I love rasam & dosa

MasterChef Australia 2017 winner Diana Chan was accountant by profession, who grew up in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and moved to Melbourne, to pursue her tertiary education at the age of 19. She says, "I love cooking from a very young age, and I learnt a lot through my parents. My inspirations are my mom and dad, they do amazing cooking. I love how their food and how they cook. They are not professional cooks but as a kid when I used to be in the kitchen, I would observe them. I think it's important to understand where your food comes from how they prepare."

Diana discovered her love for cooking when she moved to Melbourne. She shares, "My interest grew as I discovered the farmer's markets that supplied plenty of fresh and local produce from around Australia. I developed my own cooking style, which combined some of the hallmarks of my parents' styles – my mother's fresh, herb-driven approach and my father's love for seafood."

Diana has a degree in accounting and finance. Diana decided to become a chef after five and a half years of working in a multinational company. Dina explains, "My friends knew that I am good at cooking and they encouraged me to participate in the MasterChef. I always wanted to pursue my passion of making a career out of food and went on to compete in MasterChef Australia's 9th season."

This decision of Diana has changed her life and cemented her determination to embrace food as much as possible. Diana's popularity and poise on MasterChef Australia have sparked interest in some fantastic ambassadorship and sponsorship roles both in Australia and Malaysia. She is an ambassador for Makmur Enterprises and in 2018, her new range of frozen dumplings hit the shelves in Woolworths and Coles supermarkets. She says, "To be honest life has changed after winning the competition. From the past couple of years, I have done a lot of different things like airline menu, I am just finishing my new TV series showcasing everything about Asian cuisine. Production is in the planning stages and more information will be revealed soon and I am currently researching recipes for a new cookbook."

Diana started her own fresh casual concept – 'Chanteen'. Serving Malaysian street food and all about scratch cooking using family recipes passed down through generations. Chanteen started as a pop-up restaurant, which ran for six months at HWKR in Melbourne.

Diana loves to travel and has worked on many engagements involving menu designs and cooking demonstrations overseas, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Diana Chan is on a tour to India, as part of a CRED experience to share her expertise and inherent knowledge of the culinary arts. About India, she says, "It's exciting to travel across seas and know that people possess the same passion and love for food beyond boundaries and cultures. I feel privileged to be able to share my home cuisine on a global platform while also chancing on so many people who love and enjoy cooking as much as I do."Diana informs that she does watch Indian films and is a fan of Shah Rukh Khan.

This is the first time that she's in Hyderabad. She loves south Indian cuisine – Vada, Sambar, Rasam and Dosa are her favourite. She says, "I have tried Dosa and Rasam before. I met a lot of chefs, but I have learnt a few things from Jyothi she was on MasterChef Australia. I love the fact that Indian cooking is full of flavours. Indian food is very warming, and I love the diversity of food and style of cooking."

"Cooking is important for everyone not only for women. For health purpose, you should know the basics of cooking. Eating out is amazing but not healthy. If you are cooking, you will know how to prepare the food and how much of each ingredient should go into the food. You can see a box of herbs in my fridge including thyme, basil, coriander and rosemary," the 31-year-old chef says.