On May 12^th, our latest collaborator May Chow will be joining r é n in hosting our very first ping pong playoffs at the Hui So Hung Table Tennis Centre, and we’re calling on all chefs, advocates, youths and anyone interested in learning more about our community to come play with us! The event marks the first collaboration with chef May, the mastermind behind Little Bao, who’ll be joined by r é n’s great friend and longtime supporter chef David Lai. 

“I'm actually secretly a ping pong fan, but the real master is David,” May says. “Apparently, he trains with a professional tennis player! This is through the grapevines, but we know David has all his quirky interests like his CDs and vinyls, so this is another fun thing we’ve just learnt about him. Ping pong is great because you can either be super competitive or super silly – it’s just a fun game!”

The new partnership with chef May began when she reached out to us on Instagram, and things started coming together soon after. But what brought her to our charity in the first place?

“I noticed that a lot of people in my circle started to support r é n, and when I looked up the charity, I really resonated with your stories,” May tells us. “I think personally, I’ve benefited so much from my mentors, so r é n’s mission in guiding the youth and supporting them in the F&B industry is something I love. I see that the people r é n works with are great leaders and mentors in the industry that could really help the younger generation, and I want to use my experience to contribute as well. What’s really important is placing young people in the right places where they’re properly nurtured and trained – that’s how you can help them succeed.”

Succeeding as a young chef is something May is particularly familiar with, having been awarded Asia’s Best Female Chef in 2017 when she was just in her early 30s. Since then, she’s been working tirelessly to support the community around her, whether it’s young and upcoming chefs, female chefs, or members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Since 2017 when I won the award, I felt the mission to give back to our community,” May explains. “The first charity I really wanted to work with was the Women’s Foundation, and I’ve done a lot of public speaking and panel discussions to support their cause. We also sponsor them with food or experiences. On a more personal level, I also took on more initiative to mentor and support young chefs and female entrepreneurs, whether they’re through internships or other opportunities. I share my experiences with them transparently and give them my insight, and sometimes it’s just to open doors for them because great opportunities often require introduction, so I try to nurture those relationships too.”

Through her experience and the lessons she’s learnt, she hopes to give young budding chefs a better picture of what it takes to really succeed in the F&B industry. The first step, she says, is to have realistic expectations and be prepared to work for it.

“If you want to excel to a level where you’re recognised across Asia or globally, then it really requires a lot of knowledge beyond cooking,” she says. “The reality is that young chefs need to set the right expectations and have a clear idea of where they want to go. To be a chef-entrepreneur is very different to being a chef in a more traditional sense, so it’s a very different roadmap for those who might want to become executive chefs for hotels or restaurants versus those who want to open their own restaurant. You need to have a clear picture of what you want to achieve.”

The upcoming ping pong tournament will be just the first of many more collaborations to come with chef May, who reciprocates our sentiment in building a long and fruitful partnership together to support the youths of Hong Kong. 

“I think we’re just scratching the surface of what we’re capable of doing together,” May says. “I want to spend more time to learn about all the different facets of r é n. I’m an open book, and I’m definitely very interested to continue exploring a long-term relationship with you guys. It’s a cause I really believe in.”