‘Very, very impressed’: MasterChef Australia cooks wow Hong Kong guest judge Vicky Cheng

Vicky Cheng of VEA reflects on his guest judge stint on MasterChef Australia and why he would hire any of the contestants in a heartbeat

Reading Time:4 minutes

VEA chef-owner Vicky Cheng presents his “Three Ages of Daikon” ingredients to MasterChef Australia representatives in Hong Kong. When the opportunity came, Cheng jumped at the chance to be a guest judge. Photo: Instagram/@mimiwonggaa

Published: 7:15am, 3 Jul 2024

MasterChef is the OG of reality cooking shows, having first aired on British television screens way back in 1990. It had a very different look, feel and format then, but it sowed the seeds of what would become a cultural phenomenon.

To date, more than 60 territories have launched their own versions of the show, with the franchise becoming a true culinary juggernaut.

The Australian version of MasterChef debuted in 2009 and quickly became a smash hit. Even in its first season, viewership of the show’s finale peaked at more than 4 million, making it the most-watched non-sport programme in Australia since ratings began.

But those numbers pale in comparison with viewership across the world – MasterChef Australia is now broadcast in more than 120 countries to potential audiences totalling billions.

Vicky Cheng (centre) with the MasterChef Australia judges at the Big Buddha in Lantau, Hong Kong. Photo: Kelly Gardner

All of which explains why multi-award-winning Hong Kong chef Vicky Cheng of VEA and Wing jumped at the chance to appear in the Hong Kong segments of the show.

“I said yes right away because it’s something that I’ve always looked up to,” he says. He also revealed that he was the show’s first pick to be the guest judge for the challenges based in Hong Kong.