Buddha Lo facts for kids

Kah-wai Lo (born August 21, 1991), known as Buddha Lo, is an Australian chef. He is also a television star. He is famous for winning the TV show Top Chef two times in a row. He was the first person ever to do this!

Early Life and First Steps in Cooking

Buddha Lo was born in Australia. His dad was from Hong Kong and his mom was from Malaysia. He grew up in Port Douglas with his older brother. His family owned a Chinese restaurant there called the Jade Inn.

When he was a kid, he ate a lot of his dad's delicious food. Because of this, he got the nickname "Buddha". He started helping out at the family restaurant when he was just 12 years old. By age 14, he began learning to cook professionally. He worked at a fancy five-star hotel on his weekends.

Buddha Lo's Culinary Journey

After finishing high school, Lo moved to Melbourne when he was 17. He got a job at Matteo's Restaurant. He also went to a cooking school called the William Angliss Institute. While studying, he won a special scholarship. This allowed him to train for two months in France. He worked at a famous restaurant called Café Lavinal.

When he came back to Australia, a chef named Raymond Capaldi hired him. Buddha worked at Capaldi's restaurant, Hare & Grace. He became the head chef there by the time he was 19! After two years, Lo moved to London. He worked for famous chefs like Clare Smyth and Matt Abé at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. In 2014, he even won an award from Gordon Ramsay.

After two years in London, he traveled around Europe. He trained in kitchens in France, Sweden, and Copenhagen. Then he moved back to Melbourne. Buddha was a guest chef at big events like the Melbourne Cup and the Australian Open. He also became an ambassador for brands like Lavazza coffee and Tabasco.

Later, Lo moved to New York City. He worked at a well-known restaurant called Eleven Madison Park for a year. In 2019, he became the main chef at HŪSO. This was a small restaurant on Madison Avenue that focused on caviar. Caviar is a fancy food made from fish eggs.

Winning Top Chef

In 2022, Buddha Lo joined the TV show Top Chef. This was the nineteenth season, called Top Chef: Houston. Buddha had watched Top Chef since he was 15. It was always a dream of his to be on the show. Before filming, he watched eight seasons of the show. He took notes on what other chefs did wrong. He made a plan for how he would win.

He ended up winning the season! He received a prize of US$250,000. Buddha dedicated his win to his dad, Tony Lo. His dad had passed away from cancer just two days before Buddha got the call to be on the show.

After his big win, he was asked to come back for the twentieth season. This season was called Top Chef: World All-Stars. It featured past winners and finalists from Top Chef shows around the world. Buddha spent three months studying British cuisine before this new season. He wanted to be ready for anything! He won again, getting another US$250,000 prize. This made him the first person to win Top Chef twice!

Family Life

Buddha Lo is married to Rebekah Pedler, who is also a pastry chef. They met while working together at Hare & Grace. In June 2023, Rebekah announced they were expecting twins. Their daughters, Tatiana and Alina, were born in October 2023.