Violet Oon (born 1949) is a Singaporean[1] chef, restaurateur, and food writer known for her food columns, cookbooks, and restaurants specializing in Peranakan cuisine. She has been the food ambassador of Singapore since 1988.
Violet Oon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Violet Oon 1949 (age 74–75) |
| Education | University of Singapore (1971) |
| Children | 2 |
| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | Peranakan |
Current restaurant(s)
| |
Previous restaurant(s)
| |
| Website | violetoon |
Early life edit
Violet Oon was born to Peranakan parents Beng Soon Oon and Nancy Oon in Malacca, Federation of Malaya.[2][3] Oon spent part of her childhood in London where her father worked as an executive at Royal Dutch Shell.[4] Her family later moved to the Katong neighborhood of Singapore.[3][4] Although her mother never cooked, Oon began cooking at the age of sixteen with her aunts in an effort to document her family recipes.[2][5] She attended the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) in 1971.[5]
Journalism career edit
After graduating from the University of Singapore, Oon was a features and music journalist for the New Nation newspaper.[2][5] In 1974, she began a food column in New Nation at the request of her then-editor David Kraal.[2][5] Throughout the 1980s, Oon wrote for The Singapore Monitor.[2] Oon ran a monthly magazine, The Food Paper, from 1987 to 1996.[2][5][6]
Oon has written three cookbooks: Peranakan Cooking, Violet Oon Cooks, and A Singapore Family Cookbook, in addition to several other co-authored cookbooks in collaboration with international publishers such as The Peninsula Hotels and Tiger Beer.[5] Her cookbooks were part of a national effort for preserving oral history and national heritage.[1]
Restaurants edit
In 1993, Oon opened her first restaurant called Violet Oon's Kitchen in the Takashimaya department store in Ngee Ann City.[2][5] She also operated three cafes starting in 1995, but the restaurant and cafes closed by 1996 due to poor business.[2][6][7]
In 2009, Oon opened another iteration of Violet Oon's Kitchen in Toa Payoh which eventually closed the following year.[2][3][8]
In 2012, Oon and her two children opened Violet Oon's Kitchen in Bukit Timah initially with a Peranakan menu with Western influences.[2][5][7][9] In 2015, Violet Oon's Kitchen was renamed Violet Oon Singapore and refocused with an entirely Peranakan menu.[10] Later in the same year, Oon and her children opened National Kitchen by Violet Oon at National Gallery Singapore in the National Gallery Singapore.[11][12]
From 2017 to 2019, Oon and her children opened three more restaurants in Clarke Quay, ION Orchard, and Jewel Changi Airport which focus on Peranakan as well as British-Hainanese cuisine.[2][4][7]
Consultancy edit
In 1995, Oon began operating a food consultancy business that served several major events in Singapore such as the 2006 meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group.[5][7]
Food ambassador of Singapore edit
In 1988, Oon was appointed Singapore's food ambassador by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board.[2] Her role as food ambassador began with a three-week, eight-city trip to the United States during which she gave food demonstrations and media interviews about Singapore's culinary heritage.[5] Her visits have included a cooking demonstration at the James Beard House.[9] She led Singaporean teams at the World of Flavors Conference and Festival organised by the Culinary Institute of America in 2004, 2007, and 2009.[5]
Awards edit
In 2016, Oon was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.[5]
In 2018, Oon received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence and the Lifetime Achievement Award at The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao's Best Asian Restaurants Awards.[7][13]
Personal life edit
Oon has two children who are co-owners of the Violet Oon restaurants.[7][14] In June 2014, Oon suffered a stroke from which she recovered.[6][7][15]
References edit
- ^ a b Tarulevicz, Nicole (15 December 2013). Eating Her Curries and Kway: A Cultural History of Food in Singapore. University of Illinois Press. p. 110. ISBN 9780252095368.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ahmad, Nureza (2019). "Violet Oon". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ a b c Lui, J. (14 December 2009). "Violet's spice of life". The Straits Times. p. 46.
- ^ a b c Goh, Kenneth (15 November 2018). "Singapore Chef Violet Oon Celebrates Colonial Cafe Culture With Fourth Restaurant". Michelin Guide. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Violet Oon". Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ a b c Tan, Sumiko (2 July 2017). "Lunch with Sumiko: Life for cooking doyenne Violet Oon has never been better". The Straits Times. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Khoo, Hedy (15 April 2018). "Personality wins all". The Straits Times. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ Huang, L. J. (28 September 2009). "Violet's food at under $5". The Straits Times. p. 49.
- ^ a b Spencer, Brian (18 June 2013). "Singapore's Soul Food Guru". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ Wong, A. Y. (12 July 2015). "Restaurant Review: Purely Peranakan". The Straits Times.
- ^ Wong, A. Y. (13 December 2015). "Restaurant Review; Good, old Singapore flavours". The Straits Times.
- ^ Mendoza, Don (19 June 2018). "How Chefs Are Preserving Our Local Culinary Treasures". Singapore Tatler. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ Khoo, Hedy (16 April 2018). "25 gold and silver winners unveiled at Best Asian Restaurants Awards". The Straits Times. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ Tan, H. Y. (30 June 2012). "Violet's back in the kitchen". The Straits Times. p. 2.
- ^ Tan, H. Y. (8 August 2014). "Recovering from stroke". The Straits Times. p. 12.