Poh Ling Yeow

It was more that I felt physically different and made me feel very insecure because my model of beauty was built on a Western or Caucasian standard.

And because we had – there was, you know, all the TV we watched in Malaysia was all American.

So, like, I guess my –

My imprinting in terms of what I thought was beautiful was the antithesis of everything that I was.

So like all the insecurities I felt, the outsidedness was really self-imposed.

It wasn't due to any teasing or anything negative like that.

When did you then start to feel like find that confidence then?

Really late.

Like I reckon it actually happened after MasterChef because I was 35 in season one.

And I think it was, it wasn't just, I think it came from the inside.

I think because there was just so many parts of my personality that I'd, it's not that I've struggled with, but I just always knew were a little bit like

You know, like I knew I never wanted to work in an office.

I knew I was always going to go into something creative.

But I've always been like a little bit follow my gut, which is like...

means you're always living with some level of uncertainty.

And like, I think going into MasterChef was another, you know, real weird risk thing that came out of the blue.

And within that, the way the competition runs, which is like you're running on adrenaline, it's, you know, you have to be highly creative to succeed.

And for some reason that compression of like panic and whatever that chemistry was, I performed really well in that environment.

And I think that made me go, oh my gosh, I actually do have, I am capable.

I have, I do have something that's unique.