i. Biography
Chef-owner work in London can carry two kinds of pressure at once: the discipline of professional kitchens and the obligation to make heritage legible without softening it. At Mei Mei in London, United Kingdom, Elizabeth Haigh works in that overlap, using Singaporean street food and Singaporean heritage cuisine as the core material. The cooking is built around fragrance, heat, texture, and comfort, with the polish associated with Michelin-recognized kitchens applied to food that is both personal and communal. In a city where this culinary identity has not always had broad restaurant visibility, the restaurant gives it a clear commercial and cultural position.
The Path
Training that crosses design and kitchen practice can show up as composition under pressure. Elizabeth Haigh trained at Central Saint Martins and Westminster Kingsway College, a pairing that placed visual discipline beside practical cookery. That grounding preceded public competition work as competitor at MasterChef (2011), where plates have to read quickly and technique is judged in compressed time. Professional authority in restaurants is built through repetition, timing, and clear seasoning more than through announcement. Haigh went on to cook as chef at The Green Oak in Windsor, chef at Royal Oak, Paley Street in Paley Street, and chef at Smokehouse. Those posts mark a progression through service-driven kitchens where consistency matters and where restraint, heat, and nerve separate competent cooking from memorable cooking. Contemporary London restaurant work often depends on a tight point of view and the ability to make each dish carry weight. In Hackney, London, Haigh became co-founder and inaugural head chef at Pidgin in Hackney, London (from 2015). The role placed her in a kitchen defined by momentum and economy, and it positioned her within the city’s current restaurant conversation before the later move into more explicitly heritage-led cooking. Food businesses require authorship beyond the plate: structure, direction, and the ability to keep refining the work. Haigh is now founder at Kaizen House, a role aligned with building systems around food as much as producing dishes.
The Work Today
Singaporean street food at Borough Market and Singaporean heritage cuisine are related but not interchangeable materials. In Haigh’s current work, the first carries the immediacy of market eating: steam, heat, quick service, generosity, and food suited to movement or gathering. The second carries inheritance: recipes, techniques, and flavors held through family, place, and memory. At Mei Mei in London, United Kingdom, Haigh applies the attention of a chef shaped by Michelin-recognized work to food that still needs warmth, directness, and recognizable roots. The point is not to distance the cuisine from its source material. The restaurant gives Singaporean flavors a visible London setting while keeping the cooking direct and expressive. Representation can be part of the operating brief, not a slogan outside the kitchen. Haigh’s current London work also includes Little Sister Restaurants Ltd / Mei Mei Goods in London, England. Across these ventures, the restaurant is presented as a response to the shortage of Singaporean-Malaysian restaurants in London. Heritage is treated as a shaping force in the food itself: cultural presence made practical, saleable, and personal.
Signature
Hainanese chicken rice at Mei Mei and Nasi lemak are signatures because they leave little room for disguise. The rice has to carry aroma and depth; the chicken depends on tenderness and balance; the coconut-rich comfort, spice, savor, and familiar components have to be handled with care rather than excess. In Haigh’s cooking, these dishes place Singaporean flavors in the main London dining conversation rather than at its edge.
Acclaim
Elizabeth Haigh has received Michelin UK guide recognition: 1 star (2016). Recognition from Michelin marks one part of the record: Elizabeth's honors include Michelin star (2017). The award sits alongside a career that moves between rigorous professional kitchens and heritage-led cooking, linking formal restaurant recognition with Singaporean flavors and traditions.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Elizabeth
What is Elizabeth Haigh's current role?
Elizabeth Haigh is Chef and Owner.
Where did Elizabeth Haigh train or study?
Elizabeth Haigh trained at Central Saint Martins and Westminster Kingsway College.
What recognition has Elizabeth Haigh received?
Michelin star (2017).
