Elizabeth Chong, a multi award media personality, Celebrity Chef, author and teacher, is one of the most enduring personalities of the Australian Food Industry.
In 2019 Elizabeth was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the hospitality sector, and to the promotion of Chinese cuisine.
Current work
Elizabeth runs her highly successful Chinese Cooking School which she founded in 1961.
Elizabeth has been conducting regular tours of the Chinatown precinct in Little Bourke Street, Melbourne for many years and has created and lead Gastronomic Tours into China and Vietnam, for more than 25 years.
Elizabeth presides over her own Gourmet Club which explores the cuisines of China and Asia in Melbourne’s restaurants.
Elizabeth is a proud Australian who re-affirms her identity each year in her appointed role as a Lifetime Australia Day Ambassador.
Elizabeth is an inspiring spokesperson for multiculturalism and regards maintaining strong links with her Chinese heritage and cultural background as an asset and is firmly commit to building strong and enduring bridges between the two worlds to which the belongs.
Previous experience
Author: Elizabeth is the author of 8 best selling books on Chinese Cooking including , “The first Happiness” and “Tiny Delights.” Her other book “The Heritage of Chinese Cooking” is the Winner of the prestigious “Prix La Mazille” and the “Jaguar Award for Excellence “ in the category of Gastronomic Travel by Australian Gourmet traveller.
TV: Elizabeth is a Television veteran,been Celebratory Chef on Channel 10 in “Good Morning Melbourne” with Annette Allison and Roy Hamson, with Trish Goddard on “Live it up”, then appeared as Celebrity Chef on “Good Morning Australia” for 12 years with Bert Newton.
Awards: Elizabeth is the proud recipient of many awards. They include the designation “Special Legend”citation by the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, “Best Television Segment “ award from “Tasting Australia.”
Talking Points
The Dim Sim Story
The Dim Sim story is a colourful and personal story that belongs to my family.The Dim Sim Story
The dainty dumplings called Sieu Mais were sold by Chinese restaurants to an eager public as far back as the early 1940’s.
But it took the vision of a good business man to make them into a household name. The year was 1942,..war years. At the same time, there were a number of unemployed older Chinese men needing to earn a small subsistence income. The entrepenural William Wing Young, came up with a brilliant idea. His astute business mind could spot a niche in the market place. The men looking for suitable work could earn a small income, selling Dim Sims, Hawker style at sports grounds and at the Munitions factories scattered around Melbourne’s CBD.
William set up a factory and soon he was mass producing them to supermarkets, fish & chip shops and fast food outlets.
Sales rocketed and the hand-made Dim Sims were no longer viable. A German Engineer was commissioned to design and make a Dim sim & Chicken Roll machine. These were the very first machines of it’s kind in Australia ( maybe the world!)
There have been copies of the Wing Lee Dim Sim and Wing Lee Chicken Roll. but it was William Wing Young who turned them into the household icon they now are.
