MasterChef’s Reynold Poernomo pays tribute to the ‘hero that fought to keep his family in Australia’ after breaking down over his immigrant parents’ detention when he was a child
MasterChef Australia’s Reynold Poernomo has thanked the ‘hero that fought to keep his family in Australia’ after immigration officials threatened to deport them.
Reynold, now 26, had emigrated to Australia from Indonesia when he was four, and revealed on Wednesday’s episode that his parents had been ‘taken away for a while’ during his childhood and forced to close their family restaurant.
While he did not name the person who had helped Poernomo in their time of need, he may have been referring to an immigration lawyer.
Emotional: MasterChef Australia’s Reynold Poernomo (pictured) has thanked the ‘hero that fought to keep his family in Australia’ after immigration officials threatened to deport them
‘Here’s one to you mum, dad, my brothers and my aunty. And of course you know who you are, the hero that fought to keep us in Australia and now we are proud to call Australia home,’ Reynold wrote Instagram after the episode aired.
During Wednesday’s challenge, Reynold had wept over a picture of himself as a young boy while reflecting on his difficult childhood.
‘The photo there, it’s me sitting on a massive container of detergent with a chocolate milkshake. I’d go to school myself. I’d come home by myself. I’d go to the restaurant just to see my parents work late at night,’ he said.
‘There was, like, a little kind of bed thingy [in the back of their restaurant], and I’d just sit there and sleep until they finished service, which was really late at night.’
‘Here’s one for you’: The 26-year-old emigrated to Australia from Indonesia when he was four, admitting during Wednesday’s episode of the show that his ‘parents were taken away for a while’ during his childhood and forced to close their restaurant. Pictured: The Poernomos
‘I’d just sit there and sleep until they finished service’: On Wednesday night, Reynold cried after seeing a picture of himself as a young boy in the back of his parent’s old restaurant
Reynold started to cry as he delved further into his emotional past.
‘People think that I’d be learning a lot of stuff from my mum or my dad, but actually they’d be working so hard in the restaurant, and those times were quite tough,’ he explained.
‘I remember immigration getting my parents taken away for a little bit. The restaurant closed down, of course. My brother was getting food for me when I was hungry.’
The Poernomos had arrived in Australia in 1997, and Reynold’s parents opened their first restaurant in their garage with just $300.
‘I remember immigration getting my parents taken away for a little bit’: He became emotional as he looked back at his family’s struggle to stay together in Australia
After Reynold’s parents were ‘taken away for a while’, the family was later reunited and granted permission to say in Australia.
Since then, they have opened multiple eateries, including KOI Dessert Bar & Dining and Monkey’s Corner.
Reynold admitted on Wednesday that having to close all their venues due to the coronavirus pandemic had brought back painful memories.
‘I’m not sure when we’re going to open again. In a way, my family is a little bit jobless at the moment. Yeah, we’re struggling through this again,’ he said.
Success: After Reynold’s parents were ‘taken away for a while’ when he was a child, the family were later reunited and able to remain in Australia. Since then, they have founded multiple eateries. Pictured: Reynold and his older brothers Arnold (centre) and Ronald (right)
‘Struggles now and then’: Reynold admitted on Wednesday that having to close all of their venues due to the coronavirus pandemic has brought back his emotional childhood memories