In addition to having many interests in common with him and holding him in great esteem, I have always felt this to be a bond between us. Ken Lo was born on 12 September 1913 in Foochow 60 days later, I was born some miles north, in Soochow. But it is hard to imagine becoming England's doyen of Chinese cooking culture, most famous Chinese restaurateur, a prolific writer, ex-diplomat, and veteran tennis champion by making too great a profession of sleeping. My true profession is sleeping,'' writes Henry McNulty. Ken Lo once said to me, ''Many people think my profession is cooking. But Cooking the Chinese Way sold 10,000 copies in hardback and became the first, rather amateurish, step towards a one-man publishing phenomenon. The book was written flat out in three weeks, scarcely giving Lo any time to try out the recipes. Up to this time he had been a lot more interested in eating than preparing Chinese food, but seeing a growing interest in Oriental cuisine, he decided to bone up on it. By 1956 he had a gallery in London and a staff of six.Īt the same time he was developing a sideline as a Chinese food writer, having published his first cookbook after a chance meeting with a publisher friend in the street.
His first venture was a shop selling Chinese greetings cards, which soon expanded into a thriving business importing and selling contemporary Chinese art. A brief spell as the Chinese vice-consul in Manchester followed, before Lo abandoned ideas of a diplomatic career in favour of the entrepreneurial path that proved to be his making. His first job on leaving Cambridge was as industrial relations officer to the Chinese consulate in Liverpool, where his innovative tactics included inviting disputing West Indian and Chinese seamen to air their differences over a lavish Chinese banquet.
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