Midlands New Year Honours: Region's unsung heroes get rewarded
Dec 31 2009 by Tony Collins, Birmingham Mail
FROM restaurant dishwasher to an honour from Her Majesty the Queen.
Woon Wing Yip was today basking in the glory of being made an OBE in the New Year Honours for services to the oriental food industry.
The 71-year-old immigrant, who came to Britain from Hong Kong with only £10 in 1959, became the first Chinese tycoon in the UK.
After ten years working in restaurants in Hull and Clacton-on-Sea, Wing moved to Birmingham in 1969 where he established his Chinese supermarket and food distribution business in Nechells, supplying restaurants and shops.
Wing said: “I am so happy and I feel very honoured, especially after coming here as an immigrant.
“My first job when I came to this country in 1959 was washing up and making tea and coffee at a restaurant in Kingston, Hull, but I was determined that I wouldn’t be doing that all my life. After four weeks I became a waiter, and then moved to Ipswich to become a head waiter, before eventually opening my first restaurant in Clacton in 1962.
“After a few years, I wanted to set up a business supplying restaurants, and chose Birmingham because most motorways go through it, or start or end here.”
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