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Adam Liaw

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Australian cook, television presenter and author

Adam Liaw
Liaw in 2012
Born (1978-09-08) 8 September 1978 (age 46)
Penang, Malaysia
NationalityAustralian
EducationBachelor of Science (Pharmacology),
Bachelor of Law
Alma materUniversity of Adelaide,
Prince Alfred College
Occupations
  • Cook
  • television presenter
  • producer
  • author
PredecessorJulie Goodwin
SuccessorKate Bracks
SpouseAsami Fujitsuka
Children3
AwardsWinner, MasterChef Australia
Websiteadamliaw.com

Adam Liaw (Chinese: 廖崇明; pinyin: Liào Chóngmíng; born 8 September 1978) is a Malaysian-born Australian cook, television presenter and author. He was the winner of the second season of MasterChef Australia, defeating student Callum Hann in the final. Liaw has produced, written and hosted his own cooking programs, including the Destination Flavour series and the talk and cooking show The Cook Up with Adam Liaw on SBS Food.

Early life

Liaw was born in Penang, Malaysia, to a Malaysian Chinese father, Dr Siaw-Lin Liaw, and a Singaporean-born English mother, Dr Joyce Hill AM. He is the second of three children, with an older brother and younger sister. His family moved to Adelaide when Liaw was age 3. After his parents divorced and his mother moved to New Zealand, Liaw lived with his paternal grandmother whom he credits with a huge influence on his cooking and his life.

Liaw completed Year 11 at Prince Alfred College at age 14 and enrolled in university at 16. He graduated with a double degree in Science and Law from the University of Adelaide at 21.

After graduation, Liaw was employed by Kelly & Co Lawyers in Adelaide where he worked in technology, commercial/corporate law, business advisory and international trade. He was also a committee member, legal adviser and secretary of the Hong Kong Australia Business Association, assisting South Australian companies to expand their business into Hong Kong and mainland China. In 2004, Liaw moved to Japan where he worked in media law for The Walt Disney Company.

MasterChef Australia

On 29 September 2009, Liaw announced via Twitter that he was considering auditioning for the second season of MasterChef Australia. In April 2010, he was announced as one of the top 24 finalists. Despite winning a challenge cooking the dishes of celebrity chefs, Liaw doubted he had sufficient technique to win the title.

On 22 July 2010, Liaw was the first challenger awarded a place in the grand finale. On 25 July 2010 he was declared the winner of the second season of MasterChef Australia, defeating Callum Hann 89–82 for the title in the final. His victory is still the most watched non-sporting television event in Australian history.

After winning the show, Liaw considered a number of opportunities, including opening an izakaya restaurant with Tokyo-based Australian chef and friend Matthew Crabbe. He returned to MasterChef Australia as a guest judge for season 4 and season 6.

Books and writing

As the winner of season 2 of MasterChef Australia, Liaw was given the opportunity to write his own cookbook. The book is called Two Asian Kitchens (ISBN 9781864711356), and was published by Random House Australia in April 2011. Split into two main sections - the Old Kitchen and the New Kitchen - Liaw explores recipes that he has grown up with, along with new creations. The book has received positive reviews in the Australian media.

Liaw has since published more cookbooks including Asian After Work (2013), Adam's Big Pot (2014), Asian Cookery School (2015) and The Zen Kitchen (2016). He also writes for Fairfax newspapers' Good Food, Sunday Life magazine and The Guardian. He used to write for The Wall Street Journal's Scene Asia.

Television

On 14 March 2012, it was announced that Liaw will host his own travel/food TV show, Destination Flavour, which premiered on the SBS network in August 2012. The series was also co-hosted by Renee Lim and Lily Serna. In September 2013, Destination Flavour: Japan premiered on SBS One with Liaw as the sole host; the series was followed by Destination Flavour: Down Under in September 2014. Destination Flavour: Scandinavia premiered on SBS in 2016, with Destination Flavour: Singapore premiering in January 2017 and Destination Flavour: China in November 2018.

In March 2017, Hidden Japan with Adam Liaw premiered on SBS Food. In 2019, he appeared on the seventh season finale of Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery. In late 2020, Liaw hosted Adam Liaw's Road Trip for Good for SBS Food.

In April 2021, Liaw started hosting a nightly talk and cooking show on SBS Food titled The Cook Up with Adam Liaw. With a 200 episode first season commitment, it was largest commission in SBS's history. The series sees Liaw chatting and cooking with guests including Colin Fassnidge, Julie Goodwin, Jock Zonfrillo, Yumi Stynes, Jessica Rowe and Jimmy Barnes. In October 2021, Liaw teamed up with season one MasterChef Australia runner-up Poh Ling Yeow to present Adam and Poh’s Malaysia in Australia, which explored their shared Malaysian heritage.

In 2022, Liaw joined the ABC panel show Tomorrow Tonight.

Other

Liaw is UNICEF Australia's National Ambassador for Nutrition. In 2016, he was appointed by the Japanese government as a Goodwill Ambassador of Japanese Cuisine. He is also on the board of the Australia-Japan Foundation.

Liaw is prolific on social media. In 2015, BuzzFeed Australia highlighted '19 Reasons You Need to Follow Aussie Chef Adam Liaw on Twitter and Instagram', and '17 Times Aussie Chef Adam Liaw Nailed It on Social Media in 2015'.

In 2017, Liaw was named by All Nippon Airways as the Culinary Ambassador for ANA Australia, and created two seasonal menus for the airline.

In May 2022, Liaw launched a seven-part podcast series on Audible called How Taste Changed the World.

Filmography

This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately.
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Title Year Role
MasterChef Australia 2010 Contestant
Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield 2012 Guest
Destination Flavour 2012 Host
Destination Flavour: Japan 2013 Host, developer and writer
Destination Flavour: Down Under 2014 Host
Destination Flavour: Christmas 2014 Host
One Plus One 2016 Guest
Destination Flavour: Scandinavia 2016 Host
Destination Flavour: Singapore 2017 Host
Hidden Japan with Adam Liaw 2017 Host
Play School 2017 Guest
Makers Who Inspire 2018 Guest
Destination Flavour: China 2018 Host
Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery 2019 Guest
Dateline 2019 Guest
Life Drawing Life 2020 Guest
Adam Liaw's Road Trip for Good 2020 Host, executive producer and writer
Adam and Poh's Malaysia in Australia 2021 Co-host, executive producer and writer
The Cook Up with Adam Liaw 2021–present Host
Tomorrow Tonight 2022 Panellist
ABC 90 Celebrate! 2022 Guest
Dishing It Up 2022 Guest

References

  1. Cooper, Amy (2 December 2019). "How to bring the family together come Christmas time". Good Food.
  2. "檳名廚獲贊助百萬 澳拍片推大馬美食". GuangMing Daily. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Adam Liaw wins MasterChef Australia". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 25 July 2010. Archived from the original on 28 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  4. "The Cook Up With Adam Liaw returns for its fourth season on SBS Food". Mediaweek. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Celebrity chef Adam Liaw looks back on early life in Australia". SBS News.
  6. "Siaw Lin Liaw". ahpra.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  7. "Queen's honours for orphanage founder". abc.net.au. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  8. "Adam Liaw wins MasterChef Australia". masterchef.com.au. 26 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  9. "Adam Liaw". masterchef.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  10. "Hong Kong Forum". hkfederation.org.hk. 2004. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  11. Marcus, Caroline; McWhirter, Fiona (4 July 2010). "Made-over Marion a hot favourite for Masterchef title". adelaidenow.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  12. Liaw, Adam (29 September 2009). "Twitter post". twitter.com. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  13. "Top 24 MasterChef contestants". onfood.com.au. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  14. "I can't win, says MasterChef's Adam Liaw". news.com.au. 9 June 2010. Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  15. Leo, Jessica (22 July 2010). "Callum, Adam take South Australia into MasterChef finals". adelaidenow.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  16. Idato, Michael (25 July 2010). "Adam wins MasterChef". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  17. "MasterChef smashes ratings record". ABC News. 25 July 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  18. "Adam Liaw beats Callum Hann in hot MasterChef do-or-die final". news.com.au. 26 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  19. Adam Liaw (April 2011). "Two Asian Kitchens". Random House Australia. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  20. John Lethlean (5 March 2011). "MasterChef winner cooks up some folk Liaw". The Australian. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  21. Helen Greenwood (12 April 2011). "He's a Liaw unto himself". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  22. Peter Wilmoth (13 May 2011). "MasterChef to Mr Chef". The Weekly Review. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  23. "About - adamliaw.com". adamliaw.com. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  24. Adam Liaw, www.theguardian.com
  25. Alessia. Booktopia - Asian After Work, Simple Food for Every Day by Adam Liaw, 9780733630545. Buy this book online – via Booktopia.
  26. "MasterChef Australia's 2010 winner Adam Liaw finally has own TV show Destination Flavour on SBS". dailytelegraph.com.au. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  27. "Destination Flavour". SBS.
  28. Commercial Development Unit. "Destination Flavour - Down Under". ABC Shop.
  29. "Airdate: The Cook Up with Adam Liaw". TV Tonight. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  30. "Airdate: Adam and Poh's Malaysia in Australia". TV Tonight. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  31. "Returning: Tomorrow Tonight". TV Tonight. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  32. "Adam Liaw: bringing Asian flavours to the mainstream". Conversations with Richard Fidler. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  33. ^ "Australia-Japan Foundation Board appointments". 1 August 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  34. "19 Reasons You Need To Follow Aussie Chef Adam Liaw on Twitter And Instagram". BuzzFeed. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  35. "17 Times Aussie Chef Adam Liaw Nailed It On Social Media In 2015". BuzzFeed. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  36. "ANA Australia's New Culinary Ambassador - Adam Liaw". YouTube. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  37. de Graaff, Jane (17 May 2022). "'It's made me cook better, and I cook a lot': Adam Liaw's delicious new project". 9Honey. Retrieved 17 May 2022.

External links

Preceded byJulie Goodwin MasterChef Australia
Winner
2010 		Succeeded byKate Bracks
MasterChef Australia
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Winners
Notable alumni
Junior MasterChef Australia
Series
Winners
Celebrity MasterChef Australia
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MasterChef Australia: The Professionals
Dessert Masters
  • Winner: Gareth Whitton
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