Victoria Marketing Consultant @culinography.ct

Few can boast the culinary ace up their sleeve like Melbourne’s Chris Tran. Growing up in the city’s north alongside his three siblings, Chris’ dad was a trained chef who specialised in European dishes and his Mum prepared hearty and traditional Vietnamese food for the home. It’s this rounded appetite for food he hopes can take him all way to the MasterChef Australia Grand Finale.

Following a degree in law, Chris practiced for six months before realising the career path wasn’t for him. After making a bold move to sidestep into media and advertising, he’s since returned to the legal industry in a business development role.

Cooking has allowed Chris to reconnect with his Vietnamese heritage, and he now dreams of travelling around Vietnam, learning more about the history and culture of his homeland through food. He enjoys preparing Vietnamese street food with nuoc cham, admitting it’s a constant reminder of family and is fun to eat and enjoy alongside a beer. His signature dish is banh cuon, Vietnamese steamed rice noodles. Chris also enjoys cooking Chinese cuisine including biang biang noodles and dumplings.

Inspired by dishes created by Dan Hong, Jerry Mai and Khanh Nguyen, Chris says his favourite food is fried chicken, claiming there’s nothing more satisfying than the perfect balance of crunchy skin and succulent meat.

Supported at home by his parents, sister Jo, brothers Darren and Jonathan and partner of seven years Nyssa, Chris says when he’s not cooking, he enjoys photography and keeping fit through Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, ice hockey and golf.