For all diehard fans of MasterChef Australia, we have good news for you. Johor-born Diana Chan took home the title of MasterChef Australia 2017 in a nail-biting finale last Monday night, defeating her fellow contestant Ben Ungermann by just one point.
The finale, which spanned over six hours, consisted of three demanding rounds of cooking challenges – a Mystery Box challenge, a freestyle challenge, and culminated with an epic pressure test set by renowned chocolatier Kristen Tibballs. As the winner, Chan walks away with a trophy, AUD250, 000 and a regular column in the food magazine, Delicious.
Chan is the second Malaysian-born participant to with the cooking show after Penang-born Adam Liaw who won the second season of MasterChef Australia in 2010.
The Melbourne-based lass has been a strong contender throughout the season in which she has managed to impress the judges not only with her creative and flavourful dishes, but also with her ability to remain calm in the toughest situation.
When asked on her how she developed an interest in cooking, Chan fully credits her parents as they often cooked traditional Peranakan or Cantonese-inspired meals at home and even experimented with other cuisines. Many of the dishes that she whipped up in the MasterChef kitchen were also inspired by her Malaysian roots, such as her Red Emperor Fish on Spicy Fragrant Sambal, which was based on a dish her mother used to cook.
As the youngest of three children, Chan grew up in Johor Bharu and moved to Kuala Lumpur at 17 to complete her Cambridge A levels, before heading to Melbourne to study Commerce at Deakin University two years later. Currently, she works as a senior analyst at Deloitte, a role she’s been in for nearly five years.
Chan loves how food brings people together, and sees this as a big part of what she wants to do for the rest of her life. Following her MasterChef victory, she hopes to use the prize money to open a restaurant that serves wholesome meals which embrace Malaysian flavours.
Congratulations Diana and we wish you all the best in your culinary journey!
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Who doesn’t like malaysian food ?? Congratulations
Woot, woot!!!!