Personal space: At home with Poh Ling Yeow

Poh Ling Yeow is one of MasterChef’s most recognisable faces, having not let being runner-up in 2009 get in the way of her mission to score lucrative cooking TV shows, write cookbooks and pursue her love of painting.

She lives in a 1950s split-level home in Adelaide with her husband Jono who is a DJ (he also has a studio upstairs) while a pool comes into view from her handmade day bed.

Framed artworks line the living room walls, while paints, found objects and frames nod to an eclectic mood that says “lived in” rather than “minimalist”.

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A few of Poh’s favourite things:

Rhino & Tim

These guys are my little rays of sunshine. We don’t have kids so looking after them keeps me focused on routine, which is grounding. They’re also endless sources of entertainment and great for a de-stressing cuddle when I’m feeling overwhelmed with life.

A whittled stick

Antonio Carluccio was one of my original food heroes. I got to work with him for Poh’s Kitchen eight years ago. He was very fond of Adelaide and, on one of his trips, I gifted him a miniature portrait I’d painted of him and for me, he whittled one of his famous sticks.

The day bed

My partner Jono built this amazing day bed for me a year ago. Most mornings I sit on it to read, write, have my coffee or meditate. We can sit there on rainy days with a glass of wine or a cup of tea and watch raindrops shatter over the surface of the pool, while snuggled under a furry rug.

Nigella Lawson cookbook

This cookbook made me realise the cook in me had arrived. Through it I grew to understand the evocative power of language in something as utilitarian as a cookbook. I felt with any recipe I made as if she was an empathetic friend chatting me through every process, which made me brave.

Egyptian handbag

This was a gift from a beautiful Egyptian teenager girl who lived next door to us in Malaysia. Although I was only young, she gave me this handbag as a gift. At the time I was a Hello Kitty-obsessed six-year-old and even though this wasn’t to my taste, I remember vividly thinking I should still keep it because it had a presence in my hands that made me know I would grow to love it. 

Music box

I bought this on my first visit to Paris in 2016. It sits on my studio table with all my art junk. It plays the most beautifully melancholic tune which totally transports me back to the first time I laid on the lawns of Place des Vosges and had my mind blown from eating my first French baguette with divine butter and Christine Ferber wild strawberry jam. 

Easel 

All of my profound moments have happened at the easel. I am in a flow state here, which means I am meditating. My answer to stress is to sit and paint … it liberated me from shyness as a kid and has been instrumental in helping me understand I can create. My ex-husband Matt bought it for me as a present 12 years ago. We’re still friends.