Sister, who claims "divine help", advances to the final of MasterChef Brasil

A Brazilian nun who made it to the finale of a TV cooking show said she received "divine help" and prayed all the time she cooked.

"Divine help," she said, helped her notice that the shrimp she was supposed to cook were underdeveloped.

“If I had left them as they gave them to me I would not have won,” said Sister Lorayne Caroline Tinti, a member of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Resurrection. He prepared shrimp stroganoff and tiramisu for the episode of MasterChef Brasil. Tinti is now scheduled to compete in the final contest of the 2020 show, at the end of December.

“Many people have mentioned how calm I was during the episode, and I tell them it was because I was praying that Our Lord would help me get through it. This gave me confidence, ”Tinti told Catholic New Service.

Tinti said she learned to cook early, with members of her family.

“My mother, my aunt and my grandmother always cooked so I learned from them. My father was also interested in food preparation, ”he told CNS.

His cooking skills, he noted, improved while living in the order's mission house in the state of Minas Gerais.

“We had a bakery there, run by the nuns, so I learned how to make cakes and bread,” she added.

While watching her social media, Tinti came across a call for attendees at MasterChef Brasil and decided to sign up.

“I needed permission and, at first, the mother superior didn't want me much to leave the convent to go on TV, but the nuns here convinced her,” she said with a chuckle.

When asked what motivated her to enter the competition, Tinti said the show gave her the chance to talk about the social projects the sisters are doing with the elderly and children and to encourage young people to look at religious life as a option.

“After the show we called many lay people asking how they could help our projects, and some young people who wanted to know more about religious life in general,” he said.

But it wasn't just the laity who contacted Tinti after the culinary challenge: “I received phone calls congratulating me on my participation from many religious, including two bishops”.

When asked about her favorite food to prepare, Tinti was quick to answer the eggplant.

“It's so versatile, you can fry it, you can cook it, you can grill it,” he said.

Those who eat her meals, however, say she excels at pastry and dessert.

“Whenever there's a celebration, it's always 'let Sister Lorayne bake the cake,'” she said as she laughed.

Tinti says she doesn't know what the organizers will ask her to cook for the finals, but she is sure of two things: she will once again ask for divine help and pray as she cooks.