Three things with Khanh Ong: ‘All my knives have diva names – Kylie, Naomi and Britney’

‘I think most stuff is replaceable. But things that get given to you by a family member who is no longer around are special’: Khanh Ong, cook, author and host of Khanh Ong’s Wild Food on SBS Food. Photograph: SBS Food

Connoisseurs of reality television may recognise Khanh Ong from MasterChef and Survivor. But this month the cook and former DJ is launching his first standalone TV series, Khanh Ong’s Wild Food. The show will see Ong diving for abalone and tracking wild deer – then cooking the produce he’s foraged or hunted.

“Wild Food is literally what I’ve wanted to do since leaving MasterChef,” Ong says. “Growing up, I watched a lot of TV shows where chefs travel around and show one side of Australia. This is my side of Australia. So this is really exciting that I get to incorporate being out in the wild, but also cooking those ingredients with my Vietnamese heritage flared into it.”