Khanh Ong is an Australian cook, television personality, author and restaurateur. He was as a contestant in the tenth season of MasterChef Australia, and later appeared on the twelfth season, MasterChef: Back to Win.[1]

Khanh Ong
NationalityAustralian
EducationHaileybury
Occupations
  • Cook
  • television personality
  • author
  • restaurateur
Years active2018–present
Employers
TelevisionMasterChef Australia
Australian Survivor
Khanh Ong's Wild Food
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Australia
Websitekhanhong.com

Early life and education

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Ong was born in an Indonesian refugee camp to Vietnamese parents, where he spent the first couple of years of his life. He arrived in Australia in the early 1990s and his family settled in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. His parents owned a butcher shop, which started his love for food. He later attended Haileybury in high school and found a love for making clothes.[2] When Ong was fifteen, his father died from liver cancer.[3] He eventually started a certificate in pattern making, garment construction and fashion business from the Melbourne School of Fashion.[4]

Career

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In 2018, Ong appeared as a contestant on the tenth season of Network 10's food cooking competition series MasterChef Australia, and placed third in the competition.[5]

In April 2020, he returned to MasterChef for the show's twelfth season titled MasterChef Australia: Back to Win, which featured all returning high achieving contestants, battling it out for the $250 000 prize.[6] Ong overall placed ninth out of twenty -four returning chefs.[7]

In July 2020, Ong released a cookbook titled A Gay's Guide to Life, Love and Food. The book features his favourite recipes as well as dating advice, anecdotes and life hacks.[8][9]

In 2022, Ong appeared as a contestant on the ninth season of Network 10's Australian Survivor. The season featured everyone going competing with a loved one, and he competed with his sister Amy.[10] He was praised by fans and fellow competitors for his impressive strategic gameplay, and was nicknamed "King Khanh". However, he was eliminated eleventh and became the first member of the jury on day twenty seven.[11] In early 2023, he co-hosted the fourth season of the 10Play exclusive Survivor aftershow, Australian Survivor: Talking Tribal, alongside Brooke Jowett and Shannon Guss.[12]

In April 2023, it was announced that Ong had landed a hosting position of his very own cooking and food show on SBS Food, which was titled Khanh Ong's Wild Food. The show features him travelling around Australia and trying and cooking with different local produce.[13]

In March 2024, Ong appeared as a contestant on the tenth season of Network 10's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Australia.[14]

Personal life

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Ong has been openly gay since he came out to his mother at the age of 19.[15] He attended Haileybury College and currently resides in Melbourne, Victoria.[16]


References

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  1. ^ "Khanh Ong | MasterChef". 10Play. Ten Network Holdings. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  2. ^ Denny, Hayley (31 July 2018). "Khanh Ong (OH 2009) - our MasterChef extraordinaire!". Old Haileyburians Association. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  3. ^ Machado, Karina; Miller, Erin (25 July 2018). "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MasterChef Australia's Khanh Ong". Who. Bauer Media Australia and New Zealand. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  4. ^ Fitzsimons, Billi (25 May 2020). ""No one grows up choosing to be an outcast." Everything we know about MasterChef's Khanh". Mamamia. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  5. ^ Burke, Tina (30 July 2018). "Khanh Ong on being eliminated from MasterChef in the semi-final". Now To Love. Bauer Media Australia and New Zealand. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Back To Win: Khanh". 10Play. Ten Network Holdings. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  7. ^ Hirst, Jordan (15 June 2020). "MasterChef fans are devastated after Khanh Ong eliminated". QNews. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  8. ^ Hirst, Jordan (28 July 2020). "MasterChef favourite Khanh Ong has released his first cookbook". QNews. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  9. ^ Parsons, Jacinta (27 July 2020). "A gay guy's guide to life, love and food". ABC listen. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  10. ^ Christie, Erin; Field, Melissa (3 February 2022). "How MasterChef's Khanh Ong plans to win Australian Survivor". Who. Are Media. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  11. ^ Christie, Erin (28 February 2022). "Why Khanh Ong was a fan of his own Australian Survivor blindside". Who. Are Media. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Khanh And Brooke To Host The New Season Of Australian Survivor: Talking Tribal". 10Play. Ten Network Holdings. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Much loved TV personality, Khanh Ong, brings his passion for fusion cooking to SBS Food with a brand-new series". Special Broadcasting Service. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  14. ^ "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here 2024: Meet The Celebrities". 10Play. Ten Network Holdings. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  15. ^ Rocca, Jane (29 April 2023). "Chef Khanh Ong: 'Monogamy seems unnatural to me'". Sunday Life. The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  16. ^ Brygel, Jackie (9 March 2023). "Inside chef Khanh Ong's sky-high Melbourne apartment". Domain.com.au. Domain Group. Retrieved 27 March 2024.