Meet the panel: Mandy Yin
Mandy Yin is one of the UK’s leading voices on Malaysian cuisine - widely credited with driving Britain’s appetite for laksa - we’re super excited that she’ll be joining us on the panel.
Mandy founded Sambal Shiok, London’s first laksa bar, in 2013, building it from a street food stall into a critically acclaimed, award-winning restaurant in Highbury by 2018. She closed it this May - it was no longer viable given how labour-intensive it was to make her signature laksa from scratch.
Before moving into food, she spent nine years as a corporate lawyer in the City, so she’s someone who can analyse commercial risk, read a lease and run a kitchen - which is rare in this industry.
She’s written two cookbooks, turns up regularly on Saturday Kitchen, and now works with restaurant groups and food brands on creative direction, plus recipe development for Waitrose, Ocado and the Guardian.
She’s also written on independent hospitality economics for the national press - exactly the lens we want when we get into whether the model still holds.
Ahead of our event on the 14th July, we asked Mandy about the state of hospitality.
[Photo credits to @jesshandphotography, @timeoutlondon, @louisehagger @quadrillebooks @kleedale)
📍 The State of it: Hospitality Special | 14 July | 4pm - 8:30pm | Projects, Nile House
Get your tickets here.
ABOUT BEST BEFORE
BEST BEFORE was born from a simple idea: to shine a light on the brilliant people shaping food, drink, and hospitality - starting in Brighton, stretching beyond it.
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