ALAN YAU OBE

Our OBE recipient, is a seasoned entrepreneur who has created successful and ventures such as Wagamama, Hakkasan, Busaba Eathai, Yauatcha and Princi. He is world renowned for bringing Eastern restaurant experiences to the masses and successfully introduced Western palettes to Eastern fusion cuisine. His creative mediums of choice being restaurant design and gastronomic creativity, he influenced the expansion of an entirely new industry, and he has largely owned the concepts behind contemporary presentation of traditional Chinese and oriental food. The rise of a new generation of restaurateurs, artisan chefs and celebrated culinary establishments has been a direct result of this individual changing the landscape of British multicultural dining experiences.

In 2016, he pivoted from hardware (bricks and mortar) to software through founding the tech start up Softchow: A qualitative taste aggregation and discovery marketplace that is community driven, with the ultimate mission - no food regrets. For the last +15 years, he has worked on numerous projects across the globe through his consultancy company AYU that specialises in incubating, uplifting and delivering restaurant concepts transcending all verticals of the industry. Projects ranged from The Peking Duck Specialist Eatery, Jing Yaa Tang, at the Opposite House in Beijing to the bespoke Dim Sum House, Yaumay, in Marunouchi Tokyo.

He regularly gives talks around topics such as “Is it worthwhile investing in branding in gastronomy (Impact & Residual Benefit)”, “How to increase the soft power of a country through gastronomy” and “Disrupting Taste through technology”. We’re proud to award this world-class creative with the award for Outstanding Achievement in Arts and Culture.