MANDY YIN
Operators speak commercial sense but can't read a lease. Lawyers can read the lease but haven't run the kitchen. I do both.
I work with restaurant and corporate catering groups, hospitality investors, retailers and publishers on the decisions that need operator experience, legal training and cultural authority in one place.
I founded Sambal Shiok in 2013 and ran London's first laksa bar for over a decade.
Before that, I trained as a corporate lawyer in the City.
I'm the author of two cookbooks on Malaysian and Peranakan cuisine and teach at the Jamie Oliver Cookery School.
My expertise in taste-making has spearheaded the UK’s love for laksa and wider recognition of Malaysian cuisine globally.
Hospitality advisory, expert witness and Asian product development
Credentials
Industry standing. OpenTable UK Restaurant Advisory Board (2024–2026). Code Hospitality 100 Most Influential Women (2019, 2021, 2022). Be Inclusive Hospitality Spotlight Chef of the Year 2024.
Published work.Sambal Shiok: The Malaysian Cookbook (Quadrille, 2021) - 30,000 copies sold, nominated for Fortnum & Mason Debut Cookery Book, Guild of Food Writers and André Simon awards. Simply Malaysian (Quadrille, 2025).
Press and broadcast. Writing on hospitality economics for The Guardian. Television on BBC One (Saturday Kitchen, MasterChef: The Professionals, Newsnight), Channel 4 (Jamie Oliver’s £1 Wonders and Money Saving Meals) and ITV (Nadiya’s Family Feasts).
In September 2025, a video I made breaking down the real costs behind a £22 bowl of laksa reached nearly one million viewers and moved restaurant economics briefly into mainstream political conversation.