67. Melissa Leong: A Love Letter to Food & the Asian Diaspora

Unapologetically Asian

Melissa Leong is unapologetically Asian. She’s a powerhouse in the food industry and is one of the hosts and judges on Masterchef Australia. To add to her stellar resume, she's also a renowned food and travel writer, columnist, TV and radio broadcaster, MC and author. Whether it be on set or in the kitchen, she breathes defiance and voracity into everything that she does. In this conversation, we explore what it was like for her to grow up as a first gen Singaporean Australian, navigating the Asian diaspora experience and how food plays a core ingredient in her life.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Living with defiance and voracity
• Growing up Singaporean Australian
• Memories of food, family and childhood
• Food as an Asian love language
• Grieving loss of language
• East meets west: grappling with duality and cultural identity
• Masterchef & Asian Australian representation
• The long game
• Weight of Asian representation
• and more!

Please note: this conversation was recorded on the 28th April 2023.

🎙️Hosted by: ⁠⁠⁠Tiana Nguyen⁠⁠ Special guests: Melissa Leong

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