William Poon

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William Poon

William Poon, is a one of the top matercehef [1] in the UK, and launched the Poons restaurant chain in London.

The restaurant chain, first opened in the 60's[2], consisted of 5 branches at its peak, each branch with its own speciality and run by different family members. It was acclaimed for its authentic Cantonese Menu and was famous for the Chinese wind-dry sausages (臘腸) and wind-dry ducks.[3] It was also one of the first Chinese restaurant in London Chinatown to introduce Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯).

Chef William Poon personally ran the kitchen in Covent Garden (one Michelin star 1979-80) before it moved to Poons in the City in 1992. The restaurant in the city was modelled on the design of Hong Kong's Luk Yew Tree House and had a 80-seat fast food section[4]. Poons have been patronised by celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and many theatre stars among the Covent Garden theatres. [5]

Poon is now officially retired and all the chain restaurants are closed, [6] [7] but his wind-dry products are still widely available in UK supermarkets.

Poon continues to work in support of community projects and is currently the Chair of Euro-Chinese Literature Association (歐華文聯).[8] [9], and the Permanent President of Shunde UK Association.[10] Poon also helps with promoting Chinese cooking standard in the UK and has been on the judging panels for the Chinese Masterchef[11] competition organised by Westminster City Council[12]. Poon was one of the finalist for the Promotion of Excellence in Chinese Cuisine at the Pearl Award in 2006.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Shanghai Masterchef Conference, News Times, China, Sep 2006
  2. ^ UK Restaurant History, Menu Magazine, 2006.
  3. ^ Memories of Wind-Dried Duck by the Barefoot Doctor, Londonlostandfound.com, 2005.
  4. ^ Review of Poons in the City, Sidestep.com 2000
  5. ^ Poon's Profile, Pearl Award, 2006.
  6. ^ Poons' Past, London-RIP.com, 2005.
  7. ^ Past Customers' Comments, London-Eating.co.uk, 2005.
  8. ^ Meeting of UK Chinese at the opening of the 16th National Meeting of the Communist Party in China, People.com, November 2002.
  9. ^ Poon's comment on Taiwan, Guang Ming Daily China, 2000
  10. ^ Annual Meeting Report of Shunde Association in the UK, Shunde Local Government Website, 2005.
  11. ^ Chinese Masterchef Competition, Westminster Council, May 2006
  12. ^ Chinese MasterChef, Westminster Kingsway College, May 2006.

[edit] External links

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