MasterChef judge Mehmet Yalçınkaya tells the story of his left hand for the first time

Chef Mehmet Yalçınkaya shared the story of his left hand for the first time in the latest episode of the new season of MasterChef Turkey. Yalçınkaya stated that, contrary to popular belief, he did not lose his three fingers in a meat grinder, but rather at a very young age.

A contestant could not hold back tears as they explained that they felt cursed due to a limb they lost in a tractor propeller, and that they had always hidden it.

Following the contestant's words, Yalçınkaya recounted the accident he had experienced. Chef Mehmet used the following expressions:

"I experienced it when I was 5 years old. Our stories are actually similar. I lost 3 of my fingers while playing with two friends. I understand you. It is not easy. When you go to a job interview, you hide it because you feel like they won't hire you. Later, after you start the job, they send other people to see if you can actually do this work.''

''One of our very close relatives thought that I wouldn't be able to get married, that no one would give their daughter to me. When I went to workplaces, I went with this fear, thinking, 'might they not hire me?' But I was hired at most of the places I applied to, I built a career, and as you can see, I am a judge on MasterChef Turkey. It is not an easy path, I know. It is impossible for people not to focus on a deficiency. But you have to think that life continues in one way or another."

"I went to the military recruitment office and hid my hand. So that they would take me into the military. Later, I went into the city and saw soldiers inside a pastry shop. I told the soldiers that I had hidden my hand to go to the military. They told me to go straight to the recruitment office and tell the truth. Otherwise, if you go to the military, you might face a bigger reaction, asking why you hid it... This is not a curse, it is an accident. It is an accident I had while playing with two friends in front of the door; most people call this a meat grinder or other things. The accidents we experience in our lives also push us to hold on, to strive more. There are those who do not have an arm, a leg, or half of their body; there are those who paint with their mouths."

"In my apprenticeship story, which I started at age 11, I began in the dishwashing area. Everyone said, 'He can't be a chef. He can't hold a knife. He can't hold a plate.' Unfortunately, there are such cruelties. Peer groups of your own age do this. Later, you become ambitious, you try to do more. Let me tell you something that affected me. My two children have tattoos of my hand. There will be those who love you as you are. They had the tattoos done, and a year later they showed them to me, wondering if I would be affected."

"Somer and Danilo, one of them always cuts the meat so that I don't struggle. And they don't make it obvious. One of Turkey's biggest television channels made me a judge here without prejudice, knowing that my hand was like this. My fellow judges never talked about my hand. They didn't ask."

News Source: 12punto