Eric Chong

Eric Chong
Born	(1991-12-27) December 27, 1991 (age 33)
Nationality	Canadian Chinese
Alma mater	McMaster University
Occupations	Engineer (former) Cook Restaurateur
Known for	Masterchef Canada

Eric Chong (born December 27, 1991) is a Canadian chef, former engineer, and a restaurateur who was winner of the first season of MasterChef Canada , winning at age 21.

Career

He obtained a degree in chemical engineering from McMaster University and started working in the field, but quit when he heard the casting call for MasterChef Canada. ^[1] After winning the competition, he received an offer from Alvin Leung, one of the judges, to train with him and open a restaurant together. ^[2] Leung noted similarities between himself and Chong, such as their background in engineering and their families' initial disapproval of their choice of trade. They opened R&D in Toronto in 2015, ^[3] serving Asian fusion dishes such as lobster chow mein, inspired by his winning dish in the final round of MasterChef Canada. ^[4] Chong later made a cameo on MasterChef Canada season 3, where the two teams took over R&D's kitchen serving various alumni of the show and were judged on their performance. ^[5]

References

1. Wrobel, Maggie (27 May 2014). "It ain't easy being MasterChef Canada: How Eric Chong went from cooking homemade soufflés to being a $100,000 winner". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
2. Van Paassen, Kevin (10 April 2015). "From MasterChef to Toronto restaurant owner: How Eric Chong's career went from 0 to 100". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
3. Wong, Tony (18 November 2014). "MasterChef Canada's Alvin Leung and Eric Chong open restaurant". The Star. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
4. "Consider the Lobster Chow Mein Tonight". Vice. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
5. "Demon at the Pass". MasterChef Canada. Season 3. Episode 11. 8 May 2016.