Where are they now: ‘MasterChef Australia’ 2016 Asian cooks whip up their own recipes for success

“MasterChef Australia” 2016 contestants appear to be thriving in their own food endeavors after leaving the competition. Season 8’s Asian Australian female contenders are no exception, finding happiness – and success – on their own kitchens.

Dessert diva Karmen Lu recently appeared in a Facebook live chat hosted by Lifetime Asia about turning food dreams into career opportunities. She was joined by “MasterChef Asia” judge Audra Morrice and contestants Blanche Chu and Jasbir Kaur. The three women have their respective food businesses, while Karmen is also gearing up to become an entrepreneur soon.

During the Facebook chat, Karmen revealed that she’s planning to launch a dessert bar since it’s a market that has not been fully tapped yet in Perth. “You have to look for holes in the market,” the 24-year-old former waitress shared. “Look at the demographic and know who you’re aiming at.” She also said that a successful food business requires hard work. “It’s not going to be smooth-sailing,” Karmen said. “You just have to deal with it and learn from it.”

On her personal Instagram account, Karmen has been sharing photos of possible items she would include in her dessert bar menu. In one post, she wrote, “I promise there’ll be some exciting news re dessert bar soon but in the meantime, it’s recipe tasting.”

[READ: “Dessert diva Karmen misses the top-10 mark; plus see her tweets after elimination episode”]

Speaking of Instagram, Karmen’s fellow contestant Cecilia Vuong has been using it as an effective medium to sell her homemade macarons. The 31-year-old teacher offers various flavours of macarons, including raspberry ganache, passionfruit, matcha, salted caramel and red velvet. Her online venture seems to be doing well and she promises to launch another project. Thankful to her Instagram followers – which has since reached more than 5,000 – Cecilia wrote, “I hope to bring you more recipes and goodies as there is another little project I can’t wait to share with you all!” Apart from her business, Cecilia also has been busy showcasing her dessert skills in various food joints such as Saigon Sally and LuxBites.

[READ: “Cecilia Vuong exits the competition for the second time”]

“MasterChef Australia” contestant Nidhi Mahajan also hit the 5,000-mark last month in terms of Instagram followers. The 30-year-old call centre worker recently announced that she’s launching her food blog, Nidz Kitchen, to share her cooking journey. “I have been asked by many for the recipes of the dishes I create and cook, my views on cooking, my adventures in the kitchen and tips and tricks about cooking,” Nidhi wrote. “This is like an interactive platform where I will post and you all can participate in giving me feedback, suggestions, your adventures in the kitchen and anything food related. It will be a fun and a good learning experience, I promise!”

[READ: “For failing to bring her vibrant personality to her cauliflower dish, front-runner Nidhi gets booted off”]

“MasterChef Australia” Season 8 wrapped up in July, with Elena Duggan as the winner. The reality show is now looking for a new set of budding chefs for next year’s competition.