Sandrian Tan, 47, participated in the inaugural MasterChef Asia 2015 and was one of the three Singaporeans who represented our little red dot.

Although she lacked formal culinary training, she decided to sign up for the competition in honour of her mother, who passed away from cancer.

Despite being eliminated midway, her passion for cooking and baking continued to burn strong and recently, she even launched her own home-based business called The Tartlery.

Specialising in palm-sized, artisanal tarts, the home bakery’s current menu has six unique flavours such as Stonehenge and Holy Lemon that are created with a mix of fruit, exotic herbs and spices to pay homage to her mother’s Thai roots.

You can order Sandrian’s tarts here.

Competing alongside Sandrian in MasterChef Asia 2015 was Woo Wai Leong, 32, who emerged as the champion.

Prior to becoming a chef, Wai Leong was actually a lawyer. According to The New Paper, he quit his stable job at a law firm to enter the competition, saying that it was his dream to cook for a living.

After clinching the MasterChef title, he went on to work as a part-time bartender at The Horse’s Mouth from 2015 to 2017 before opening his debut venture, Restaurant Ibid.

On June 8 this year, he announced that he would be closing the contemporary Chinese restaurant indefinitely for “personal reasons”. But much to the relief of his fans, the restaurant reopened on Aug 26 with a new look.

18 North Canal Rd, Singapore 048830

While many would expect an ex-MasterChef Singapore finalist to go on to work with more gourmet elements, 41-year-old Aaron Wong decided to go another route with his humble mee hoon kueh stall.

The self-taught chef opened his first stall at Telok Blangah in 2020. Business did so well that he now has a two more outlets located at Bedok and Tampines.

So, what makes his mee hoon kueh so popular? Aaron tells local food blogger Leslie Tay — also known as ieatishootipost — that he studied how the Japanese cook ramen and incorporated that into his dishes.

11 Telok Blangah Cres, #01-108, Singapore 090011
Blk 18 Bedok S Rd, #01-45, Singapore 460018
201C Tampines St 21, #01-01, Singapore 523201

During MasterChef Singapore’s debut season in 2018, first runner-up Genevieve Lee was the youngest participant in the competition.

Before joining MasterChef Singapore, 26-year-old Lim Kuan Yiou helped his family run Old Street Bak Kut Teh as its second-generation owner.

After the competition, while still helming his bak kut teh business, he went on to open his own F&B establishment, NY Verden, at Jewel Changi Airport.

The speciality grill house offers a wide range of dishes that are cooked over wood fires featuring wood sourced from other countries, including Australia and the United States.

78 Airport Blvd, #03-227, Singapore 819666

Who would have guessed that MasterChef Singapore’s season two winner would come from an engineering background?

The self-taught chef picked up his culinary skills from watching YouTube videos and devouring cookbooks by professional chefs.

He didn’t let his engineering skills go to waste either, applying his technical knowledge to food.

Prior to joining MasterChef, The 23-year-old had founded Twelve Flavours, his own private dining business, in 2019. He continues to run it, and has also co-founded online business Broux, which specialises in kombucha.

You can order Derek’s kombucha here.

Twelve Flavours, 253 Pasir Ris Street 21, Singapore 510253

Text: Melissa Teo/AsiaOne

Read Next

Yako Chan Wants Her New Bubble Tea Shop To Be A Safe Space For Everyone

Indian Chai

How You Can Cook Restaurant-Quality Dishes At Home, According To Peach Blossoms' Executive Chinese Chef