Khanh Ong may be a very long way from the MasterChef kitchen, but as he steps into the unforgiving world of Survivor: Blood v Water, he’s ready to show Australia that there’s more to him than his skills in the kitchen.
“It’s funny because after it was announced that I was on the show, there were comments on my Instagram saying ‘this makes no sense’ or ‘why would he want to do this?’,” Khanh, 30, tells TV WEEK.
“It makes no sense for you because you don’t know me! I love adventure, being outdoors and being in situations I can’t control but can learn from. I’m more than what people assume of me.”
Ever since the talented chef was a child, he’s loved Survivor and always dreamed of going on the show.
(Image: Ten)Ever since the talented chef was a child, he’s loved Survivor and always dreamed of going on the show. After his application was successful, producers told him that he’d get to bring someone on the show with him. Instantly, he thought of his sister, Amy.
“My sister is my best friend. I love her. She is the smartest, most beautiful, independent, strongest person. I’m obsessed with her and would do anything for her.”
Thankfully, she agreed to go on the show and together they developed a strategy.
Khanh is ready to show Australia that there’s more to him than his skills in the kitchen.
(Image: Ten)“Coming in, the whole idea was, whoever had the better chance of going far stays and we both came to the conclusion that it was probably going to be her,” he explains.
“People will underestimate her and just see her as someone who cares about appearances because they wouldn’t dig deeper. She is super intelligent and social.”
It wasn’t long until Khanh and Amy established themselves as two big social players of the game, with Khanh earning himself the nickname “King Khanh”.
“Oh god,” he laughs. “I had no idea about that nickname until a week ago!”
While the food situation for the castaways is notoriously dire, it wasn’t long before Khanh took control.
“For the first couple of days I was trying to see what the rest of the group wanted to do but then I think we came to the consensus that it was better for me to do it,” he recalls.
“After that, I cooked pretty much every single meal. I love it and it’s really calming for me.”
