Khanh Ong is a chef best known for MasterChef Australia, seasons 10 and 12. The 30-year-old opens up about his refugee parents, doing Australian Survivor with his sister, and why he’s putting his career above his love life.
“I am single now and dating, but I’m also at a stage in my life where I’m very selfish and putting a lot of energy into my food career.” Credit: James Brickwood
My mum, Dzung Chau, uprooted her life in Vietnam and spent four years in an Indonesian refugee camp with Dad [Tam]. I was born in the camp and the family migrated to Australia a couple of years later.
Mum left her parents, three sisters and three brothers behind. Over the past 30 years she’s slowly been able to get most of them to move to Australia, but it all stems from her bravery.
When Mum talks about our passage to Australia on a boat, it doesn’t seem real. She tells me what it was like to be attacked by pirates and have propellers break in shark-infested waters. It was a terrifying ordeal.
My parents opened a butcher shop when I was eight, but then Dad passed away when I was in year 10. Mum turned the business into multiple franchises and later moved into commercial real estate. She inspires me every day.
Mum’s 54 and hasn’t met anybody since Dad died. He was her one true love. She says Dad isn’t replaceable. I always insist I’ll find her a companion and she replies, “Don’t bother.”
My sister Amy is six years younger than me. It wasn’t until my late teens that I really fell in love with the idea of having a sister. When Dad died, she was only 10 years old. I saw how strong and resilient she was. As an older brother, there was a part of me that wanted to protect her. I felt I had to step into that role, but she never asked me to.
Amy has her own jewellery business now. When I asked her to do Australian Survivor with me, she initially said no. Then she said yes because unless she agreed, I couldn’t do it myself.
I passed out in one episode of Survivor and everyone on set said, “You’re fine.” Amy screamed, “He doesn’t f---ing look fine.” I found this out afterwards. I love her feistiness.
My first kiss was with a girl when I was 14. It happened more from the pressure I felt from my peers. I thought I was gay but I didn’t have my first kiss with a boy until I was 18.
I told Mum I was gay when I was 19. The first thing she said was, “Do you want to go to Vietnam? We can make you famous there because LGBTIQ+ is trending hard.” I was like, “Mum, what are you talking about?” [Laughs]
My celebrity crush when I was younger was model Megan Gale. I confessed this when she and her partner took part in my podcast Feast. Now Megan’s partner, Shaun Hampson, is my celebrity crush.
My podcast partner, Sarah Davidson, applied for me to go on MasterChef and then told me. She single-handedly changed my life.
My friend Abbie Chatfield and I are really close. We don’t chat often, but we always write and have long 90-minute phone calls once a month where we complain to each other about various things. We all need that one person to bounce off.
I dated a guy for a year in 2019. We weren’t exclusive, but when we decided to make it exclusive, he ended up cheating. That made me put myself first and changed the way I look at life and relationships. I don’t think I am a monogamous person. It seems unnatural to me.
I am single now and dating, but I’m also at a stage in my life where I’m very selfish and putting a lot of energy into my food career. It’s unfair to expect someone to be there for the crazy ride.
I do want kids one day, but marriage isn’t something I care too much about. During COVID I looked into adopting. I want to give someone the best start they can have in life, and I feel I’d make a great dad.
Khanh Ong’s Wild Food premieres April 30 on SBS Food.
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2023-04-29 19:00:00Z
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