Poh Ling Yeow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Poh Ling Yeow
楊寶玲
Yeow at the InStyle and Audi Woman of Style Awards, May 2013
Born	(1973-12-17) 17 December 1973 (age 51) Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Citizenship	Australian
Alma mater	University of South Australia
Occupation	Cook artist actress author television presenter
Years active	1998–present
Style	Asian fusion, Southeast Asian, French pastry, bakery (cooking) Painting (art)
Title	Runner-up, MasterChef Australia (season 1)
Spouse(s)	Jono Bennett ​ ​ (m. 2014; separated 2021)​ Matt Phipps (divorced)

Poh Ling Yeow (Chinese: 杨宝玲; pinyin: Yáng Bǎolíng; born 17 December 1973) is a talented Australian cook, artist, actress, author, and TV presenter. She was born in Malaysia and later moved to Australia. Poh is well-known for hosting cooking shows like Poh's Kitchen on ABC and Poh & Co on SBS. She has also written several cookbooks.

Poh first became famous as the runner-up on the very first season of MasterChef Australia in 2009. She has returned to MasterChef many times. She has been a guest judge, a mentor, and even a contestant again in 2020. In 2024, she became a permanent judge on the show.

Poh's Early Life

Poh Ling Yeow was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her family has Chinese roots and had lived in Malaysia for five generations. When she was nine years old, Poh moved to Australia with her parents and brother. They settled in Adelaide, South Australia.

Poh went to Seymour College and then the University of South Australia. She studied design and earned a Bachelor's degree. After university, she worked as a freelance graphic designer, illustrator, and makeup artist. She even did makeup for models for artist David Bromley. This helped her learn a lot about the art world.

Poh used a Western first name, Sharon, until she was 25. Then she decided to use her birth name, Poh Ling, to connect with her cultural heritage. In 2002, she became a full-time professional artist.

Her Artistic Journey

Poh mainly creates art using acrylic paint on canvas. Her earlier paintings had rough, textured backgrounds. Now, her art looks smoother, more detailed, and very refined.

Her Chinese heritage often appears in her artwork. She uses symbols like goldfish, which mean good luck and wealth in Chinese culture. You can also see lotus flowers, ponds, and Australian plants and animals in her paintings. Poh often includes a character she calls The Girl in her recent work. She says this character is like her "autobiographical twin." The Girl's face looks a lot like Poh's. Poh shared that she created The Girl to help her accept things she didn't like about her own physical appearance, like her broad nose and Asian eyes.

Poh has shown her art regularly at the Hill Smith Gallery since her first solo exhibition in 2002. She has also displayed her work at Libby Edwards Gallery. Her art has been featured in popular magazines like Vogue Australia and House & Garden.

In 2003, Poh donated an artwork to help raise money for breast cancer research. Her art was also used on the cover of a book called The Chinese Exotic in 2007. She was a judge for a youth art competition called Youthscape in 2008. In 2018, Poh was interviewed on the popular radio show Conversations.

Cooking and TV Shows

Poh first appeared on TV in 2005 on an ABC show called Beat the Chef. She cooked "Ying Yang Prawns" with her auntie. She returned to the show later to make "Basil Thai Fried Rice" and "Deep-Fried Dory Fillets."

In 2009, Poh was chosen as one of the top 20 contestants for the first season of MasterChef Australia. Over 7,000 people applied for the show! She was eliminated at one point but was allowed to return. Poh made it all the way to the final, where she was the runner-up.

After MasterChef, Poh signed a deal with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). This led to her own cooking show, Poh's Kitchen, and two cookbooks. Poh's Kitchen started airing in February 2010. She was even nominated for a Logie Award for Most Popular New Female Talent in 2011.

In 2011, a second season of her show, Poh's Kitchen on the Road, aired. Poh traveled across Australia, Singapore, and Thailand to film stories about food and cooking. A third season followed in 2012.

In 2015, Poh started a new series called Poh & Co. on SBS. This show featured different cooking styles and even showed the renovation of her backyard.

Poh also opened a gourmet food stall called Jamface by Poh at the Adelaide Showground Farmers' Market. In 2016, she opened a cafe with the same name at the Adelaide Central Market. The cafe closed in 2019.

In 2019, Poh returned to MasterChef Australia as a mentor for the contestants. In 2020, she came back as a contestant herself on MasterChef Australia: Back to Win and finished in 6th place.

In 2023, it was announced that Poh would host a new cooking show on SBS with fellow MasterChef contestant Adam Liaw. The show is called Adam & Poh's Great Australian Bites. They travel around Australia, cooking with local people. In October 2023, Network 10 announced that Poh would become a permanent host and judge on MasterChef Australia for its sixteenth season.

Other TV Appearances

Poh has also appeared in four films: Human Touch (2004), Peaches (2004), Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger (2008), and the short film Jackie's Spring Palace (2009). She also worked as the production designer for Jackie's Spring Palace.

Besides her cooking shows, Poh has had roles in other TV programs. These include Room 101, Can of Worms, and Reality Check. In 2013, she appeared in the ABC comedy series It's a Date.

Poh has said that she always follows what she enjoys doing, especially in creative areas.

From 2021, Poh became one of the hosts of the Australian version of Snackmasters. In 2022, she was a contestant on the eighth season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. Later that year, she appeared as a celebrity contestant on the Lego Masters Australia Christmas special.

In 2023, Poh made a special guest appearance on the TV show Thank God You're Here. She played a cooking show judge.