, which all started with a little help from RealityWanted.com. Today, we got an exclusive interview with Monti as she talked about how RealityWanted helped her get on MasterChef, her son, her experiences on MasterChef and much more.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: What made you want to try out for MasterChef?
A. Monti: I was a totally broke, stay-at-home Mom, unemployed and I never left my little 300 square foot apartment in L.A. A good friend of mine was like, you need to get out of the house. I'll watch your kid for you. I got an email from RealityWanted.com (which she is a subscriber to) and was like hey, there is an audition in L.A., just down the street from where I live. I thought this will be fun. Make an apple pie and hang out for a couple hours and see what happens.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: Chef Ramsay said the tuna was out of your league. How do you feel about that statement?
A. Monti: He was right. I've never worked with tuna before and I certainly have never made sashimi before. I was having really huge difficulties slicing it thin and I didn't know to put the tuna in the freezer for a little bit before trying to slice it, because that way it makes it a little bit more solid, thicker and you can get that nice thin cut on it.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: What were you thinking when it was you and Josh in the bottom two?
A. Monti: I knew as soon as we put our hands up in the air and our time was up I was a goner, I knew it. My dish was just not up-to-par. It was something I wouldn't serve a good friend, much less a president. I know that Josh and Becky both struggled, but they both looked 100% better than mine did. Mine was just a mess.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: What was it like working with all the time constraints of the challenges and food ingredients given to you?
A. Monti: Those challenges were really awesome. It is incredible what you can come up with when you're pushed and it really helped me grow as a person and helped me become a better parent even, as crazy as that sounds. I'm not scared of crazy challenges anymore, like I used to be, it's like we can make this work, we can make this happen.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: What was your favorite challenge or Pressure Test you took part of this season?
A. Monti: I think my favorite challenge was when Ryan tried to get me kicked off the show by giving me canned crab and I made the Crab Scotch Egg, which was awesome because it made Gordon Ramsay giggle and that, to this day, is one of my favorite memories of the show. I don't think the cameras showed it as much as what happened in real life and it was hilarious. I was really scared I might get eliminated on it because I'm coming up with a soft-boiled egg covered in canned crab. He started giggling and it was an amazing moment in my life.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: What's the biggest thing you are going to take away from this whole MasterChef experience?
A. Monti: That I can do anything that I put my mind to. I was really in a bad place, emotionally and mentally, when I entered the MasterChef Kitchen. Like I said, I had been unemployed for two years, I was living on a very tight budget, my best friend had been murdered in cold-blood just a few months before and I was fresh from a divorce, so I was really just a heartbroken person. Being in that kitchen and being forced to move on with my life and being challenged and have these amazing men believe in me just made me whole again. It made me a better person. It made me a better parent. I'm so thankful for the experience. It's like I became a whole new person, it was a complete re-birth.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: Was the experience worth leaving your son?
A. Monti: It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. My son and I have a really gross relationship. We're disgustingly attached. We spend every waking moment together. Until that point, we had never been apart for even an hour, so that is definitely the most difficult thing that I have done was leaving him behind. It was a challenge that I feel was necessary. It was necessary for me to discover who I was. I was 100% Mom, 24 hours a day and I was ignoring every other aspect of my life and going into the MasterChef Kitchen forced me to remember who I was, to rediscover my passion for life and not just being a mother and to rediscover what I loved to do again.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: With only four homecooks left, are you personally rooting for anyone to win this season?
A. Monti: I just want Christine to win so much. Can I just keep it real. There were times when I knew I should have been busy cooking, but I was watching her cook (laughs) because she is amazing. Jaw-dropping to think what that woman can do. I cooked with her in a Michelin-star restaurant and she was so fierce! It was crazy. I know that she is blind and in a real kitchen she wouldn't be able to do anything without an assistant, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I've heard it all before. I think that woman can do anything she puts her mind to, so definitely I'm Team Christine.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: I think throughout this whole season, you two are the ones that have made me cry the most, not gonna lie.
A. Monti: Thank you so much, that's so sweet. Thank you, thank you, thank you. That, I think, is my favorite part of this whole experience is connecting with people that I've never met before and realizing that there are so many of us that are in tough situations. It's nice that we can find common ground.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: Has being on MasterChef inspired you to pursue a career in cooking?
A. Monti: Yeah, I'm such an incredibly different person and it was only two months, but it totally changed everything for me. I really want to put together and I am working on a cookbook right now for parents that are on a budget. I know Becky doesn't think there is a marketplace for that, but I feel that there is. I've had so many people reach out to me that are also on a budget, that have gone through some serious tough times, that are unemployed and would love to know how to make something new and better out of one pound of $1 potatoes, so that's something I'm working on. I'm also working on a video series called Lunch Lady, where I show parents who are on a budget and who are also time crunched, just like me, how to put together a really great lunch for their kids that can also double-up as a lunch that they can take to work because it is sophisticated enough for them to take to work as well.

MasterChef airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on FOX.

 

(Image courtesy of FOX)

 

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