Vivian Pei

Singapore
World’s 50 Best Bars- Academy Chair; Singapore Cocktail Bar Association

Instagram: @viviliciousxo @sgcocktailbarassociation

*Changemakers is a Cross Cultures series spotlighting inspiring women who are creating and doing in the F&B ecosystem; eading the way and helping better the world.

Vivian Pei is a cooking instructor (specializing in dumplings!), writer and consultant. Born and raised in the United States, she has also lived in Europe and Asia, and speaks 5 languages– English, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), French, Japanese and Spanish.
Vivian also authored “Awakening the Appetite”, a cookbook by Parkway Cancer Centre with recipes especially for cancer patients and their caregivers. She is the Academy Chair for Asia for World’s 50 Best Bars, and co-founded the Singapore Cocktail Bar Association to support the city-state’s cocktail community. Above all, she is a loving mother of two.

Tell us about you. Where were you born, raised, and what you are making or doing at present?

I was born in San Francisco, California but grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri. I have since lived in Paris, Tokyo, Singapore, London, Burgundy and now Singapore again!

I have multiple roles. I am a cooking instructor, a writer, and a consultant. I am the Academy Chair for Asia, for the World’s 50 Best Bars. And most of all, I am a mother of 2.

How did you end up working at your present career?

I actually grew up in a restaurant family so started working there very young, unofficially around 12, officially at 14. But my parents pushed me away from F&B into higher learning and what they called a “proper job”. I ended up in the corporate world for over a decade, working in different countries and industries. I even got an MBA from London Business School (which made my parents very happy LOL). But in the end my heart wasn’t in it.

How long have you been doing this/ When did you start?

Well one day I woke up in London, miserable and trying to think up every excuse in the book not to go to work. I knew then something was very wrong and I had to change it.

Food had always been in the background, but now I wanted to make it my focal point. So I quit my corporate job and I just started giving cooking classes and catering out of my flat in London. It was through friends at first and then via word-of-mouth and my little business grew. But I felt I needed more experience and was very lucky to meet Anne Willan who had a chateau in Burgundy. She was working on a very big book project called Country Cooking of France (which went on to win two James Beard awards). She also ran gourmet holiday programs out of her chateau. I ended up working on the book as well as running the holiday programs for her. I also got the fantastic opportunity to stage at a couple of Michelin-starred restaurants where I learned heaps about fine dining, amazing food and how to run a restaurant kitchen.

What was the biggest challenge you have faced?

Honestly? One of the biggest obstacles I have had to face came early in life. Growing up with my face in the Midwest of the United States in the 70s meant I faced a lot of racism. Looking like a boy didn’t help either and I got beat up regularly too…

How/ what did you do to get over it?

I think that growing up with this gave me a very different perspective from the outset. A lot of things didn’t seem so difficult after this. This also made me want to seek a place where I did feel at home and welcome, and led me all over the world. So what doesn’t kill you, really does make you stronger.

Although it has to be said that finally quitting the corporate world after all the expectations placed on me by my parents, that was tricky. I didn’t want to disappoint them but I also didn’t want to live that life anymore. In the end I think they understand and although I make way less money than I used to, I am infinitely happier. So in this case, sometimes you just have to trust your heart and take the plunge.

What is the best advice you can give to anyone wanting to get into or excel in your field?

It might sound cliche but the hospitality business is still one that I consider to be craft. That means you have to learn by doing. You have to keep doing the work, you have to stay humble, and never stop learning.

I see my father now who at the age of 85, still works at his restaurant. He will do everything from clear tables to make dumplings to wash dishes, nothing is beneath him, truly. And he is wonderful with customers as well, that’s where I learned my hospitality from. And love what you do or you won’t last. This is not an industry where the money comes easy for most so you have to have grit and perseverance to make it.

What is your favorite thing about your culture or living in your city?

Well, I would say I have a mixed background really. My father is from northern China, Shandong province and my mother is from Hong Kong. Add that to the fact that I grew up in the US and have lived in several other countries since. I love the Chinese culture for its history, the food, emphasis on family. France taught me about quality of life and how to enjoy. In Japan I learnt about the Japanese sense of aesthetic, respect for the seasons and quality. In London I learned to appreciate its own style of culture, theatre, pubs and a good cuppa. And last but not least, in Singapore I have come to appreciate not only the hawkers and local food and its proximity to a lot of other cool cities, but also how most things just work. That this city has a great mix of different nationalities, ethnicities which is so different from where I grew up. I also love how safe I feel and especially during these very tricky times, the fact that I actually trust the government will do what is best for its residents. Very important right now when I see what is happening in other parts of the world.

How did you spend your days during this COVID-19 quarantine period?

I spent a LOT of time cooking. I was one of those annoying people who got on the sourdough bandwagon but I also figured it was now or never. My small people have also basically been home with me since the end of March so home-based learning has taken up a chunk of time too (by the way, good teachers need to be paid a lot of money LOL!). I’ve been making masks to raise money for charity so I had to refresh my sewing skills. I tried to exercise most days to keep sane as well. We also had Asia’s 50 Best Bar Awards during COVID19 which I thought was a good boost for morale and recognition of the hard work from last year. And of course I’ve been working on creating the Singapore Cocktail Bar Association to help the struggling industry here.

Please tell us more about Singapore Cocktail Bar Association (SCBA), and how readers can take part in it.

Well the SCBA started from a conversation with Guoyi Gan from Jigger & Pony a couple of months ago when we were trying to figure out what we could do to help the industry. We zeroed in that the immediate need was money, plain and simple. Thus we knew we had to raise funds that we could then allocate to those in need.

And that’s what we have been doing, we have been reaching out to brands and the Singapore government to raise funds, we have enlisted a committee that we feel is a good representation of the SG bar community and have been busy registering the entity and making us legitimate.

Regarding the relief fund, individuals can apply for funding if they work in a member cocktail bar based on criteria we have set. Businesses can apply for funding in two ways: 1) If the venue is a new cocktail bar that has existed for less than 12 months they can apply for rental relief or, 2) we have a Phase 3 industry recovery program which will provide funding for services such as marketing, PR, photography, etc. All cocktail bars can apply for this and all the information will be on our website which will hopefully be up soon.

But we have grander plans, after all, we created the SCBA to champion the city’s craft cocktail culture. While the immediate goal is to help those in need financially, in the future we will be working with our members to identify opportunities for industry growth and education. We also intend to collaborate with the Singapore government to refine regulations and improve support for the cocktail industry.
We are here for the long run! In the meantime please do follow us on Facebook (SGCocktailBarAssociation) and Instagram (sgcocktailbarassociation) for any updates.