‘ The show could kill me’
Sarah Tiong One of the show’s hot favourites is putting her life at risk in order to pursue her passion
Every time she plates up on Masterchef Australia, Sarah Tiong plays a dangerous game with her health.
The 26-year old lawyer is an insulindependent diabetic who must self-inject up to seven times a day. And the long hours, stressful challenges and multiple taste tests that come with being on the show are playing havoc with Sarah’s routine in managing her potentially life-threatening illness.
“I am testing my blood sugar a lot more frequently, it’s something I’m constantly aware of,” she tells Woman’s Day.
“There are certain times when I’m like, ‘I don’t want to taste that, there’s quite a bit of sugar in that.’ Especially because of the environment I am in – a lot of stress, adrenaline, excitement – that affects me as well.”
Sarah, who was diagnosed at the age of 11, says diabetes is a hereditary condition which runs rife through her Malaysian-chinese family.
“My mum’s family, most of them have diabetes – my mum has it,” Sarah says.
“It can be life threatening and in the past I have struggled with it a lot – especially being young and not really being aware of how to manage it properly.”
Sarah’s mum Christine is never far from the Masterchef hopeful’s mind. While she declines to go into details about her mother’s condition, Sarah says before she entered the reality series she was her mum’s main carer.
“My brother Johnathan is now taking care of her while I am here,” she reveals.
Still, Christine is happy to see her daughter free to chase her dreams.
While Sarah admits her family expected her to go down a traditional career path, they know her passion for food is so fervent, she’d be crazy not to give Masterchef her best shot.
“It’s polar opposite to being a lawyer but they see this is actually a real love of mine, a real passion,” Sarah says.
“They have been very supportive of me, and they are really rooting for me.”
‘It can be life threatening and in the past I have struggled with it a lot’