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Daniela Savone auditioned for "MasterChef" in October. After making the top 80 cut, she resigned from her North Rockland teaching position of 15 years to pursue her cooking dreams in California.
Savone, a Mamaroneck High graduate is a "temporary leave replacement" at MHS.
Savone taught Italian cooking through the adult continuing education program at North Rockland High School. She broke into MasterChef's top 40, burning thousands of home cooks across the nation to get cast on the TV show.
For more than four decades, Savone's father has operated Italian Food Center deli on Route 9W in West Haverstraw, where Mamaroneck's "MasterChef" worked weekends her entire life.
Season 9 of "MasterChef" airs 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday, June 6. Let Daily Voice know if you're hosting a local "SavorSavone" party.
Acclaimed judges and restauranteurs will choose their favorite home cooks and mentor them throughout the competition.
Savone will compete for the coveted white apron with the "Italian Group." By season's end, only one home cook can claim the "MasterChef" title and $250,000 grand prize.
Savone told Daily Voice that she gave "everything up to go out to L.A. to pursue "MasterChef" because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity very few ever get."
She said she is still chasing that culinary dream and not losing sight of what she's so passionately wanted for so long. Savone said she promised "her beloved Nonna when she passed away three years ago (that she would) open a restaurant in her name and publish their cookbook in her honor"
Savone already has written two cookbooks, selling them to raise money for a scholarship fund.
Savone said she hasn't found a full-time teaching job yet but remains "positive, hopeful, determined and hungry."
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