Chef Dara Yu cooks with culture in mind

22-year-old Chef Dara Yu is the most recent and youngest winner of the hit cooking competition show MasterChef.

In 2022, Yu returned to Season 12, MasterChef: Back to Win. She first competed at 12 years old in MasterChef Junior Season 1, where she placed runner-up.

Cold Tea Collective’s Natasha Jung interviewed Yu during the East by North West (EXNW) Summit in Vancouver, Canada, about her experience on the show, advice she has for anyone learning to cook more cultural foods, and her future plans as a chef.

Incorporating Yu’s Chinese heritage on MasterChef

Chinese American and Los Angeles native Dara Yu is the daughter of immigrants—her mother was born in New Zealand, while her father was born in China and grew up in British Columbia, Canada.

Her experience on MasterChef Season 12 helped her connect back to her Chinese roots. In the finale, Yu wows judges Gordon Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez, and Joe Bastianich with her entree, Chinese-style short ribs with Japanese sweet potato, spiced carrots, caramelized onions, and carrot top gremolata.

“During the finale and also just throughout every challenge, I really tried to incorporate recipes, dishes, or ingredients that come from my Chinese heritage,” says Yu.

Advice to people who want to cook more cultural foods

Yu encourages anyone looking to learn more about their cultural foods to explore grocery stores.

Being in culturally diverse cities like Vancouver and Los Angeles, there are many different ingredients to discover.

“I think going to those unique grocery stores really helps you just discover new ingredients and figure out new dishes that you want to make,” shares Yu.

What’s Yu putting in her grocery basket? Sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, and soy sauce are staples. But right now, it’s chilli crisp. “I love Fly by Jing. There’s a ton on the market right now… I put that on everything.”