SAM LOW
Content creator, barista and winner of MasterChef New Zealand 2022
By the time you read this, Sam Low will need no introduction. The first New Zealand MasterChef in seven years, he stunned the judges and audiences nationwide with dishes offering a modern, inventive twist on Chinese food.
But although Sam is not a professional chef, he has long been cooking up a storm. Before entering MasterChef, he was a food social media star, with over 30,000 Instagram and TikTok followers watching his videos on cooking everything from simple stir-fried bok choy to fried chicken gua baos. (He first made headlines for glamming up the meals he received in a managed isolation facility in 2020.) He’s the brains behind modern Chinese pop-up, Da Lin. And he’s also an award-winning barista, former latte art champion and De’Longhi ambassador.
Usually, we use The Plating Game to profile one of our favourite Kiwis, then create a dish for them. But while we were keen to hear about the food Sam loves, eats, dreams of and cooks, we knew we couldn’t come up with something for him better than what he already could for himself! This special edition of The Plating Game features one of Sam’s own recipes, for mouthwatering northern Chinese-style cumin and chilli lamb skewers.
How did you learn to cook?
