Suffolk News food columnist, Lilian Hiw, takes double win in London and South East Prestige Awards

The newest food columnist for Suffolk News has announced she has scooped two accolades at this year’s London and South East Prestige Awards.

Lilian Hiw, who is based in Culford, has been told she has won the Cookery School of the Year award for the first time and the event’s Private Chef of the Year category, for the third year running.

Lilian’s Kitchen, which offers cookery lessons from dim sum to Korean and Thai, a private dining service and bespoke cakes, was started by her in 2017.

The Singaporean-born chef said she was overjoyed to hear the news.

Lilian added: “I am really thrilled to have won the cookery school award on top of the private chef one for the third year running, it is just amazing.”

Lilian credits her grandmother and mum for inspiring her love of food and is very passionate about demystifying Asian cooking.

Growing up in Singapore, Lilian helped at her parent’s noodle and congee stall - which further drove her decision to join a hospitality school from Switzerland based in Singapore, instead of university, like her older sister.

After becoming fully trained and teaching at the school for three years, Lilian was head hunted to be catering manager at Raffles – One of the world’s most iconic hotels and famous for inventing the Singapore Sling cocktail.

Once she came to England, Lilian lectured at West Suffolk College in the hospitality department.

Lilian started her cookery classes at Bury St Edmunds Cricket club, before welcoming people into her home, where they now take place.

Talking to Barbara Eeles in the Bury Free Press in March about her classes, she said: “Here we are much more relaxed and what I love is when the customers think of something and I have the ingredients in the house I can show them.”

The chef, who took part in the Bury St Edmunds Food and Drink Festival in August, gave readers her recipe for Tandoori Salmon this month in her first article and is also in the process of writing a cookbook as well.

The London and South-East England Prestige Awards will be held at Gorse Hill Hotel, London, on August 27 and 28.

For more on Lilian’s classes, go to www.lilianskitchen.co.uk