Adam Liaw

Host of Destination Flavour, MasterChef Winner, MC & Speaker

Adam Liaw is the host of SBS’s award winning program Destination Flavour and a winner of the highly successful television program, MasterChef. He is also a best-selling author of several cookbooks and a regular columnist and blogger.

Adam is a cook, writer and broadcaster. He is one of Australia’s most in-demand television personalities, currently hosting The Cook Up with Adam Liaw (SBS), Tomorrow Tonight (ABC) and Good Food Kitchen (Nine) in 2022. He also hosts the podcast “How Taste Changed the World” for Audible.

An articulate MC and keynote presenter, Adam is regularly engaged to entertain and inspire audiences with stories about his Masterchef journey as well as presentations on food, lifestyle, travel and culture.

More about Adam Liaw:

Born in Malaysia to an English-Singaporean mother and Hainanese Chinese father, Adam’s family lived in several countries through his youth and his culinary influences are far-reaching. He was an active cook from an early age, regularly cooking for his parents and seven brothers and sisters since he was eight years old.

Adam holds university degrees in science and law and practiced law for 11 years, most recently as the Head of Legal and Business Affairs for Disney Interactive, Asia Pacific based in Tokyo. His love affair with food and cooking blossomed during this time and he returned to Australia in 2009 to compete in MasterChef. In July 2010 over five million people tuned in to watch him win the second series of MasterChef. His victory still remains the most watched non-sporting event in Australian television history.

In 2012 Adam began filming Destination Flavour a food and travel series with SBS. Destination Flavour has since presented four highly successful series on the network – Destination Flavour, Destination Flavour Japan, Destination Flavour Down Under, Destination Flavour Scandinavia and Destination Flavour Singapore. Destination Flavour Scandinavia took out the ACTAA award for Best Lifestyle Program for 2016.

Best known for his simple, approachable and exciting dishes, Adam has authored five cookbooks – Two Asian Kitchens, Asian After Work, Adam’s Big Pot, Asian Cookery School and The Zen Kitchen. A keen social media influencer, Adam’s online presence was ranked by Klout in 2015 as the most influential in the Australian food industry.

Adam is Unicef Australia’s National Ambassador for Nutrition and in 2016, the Japanese government appointed Adam as an official Goodwill Ambassador for Japanese Cuisine, acknowledging his significant contributions to promoting regional Japanese cuisine in Australia.

He currently serves as a board member of TAFE NSW, The Australia-Japan Foundation, The Museum of Chinese in Australia and The Australian Father’s Day Council.

Adam is also co-managing director of i8 Studio, a full-service television and commercial content production company based in Sydney.

Adam lives in Sydney with his wife Asami and their son Christopher and daughter Anna. He speaks English, Japanese and basic Mandarin. Between his TV commitments and writing cookbooks, recipes and columns, he makes regular appearances at events and food festivals.

Adam Liaw speaks about:

  • The Masterchef Journey
  • Food and culture
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle

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