Poh Ling Yeow (Chinese: 杨宝玲; pinyin: Yáng Bǎolíng;[4] born 17 December 1973) is a Malaysian-born Australian cook, artist, actress, author and television presenter. She has hosted multiple cooking shows including ABC's Poh's Kitchen and SBS's Poh & Co. She has also published multiple cook books. She was the runner-up on the first season of Network 10's Masterchef Australia behind winner Julie Goodwin. Since appearing on season 1, she has made multiple comebacks to the series as a guest judge/mentor, returning as a contestant on the twelfth season in 2020 then a judge in 2024.
Yeow's corporate clients as a makeup artist included L'Oréal and Attitude magazine,[9] the Australian String Quartet[10] and the short film My Last Ten Hours With You.[11] Her personal clients included Megan Gale and Lisa Ho.[12] Freelance work as a makeup artist led to her preparing models for artist David Bromley, increasing her understanding of the art market.[13] Yeow has acknowledged that she posed as a nude model for Bromley.[14]
Yeow adopted the Western first name Sharon[15][16] until age 25, but reverted to Poh Ling as a part of embracing her cultural heritage.[13] She became a full-time professional artist in 2002.[17]
Career
Artist
Yeow works mainly with acrylic paint on canvas.[18] Her early works featured heavily textured backgrounds[19] whereas recent works present a smoother,[20] more refined and highly detailed finish.[13][21]
Elements of her Chinese heritage feature in her work, including the goldfish, a symbol of prosperity and good luck in Chinese culture, lotus flowers, ponds, and Australian flora and fauna.[22] A recurring character in Yeow's recent work is one that she calls The Girl ("my autobiographical twin"[22]), who she refers to in the third person, although the character's facial features are clearly similar to Yeow's.[23] She says "I guess [The Girl] was developed as a cathartic act, in terms of embracing everything that I did hate about myself physically: the broad nose, the Asian eyes, the broad face".[13]
A further theme behind her recent body of work was Yeow's split with her partner of 10 years, with titles including "Was That the Last Goodbye?" and "You Haven't Left and I Miss You Already". Her Mermaid series, with The Girl's clothes fashioned from goldfish scales and fins, is about losing your identity and taking on your partner's.[13]
From her first solo exhibition in 2002, Yeow has been a regular exhibitor at the Hill Smith Gallery.[24] She has also appeared regularly at Libby Edwards Gallery.[17] Yeow's work has been featured or critically reviewed in publications such as Vogue Australia, House & Garden, The Advertiser and mX.[25]
In 2003, Yeow donated an artwork to raise funds for breast cancer research at Flinders Medical Centre.[26] In 2007, Yeow's artwork was used on the cover of the book The Chinese Exotic by Olivia Khoo.[27] She was also a judge for Youthscape 2008.[28] In 2009, Yeow appeared in a glamour shoot for Who magazine.[29]
Yeow first appeared on the ABC television program Beat the Chef on 13 April 2005.[31] Her auntie Kim Thoo assisted her in the studio kitchen, where she prepared Ying Yang Prawns.[32] She returned to the program on 15 June 2005, assisted by her friend Felicity Electricity.[33] This time she prepared Basil Thai Fried Rice[34]
and Deep-Fried Dory Fillets with Green Mango.[35]
Yeow was selected in the top 20 contestants for the first series of MasterChef Australia from over 7000 applicants.[36] Competition and eliminations began in May 2009. Yeow was eliminated on 18 June 2009 when she incorrectly guessed the ingredients in minestrone.[37] She was one of three eliminated contestants allowed to return to the program on 1 July 2009.[38] She survived further eliminations to compete in the final on 19 July 2009 against Julie Goodwin.[39] Goodwin won the final, with Yeow runner-up.[40]
Yeow appeared with Matt Preston[41] in the World Chef Showcase in October 2009.[42]
Yeow signed with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for a cooking series (Poh's Kitchen) and a two-book publishing deal with ABC Books.[43] The production on the series began in November 2009 in her home town of Adelaide.[44] The series was aired from 10 February 2010.[45] Yeow was nominated for the Logie Awards of 2011 in the category of Most Popular New Female Talent.[46]
In 2011, the ABC broadcast a second season of Poh's Kitchen, entitled Poh's Kitchen on the Road. Yeow travelled to all Australian states, as well as Singapore and Thailand, to film stories on produce and cooking.[47] A third season premiered on 11 September 2012.[48]
In 2015, Yeow launched a new series, Poh & Co., on SBS. It features various styles of cooking, and also the renovation of Yeow's backyard.[49]
Yeow opened a gourmet food stall, Jamface by Poh, at the Adelaide Showground Farmers' Market.[50] In 2016 Yeow opened a cafe at Adelaide Central Market, also named Jamface by Poh.[51] It closed on 15 October 2019.[52]
In August 2023, it was announced that she would be teaming up with fellow MasterChef contestant Adam Liaw, to host a brand new cooking show on SBS titled Adam & Poh's Great Australian Bites. The show features the hosting duo travelling around Australia to different cities and coastlines and cooking with the locals.[55][56][57]
In October 2023, Network 10 announced that Yeow would be joining the forthcoming sixteenth season of MasterChef Australia as a permanent host and judge, alongside fellow new judges Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli, as well as returning judge Andy Allen.[58][59] It came after the sudden death of former judge Jock Zonfrillo and the departure of Melissa Leong.[60][61][62]
In 2023, Yeow made a cameo appearance in the sixth episode of Thank God You're Here, through a guest performance as a television cooking show judge.[71]
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