‘MasterChef’ bringing culinary talent search to Dallas

For all we know, the next superstar celebrity chef could be living in complete anonymity in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a culinary wizard with skills appreciated by only a few.

MasterChef is offering this talented home cook the chance to step into the spotlight.

It’s going to happen for someone somewhere in America. Why not this weekend in North Texas?

Open casting calls for an upcoming season of MasterChef, Gordon Ramsay’s popular kitchen-competition series, will be held Saturday at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel.

Take it from Claudia Sandoval, MasterChef’s reigning champion: It’s worth the try.

“It’s one of the best things that ever happened to me in my life,” she says of winning the $250,000 grand prize and the accompanying cookbook deal. “Everything changed. It’s been incredible. It’s been wonderful.”

For starters, the prize money allowed Sandoval and her daughter to move out of a one-bedroom apartment into a three-bedroom home.

“I’ve also gotten an opportunity to cook in Michelin-starred restaurants and to work with some of my favorite chefs,” she says. “This past weekend, I was at the Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival meeting fans.”

As for the cookbook, Claudia’s Cocina, a collection of 65 Mexican recipes, it will be published May 10. Also, in November, she’ll be among the fan favorites setting sail on the MasterChef Cruise to the Caribbean.

“If I had never auditioned, I never would have gone down this path,” Sandoval says. “It’s like somebody is knocking at the door, but you still have to open the door in order for good things to happen. You have to put yourself out there and be willing to say, ‘What if?’ ”

Ron Mare, one of the casting producers, says he knows of many more success stories.

“Even people who don’t win often move on to bigger things because of the show,” he says. “It happens all the time.”

Season 7 of MasterChef on Fox is scheduled to begin airing in June. The current casting search is for Season 8 contestants.

Dallas is one of 11 cities that the show is visiting this spring.

“We’re very excited to come back to Dallas,” Mare says. “It’s a city that never disappoints. We come to Texas every year because it’s a state that always delivers. We get a little bit of everything: great personalities, great stories, great cooking, great people.”

If you’re planning to give it a try, Mare and Sandoval have a few tips that might help you stand out.

“I always say that something we look for and respond to is, yes, you need to be an outstanding cook, but we love to see people who are very passionate about cooking,” Mare says. “I always tell people: Put your passion on your plate.

“Show us who you are. Put it all out there. Don’t leave wishing you had said this or done that. You will stand out if you show us how passionate you are about food and cooking.”

More specifically, Mare recommends that aspiring MasterChef cooks know how to bake.

“Not every cook knows how to bake,” he says. “But if you do know how to cook and bake, it’s like a secret weapon. Baking often comes into play on MasterChef, even though cooking is the main part of it.

“And now we have Christina Tosi as one of our judges and she’s an incredible baker, so that definitely will play a big part of it.”

Sandoval, meanwhile, recommends that the wannabe chefs stick to what they do best during the casting process.

“Cook something that you literally can make with their eyes closed,” she says. “Stick with your tried-and-true, but find a way to elevate it and make it MasterChef-worthy. And make it with love. If you cook it with love, the judges who taste the food will be able to tell.”

Sandoval’s final pointer might seem obvious, but many people ignore it at their own peril.

“My biggest piece of advice for anyone thinking about going on MasterChef is to be themselves 100 percent through and through,” she says. “I learned while being on the show that there’s absolutely no possible way to go through this competition trying to be someone you’re not.

“Your innate nature comes out when you’re on camera and put in pressure-filled situations. What the producers want to see, what everyone wants to see, is who you truly are.”

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 12:20 PM with the headline "‘MasterChef’ bringing culinary talent search to Dallas."