![\"'MasterChef\u2019](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/MC6_Gal-Claudia-GG_3-00114_f_hires2web.jpg\")
<\/a>Sandoval, who is currently employed as a social media marketer, has big plans after winning \u201cMasterChef\u201d on the finale that aired Sept. 16. Besides her day job, she is now a highly in-demand chef for events that want to feature dishes she made on the show. She is also transitioning to working in food service full time, although she isn\u2019t sure whether to open a restaurant, start a cooking show or something she hasn\u2019t even thought up yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe show taught me anything is possible and I\u2019m really excited for what the future holds,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In the very near future, she said she will begin working on a cookbook because part of her prize for being crowned \u201cMasterChef\u201d is a publishing deal. \u201cI want to make sure [the cookbook] represents me and what I\u2019m about with Mexican cooking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She is also looking forward to another perk of winning the show \u2014 the \u201cMasterChef\u201d cruise to the Caribbean, where fans can mingle and eat dinner with the stars of the show while doing mystery box challenges and other fun culinary events.<\/p>\n
In addition to the cookbook deal and cruise, Sandoval also won $250,000, which she plans on using to buy a home for her and her daughter. \u201cMaybe we\u2019ll buy a house up the hill in La Mesa,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Sandoval grew up in National City but has lived in La Mesa since 2013. Prior to that, she went to Grossmont College before transferring to SDSU where she majored in philosophy and had aspirations of becoming a lawyer.<\/p>\n \u201cI still love the law and philosophy,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it helped me in the show as well because I was very organized and that helped lead me to my success.\u201d<\/p>\n Sandoval, like all the contestants on \u201cMasterChef,\u201d has had no real work experience in a professional kitchen. Instead, she learned all about authentic Mexican cuisine from her family.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom has always been a really good cook. I was literally with her every single day in the kitchen with her,\u201d she said, adding that her grandmother did the same thing with her mom, insisting that everything she knew about cooking would be passed down.<\/p>\n Although Sandoval grew up with her mom and credits her cooking style and know-how to her, her father was a chef for 14 years and had some advice of his own to share. \u201cRight before I left for the show, he gave me valuable tips on how a professional kitchen works.\u201d<\/p>\n The kitchen advice and cooking traditions of Sandoval\u2019s family came in handy during some of the tougher challenges she faced on the show, like the show\u2019s finale where she had to cook for 30 chefs and restaurant executives. Also, early in the show, she had to cook for thousands of people at Knott\u2019s Berry Farm. \u201cRight off the bat, even with a team of 12, it was so stressful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Even through the difficult challenges, it was Sandoval\u2019s unique, Mexican-influenced cooking that won over judges week after week on the show, including the notoriously critical Chef Gordon Ramsay. \u201cClaudia was a strong competitor from the beginning,\u201d Ramsay said in a statement released by the show. \u201cHer passion and unique dishes were what impressed us the most.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the dishes she made on the show she is very proud of is a dish called Arroz con Leche Molotes, which is a fried rice pudding ball. \u201cThe judges were really happy with that one because it is so simple. Anyone in America can make it.\u201d<\/p>\n Another memorable dish from the show was her Tomato Napolean. \u201cI dreamt that dish the night before I made it,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone always says to me, \u2018No way, really?\u2019 But I really did dream it.\u201d<\/p>\n Being a winner of \u201cMasterChef\u201d \u2014 and the first Latina winner in the show\u2019s history \u2014 has brought Sandoval a lot of attention, especially at home in La Mesa, but she says she is comfortable with it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always me and my munchkin out in La Mesa and it\u2019s nice to have people recognize you,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll be at Vons and people will recognize me and take a picture and I\u2019m like, \u2018Come over here, I\u2019ll take a picture with you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Sandoval insists she is not a celebrity. \u201cI\u2019m just Claudia,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
(Photo by Greg Gayne, FOX Broadcasting)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n