A new crop of 21st-century food personalities is springing up on Instagram in Asia, building social media followings that threaten to squash the egos of the region's celebrated professional chefs. Unlike big name TV chefs, the chefs of Instagram learn to cook from YouTube tutorials and cookbooks, take vibrant food photos and lure followers with their beautifully plated culinary creations. Not convinced that culinary greatness isn't always conferred in professional kitchens but sometimes learned online? These self-taught chefs might change your mind. Lennard Yeong recently quit his full-time job to join MasterChef Asia. The fact that he's good looking doesn't hurt, but it was a series of technically precise home-cooked meals that helped this 28-year-old mechanical engineer lure 35,000 Instagram followers. Singaporean Lennard Yeong started showcasing his culinary creations on Instagram more than two years ago. He names British celeb chef Heston Blumenthal as an inspiration. "Blumenthal's scientific approach to food appeals to the engineer in me," says Yeong. The chef, who counts cookbooks, YouTube and Instagram as resources, has created many visually stunning dishes. Among them, he's particularly pleased with a beef dish inspired by the TV show "Hannibal" -- seared beef tenderloin served in red wine reduction paired with beetroot puree, mushroom duxelles and pickled shallots. Yeong once interned at the now-closed restaurant Guy Savoy Singapore. At the time, he was holding onto his day job at a shipping company and had only weekends to spare. In May, he left his full-time job to become a contestant on MasterChef Asia. "Food will always be a big part of my life," he says.