Other
Alan Yau
Founder & CEO
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
The Path
Modern British casual dining changed when format, pace, seating, graphic identity, and menu engineering were treated as one piece of restaurant craft. As founder at Wagamama in United Kingdom (1992–1997), Alan Yau worked in that register: communal, quick, contemporary, and built as a complete proposition rather than a menu placed inside a room. Asian restaurant concepts in urban Britain developed through close control of atmosphere as much as cuisine. The sequence of Busaba Eathai (1999–2008), Hakkasan (1999–2008), and Yauatcha (2004–2008), where Yau was founder, shows three distinct applications of that control: the ease and fragrance of Busaba Eathai, the darker polish of Hakkasan, and the dim sum, tea, and patisserie-like presentation rhythm of Yauatcha. The through-line is not repetition; it is command of light, tempo, appetite, and expectation. Restaurant building across formats requires reading different rooms without flattening the craft into a house style. As founder at Princi UK in Soho, London (2008–2016), and founder at Cha Cha Moon in Kingly Court, London (2008–2016), Yau worked across audience and format. Babaji (from 2014) and Madame Fan in Singapore (from 2018) extended that map. Duck and Rice (since 2015), Park Chinois (since 2015), and Softchow (since 2017) continue the same concern: dining as a constructed social setting, where food, room, service, and occasion are designed together.
The Work Today
Current restaurant work in Yau’s practice runs across three tracks: founder of Duck and Rice in Soho, London; founder of Park Chinois in London; and Founder & CEO of Softchow, a role held from 2017 to the present. The spread matters to operators: a Soho dining room, a fully staged restaurant world, and a food business shaped by systems as well as service. Chinese restaurant theatre at Park Chinois is built around the idea of a night out, not only a sequence of dishes. Yau created a Chinese restaurant in the MICHELIN Guide with old-school entertainment inspired by the popular dishes of 1930s Shanghai restaurants and supper clubs. The craft sits in the join between spectacle and hospitality: performance, room tone, service rhythm, and table pleasure working as one service proposition. Cantonese dim sum at YAUMAY is described as traditional Cantonese dim sum cuisine from Guangzhou with eclectic touches from Yau. That is a useful distinction for the trade: the foundation remains named and specific, while the additions are personal rather than presented as a replacement for the tradition. Dim sum already carries its own discipline of steam, texture, portion, repetition, and social timing; the intervention is in how that structure is framed and adjusted. Duck cookery at Jing Yaa Tang is organized around the duck oven as the center of the dining experience. Yau wanted a theatrical dining experience centered on the duck oven, which places equipment in the line of sight as well as in the production flow. Fire, skin, fragrance, and waiting become part of the room’s work, not just the kitchen’s.
Signature
Signature work here sits in compact forms with clear sensory jobs: Pide, crispy aromatic duck, Jasmine tea smoked Kibimaru ribs, Scallop shu mai, and venison puff. In Alan Yau’s venues, these named signatures point to a range of restaurant grammar: hand-held or shared comfort, duck with ceremony, tea smoke as perfume, shu mai as precision, and a puff as contained richness. The emphasis is on dishes that carry texture, aroma, and format without needing excess explanation.
Acclaim
Recognition for restaurant work can mark influence beyond a single dining room. Alan Yau’s honors include Outstanding Achievement in the Arts (2019) and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the restaurant industry (2006). In trade terms, these awards acknowledge a body of work concerned with how cities eat, how rooms are composed, and how hospitality formats become part of public culture.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Alan
What is Alan Yau's current role?
Alan Yau is Founder & CEO.
Where did Alan Yau work before?
Earlier in their career, Alan Yau worked at Wagamama, Busaba Eathai, and Hakkasan.
What recognition has Alan Yau received?
Outstanding Achievement in the Arts (2019).
