They both started out as regular folk before shooting to stardom on reality television. Poh Ling Yeow became an instant fan favourite after coming second place on the first-ever season of MasterChef, and she’s since hosted several of her own cooking shows.
Meanwhile, Aussies fell in love with Yvie Jones and her couch commentary on Gogglebox and again when she entered the I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! jungle.
Watch: Poh’s gourmet jaffle toastie wows the judges
Now, both women are joining forces in Snackmasters. The fun new reality show sees top chefs compete to recreate famous snacks, such as Twisties and Favourites.
Rather than competing, Poh, 48, is in the hosting seat and tells New Idea it’s been a surreal experience.
“It’s funny to be on the other side and not be in the hot seat,” she says. “But it’s so easy to stand there and go, ‘Oh, she’s letting stress get to her,’ when you’re not the one in the fray.”
Yvie, whose role sees her visit the factories to see how the snacks are made, says it was hard not to overindulge when on location.
“I stuffed my face every time,” she laughs. “In the Twisties factory, as soon as I got there they handed me a big bag of them and I just started eating. By the end of the day I thought, ‘I am never going to eat these again,’ because I ate so many – but unfortunately, I have.”
Despite all their success in the media, both women say that they are still the same people we first met on TV all those years ago.
“The biggest change for me is that I really enjoy my job and not a lot of people get to say that,” says Yvie, 49. “But my life hasn’t changed that much – I’m still a regular person who does her regular things.”
As for Poh, she reveals that running her stall, Jamface, at the Adelaide markets keeps her “level-headed”.
“It keeps me grounded having that connection with the community and working really hard,” she says.
“And I love that people don’t really care who I am – I’m just another market holder and I get on with my day.”
Read more in this week’s New Idea, on sale now.
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