Diana Chan

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Diana Chan
Diana Chan, 2023.png
Chan in 2023
Born1987–1988
NationalityAustralian
Alma mater Deakin University
Occupation(s)Celebrity cook, television personality
AwardsWinner of MasterChef Australia 2017
Website dianachan.co

Diana Chan (born 1987 or 1988) is a Malaysian-born Australian cook. In 2017, she won MasterChef Australia series 9, defeating the runner-up Ben Ungermann by one point in the final. After her win, she left her job in accounting to work with food, including as a brand ambassador, a cooking show host and a cookbook author.

Contents

Early life

Chan was born in 1987 or 1988 [1] in Setiawan in the state of Perak, Malaysia as the youngest of three children. The family soon moved from their guava farm home to Johor Bahru, where she attended Convent Johor Bahru. Chan learned to cook by watching her parents prepare Peranakan and Cantonese food. [2] [3] At age 17, Chan moved to Kuala Lumpur to complete her Cambridge A levels. Upon matriculating a year later, she moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Deakin University in 2010. [2] [4]

Career

After qualifying as a chartered accountant, Chan worked for Deloitte as a senior analyst. [5]

MasterChef Australia

Chan competed in the ninth series of MasterChef Australia, which filmed from November 2016 to late May 2017. [6] [7] She approached the competition calmy and methodically, performing well in mystery box challenges to the point of winning one, and was praised for her innovation. Chan captained her team to win the first team challenge of the year. [8]

On 24 July 2017, the finale aired. Chan won, beating runner-up Ben Ungermann by one point. Her prize was $250,000 and a column in delicious. magazine; she said she intended to use the money to open a casual, Malaysian-influenced restaurant. [6] The pressure of competing in the final left her sick for a week. [9] To get time off work to compete, Chan had taken unpaid leave; by the time she won, she had run her savings down and had to return to work immediately. She kept working as an accountant for the next few months until the results were announced. [7]

After Masterchef

Chan has spent her time since Masterchef working with brands in Australia and Asia, including Kewood and St. Regis Hotels. She designed the in-flight menu for Malaysia Airlines, acting as their ambassador. [2] [10] She has also worked on tourism across Asia. A collaboration with the dumpling brand Golden Wok on a frozen dumpling product line has been very successful: sold in supermarkets through Australia, A$ 10,000,000 sales were generated in 2020, making it the best selling product in its category in the country. [7] As of 2023 the company was beginning to sell the dumplings in Asia. [11]

For eight months in 2018, Chan ran Chanteen, a pop-up restaurant in Melbourne. [10] [12] In 2024, she released The Golden Wok, a cookbook covering wok-cooked Malaysian dishes. [13]

A tv show hosted by Chan, Asia Unplated with Diana Chan, was released on SBS on 19 December 2019. [14] The show saw her cooking with friends, including fellow Masterchef contestant Khanh Ong, and was commissioned among several food shows on SBS. Production was the outcome of six months of Chan petitioning for funding and organizing. [15] The show was renewed for a second season, which was released in 2021. This contained ten episodes, filmed in Melbourne under strict movement restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guests included a returning Ong, and other former Masterchef contestants Sarah Todd and Karlie Verkerk. [10]

References

  1. "Diana Chan's homecoming celebration". The Sun . 2 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025. Chan, 29,
  2. 1 2 3 Fung, Amanda (18 July 2022). "A Taste of Home: MasterChef Australia Champion Diana Chan Shares Her Favourite Eateries in Malaysia". Tatler Asia . Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  3. "MasterChef Australia contestants with Malaysian connections - Star2.com". star2.com. 19 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  4. "Diana Chan's tasty no-fuss favourites". nst.com.my. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  5. Vickery, Colin (23 July 2017). "Diana Chan is confident that she has the talent to win the MasterChef Australia Grand Final". news.com.au. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 Carmody, Broede (24 July 2017). "MasterChef Australia 2017: Diana Chan wins by one point in surprise nail-biter". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 Guertin, Lachlan (14 July 2023). "MasterChef's Diana Chan admits she was 'broke' when she won the show". Yahoo Lifestyle . Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  8. "MasterChef reaches top 10 for 2017". tvtonight.com.au. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  9. Dunk, Tiffany (24 July 2017). "Diana Chan wins MasterChef Australia 2017". TV Week . Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2025 via Now To Love.
  10. 1 2 3 "Diana Chan serves up more home-style Asian dishes in second season of TV show Asia Unplated". The West Australian . 24 January 2021. Archived from the original on 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  11. Rocca, Jane (22 May 2023). "'It's a little known secret': Diana Chan on her food and drink favourites from Melbourne to Malaysia". The Age . Archived from the original on 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  12. Webster, Anna (9 February 2018). "Melbourne hawker market HWKR opens with pop-ups from MasterChef stars Diana Chan and Reynold Poernomo". The Age . Archived from the original on 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  13. "Recipe: Diana Chan's Assam Pedas Gives Full-Throttle Flavour". Broadsheet . 27 November 2024. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  14. "TRAILER | Diana Chan joins SBS's foodie fam with her debut TV series". Australian Television News - TV Blackbox. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  15. Rigden, Clare (11 December 2019). "Armchair gluttons: our insatiable appetite for food and travel shows". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.