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  • So, you put a toe in the water... Yeah.

  • ..for art? Yes.

  • And you're not so fussed with the idea of working for corporates?

  • No. Course, there was this make-up thing that was distracting me.

  • I thought, maybe I want to be this huge make-up person,

  • and go to New York, and really try and do that. Um...

  • Your ambition about that was pretty clear, wasn't it?

  • There was a particular thing you wanted to achieve in make-up?

  • Yeah, well, I just loved it.

  • I love the artistry of it. It's like painting on a face,

  • except you're working with a three-dimensional canvas.

  • Then...

  • ..my husband at the time, Matt, said to me,

  • "I really feel like you should go back to your painting."

  • And I was quite fiery back in the day,

  • and I was quite opposed to the idea of it,

  • 'cause I had no idea how to enter the industry, and I thought,

  • the idea was just completely ludicrous.

  • How did you enter it?

  • Well, he basically made a couple of phone calls.

  • Just took a risk and cold-called a couple of galleries,

  • and the second gallery that I ended up seeing

  • was Hill Smith Gallery, who I'm still with.

  • And Sam, after many months of me begging

  • and taking him the odd cupcake or two as bribery,

  • he gave me a solo exhibition.

  • That was February, and I got an exhibition for October.

  • It was about this time too that Matt,

  • apparently, persuaded you to change your name.

  • Yes. To drop the Sharon.

  • Yes. He's a filmmaker,

  • and he made a short film that I acted in.

  • He wrote in the credits "Poh Ling".

  • The film was called Poh Ling,

  • and he said Poh Ling played by Poh Ling.

  • So, everyone that knew me from there on just assumed that was my name.

  • Sort of works. Mm.

  • A lot people actually confessed,

  • "I've always felt weird calling you Sharon." (LAUGHS)

  • It just worked instantly.

  • How was it to go through this transition

  • from being Sharon all your life to being Poh?

  • It's weird because I was actually called Poh Ling till I was nine.

  • In Malaysia.

  • Always had the name Sharon.

  • 'Cause everyone thinks I got Sharon when I came to Australia,

  • took it on, but that's not the case,

  • I always had it, 'cause in Malaysia a lot of people have English names.

  • But at home I have a nickname,

  • so I never really got addressed as anything in particular,

  • except for my nickname, which is B. B?

  • Yeah. Short for Ba-by. (BOTH LAUGH)

  • It's very basic. (LAUGHS)

  • I was about 24 when I took it on.

  • (SPEAKS IN CHINESE LANGUAGE)

  • (ALL SPEAK IN CHINESE LANGUAGE)

  • 'I began to realise that food is this thread

  • that links me to my past, and that's possibly the only thing

  • that's going to link that past into my future.

  • My Auntie Kim, or gupo, as I call her,

  • has played a very special part in my family's life.

  • She definitely links me to my culture more strongly

  • than anyone in my family

  • because she doesn't speak English.'

  • (SPEAKS IN CHINESE LANGUAGE)

  • 'So I have to speak Chinese to her.

  • In a way, I've got sort of like two mothers.

  • Her and my mum.' ..Chinese cooking.

  • 'You still crave for those flavours

  • that you associate with your childhood, and all those memories.

  • So, that's when I realised,

  • I think this needs to be an important part of my life.

  • The more you cook, the more it becomes addictive,

  • 'cause obviously, your skills expand.

  • It's a creative process,

  • so you've just got more and more of a palette to work with.'

  • BIRD CHIRPING

  • 'And all this just started to create

  • this feverish obsession with food,

  • to the point where I'd stay up really late at night,

  • and dream up menus and interesting ingredients to put together,

  • and I'd fantasise all the time,

  • about owning my own restaurant.

  • 'This is MasterChef.

  • The search for Australia's best amateur chef.'

  • Welcome to MasterChef... 'Well, MasterChef came about...

  • ..I knew nothing about it, but one of my best friends sent me a text.

  • She said, "Hey, think you've got a good chance."

  • Went to the auditions,

  • thought, what am I doing,

  • queuing outside a hotel with an esky?

  • I'm going to be one of those lunatics

  • that they show in the preview.

  • Going on the show made me realise that I'm a risk-taker,

  • and that I'm very strong-willed.'

  • I'm actually going to do a little dessert on the side,

  • 'cause it's something that I always eat with this dish.

  • LAUGHTER

  • What happens when you try too much? I know.

  • Good luck. Thank you.

  • 'I don't have a great fear of failure

  • because I've learned so much from my mistakes,

  • and I've just learned life is a series of...

  • ..inter-connected pear shapes. (LAUGHS)

  • Life is a series of inter-connected pear shapes?

  • Yes. I don't understand what you mean.

  • It's never linear, you know?

  • If you plan everything too much, you're sure to fail.

  • You have to just see where life takes you,

  • and it always goes a bit bad, and then it goes good again...

  • Oh, I see. ..and then a bit bad and then good again.

  • It's just allowing yourself to go with your instinct.

  • Sometimes it's wrong, sometimes it's right.

  • It was a trip back to Malaysia...

  • Yes. ..to see your grandfather...

  • Mm. ..which actually led you to think about food in a different way?

  • Yeah. Back then I wasn't even thinking that seriously about food,

  • but I just remember having this quite vivid thought.

  • We were all back for a family reunion,

  • and we were all sitting - and it's always kids' table, adults' table.

  • I'm still at the kids' table. (LAUGHS)

  • And my grandfather walked in, a bit morose, saying, oh, look at this.

  • All my genes getting watered down

  • in Australia, and my grandkids can't even speak to me,

  • 'cause they're all Australian.

  • Then, we all sat down and we ate lunch. It was OK. (LAUGHS)

  • I thought, wow, that's really lovely how food still connects us.

  • Is that true at home, too? Yeah.

  • Here in Australia? Yeah, definitely, definitely.

  • In fact, I think one of the reasons

  • that I began to be really interested in cooking

  • is 'cause I feel like when I left the church,

  • it really did drive a bit of a wedge between especially, my mum and I.

  • And I really saw cooking as a thing that might bring us together, again.

  • And it has. It's quite amazing.

  • It's done exactly what I thought it would do.

  • You don't mean cooking on TV - you mean cooking at home, do you?

  • Cooking at home, yeah.

  • The reason I went on TV was 'cause I really wanted that book deal,

  • and the reason why I wanted the book deal

  • is I want to record all the family recipes.

  • It's something my mum and I had talked about for years,

  • but it's just one of things you never get around to doing.

  • So, I thought, hey, if I go on this show,

  • it might sort of force me to do this.

  • If nothing, I'll do a bit of a crash course with Mum,

  • force me to learn some dishes

  • and that could be the beginning of something really great.

  • That helped sort out something for me,

  • 'cause I couldn't quite work out the connection

  • between you the emerging artist, that's throwing your energy into that,

  • and this sort of...food line.

  • It seems like, kind of a distraction? Yeah.

  • Mm, mm. I mean, I did cook a lot in the last three years.

  • It is something that I've become increasingly obsessed with.

  • I actually thought, if I had my time again,

  • I definitely would've done an apprenticeship,

  • and I thought this could be my break

  • to fast-track me into the industry somehow.

  • POH'S KITCHEN THEME MUSIC

  • 'I find it a strange irony I've always grappled with my identity,

  • and now, I have my own cooking show,

  • and I'm sort of known on a first-name basis.

  • Yeah, it's very strange.'

  • And...action!

  • Bonjour, Emmanuel. Bonjour.

  • Welcome back to the kitchen.

  • 'Having all the attention on me is a interesting thing,

  • because obviously, there is ego involved,

  • and I'm always very aware of that.

  • But, yeah, you don't ever want to take it for granted,

  • 'cause then you'd actually think you were a star. (LAUGHS)

  • I hate that whole notion of celebrity. I hate it.'

  • It's... Frinese. French with a bit of Chinese. (LAUGHS)

  • I like that vision - Frinese. Yeah, Frinese.

  • 'The whole set is actually peppered with my own belongings,

  • 'cause I'm like a bower bird or dung beetle.

  • I just collect things too much,

  • and it's actually much bigger than my own flat - my real flat.

  • It's hilarious because the first time Zed went on set,

  • he cried to go into the garden,

  • and he took a whiz on a pot plant that's not really outside.

  • He's got a tiny brain...like me. (LAUGHS)'

  • Come on, darling.

  • What are you actually knitting, B? A scarf.

  • 'Private time is miniscule.

  • It does get hard but I guess it's the price you pay when you're on TV,

  • and for that reason, sometimes I wonder how long I could do it for.

  • Jonathan, he's a DJ,

  • and he loves going out and partying,

  • and I'm quite happy having a cup of tea and hanging out with Zed.

  • He's the softie and I'm probably the more fiery,

  • aggressive one. (LAUGHS)'

  • What's it done to your personal identity

  • to become such a big, public identity?

  • Obviously, it has its downsides,

  • and um, you know, being recognised all the time can get really hard.

  • 'Cause as much as I'm...

  • ..like I said, I'm quite a social person, I can be a bit of a loner.

  • So, not being able to get around to just buy a carton of milk,

  • to dash to the shop really quickly, or whatever,

  • that can get really difficult. And sometimes,

  • because I don't get much downtime,

  • if I'm having dinner with Jonathan, or whatever,

  • and suddenly little queues... (LAUGHS)

  • ..start lining up next to me - for autographs or photos -

  • it gets hard.

  • But at the same time, it's just one of the prices you have to pay

  • for being able to have such an amazing job.

  • I get to do really incredible things on the show.

  • When are you most at home with yourself?

  • Is it in front of the canvas, painting?

  • Yes. It is, is it? Yep.

  • And when I'm cooking alone.

  • When you're cooking alone? Yes. (LAUGHS)

  • Not eating alone, but cooking alone? Yes.

  • That's solitary. Both those things are solitary.

  • I know. Yep. Because when I do those things,

  • I feel completely OK about myself,

  • and the world, and myself in the world.

  • So, if I'm feeling upset

  • or I feel like I'm having trouble resolving something in my head,

  • if I go and cook something,

  • or if I paint, it completely dissipates.

  • I can just rest and be in that moment,

  • so that's why I value it so much.

  • It's been good talking to you.

  • Thank you, Peter. It's been lovely talking to you.

  • Closed Captions by CSI David Hull

So, you put a toe in the water... Yeah.

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