I'VE COME FULL CIRCLE!

She wowed on the first season of MasterChef Australia - now Poh Ling Yeow returns to the reality show as a judge

- JANICE BECKETT-MSIZA

SHE grew up being ashamed of the way she looked, wishing she was blonde and blue-eyed to fit in with her peers, and insisting on being called by her western name, Sharon.

But those days are long gone – today she’s proudly Poh Ling Yeow, a food expert and baking whiz extraordinaire. And her name is now becoming known around the world after she was recently announced as one of the new judges on MasterChef Australia.

Poh (49) will join Andy Allen and two more judges, food writer Sofia Levin and multi-Michelin Star-winner Jean Christophe Novelli, in the famous reality show kitchen.

It’s a fresh look for a show reeling after the sudden death of Jock Zonfrillo earlier this year, and Poh is delighted to have been called up.

“Talk about a thrilling full circle moment,” she said on social media. “MasterChef Australia is where my story began, so it feels like coming home.”

Poh has competed on the hit show twice – season one in 2009, where she was runner-up and season 12, which reunited top contestants and introduced the judging panel of Andy, Jock and Melissa Leong.

Melissa has moved to the MasterChef spinoff Dessert Australia, paving the way for an almost brand-new judging line-up.

“A big part of me will always be standing on the other side with the contestants, and I hope when they look at me they see proof you don't have to win to win," Poh says.

"To have been given the opportunity to learn and grow and now to be given the vote of confidence to expand and evolve the MasterChef universe is huge!" Andy, who's also a former contestant, says 2023 has been an "extremely difficult year," and he struggled with his decision to return for another season.