Jimmy Yu

Founder and CEO of Royal Catering

He’s the man who put the joy in joie de vivre — we have yet to meet anyone in the city who’s so persistently joyful and spreads that happiness around. Is it any wonder, then, that Jimmy Yu cofounded the organisation Smile With Us Hong Kong, a charity drive that gives back to the community? Yu is busy with several enterprises, making him one of the most popular men about town. “Apart from Royal Catering, I’m also a director of Propagate Marketing and Communications, founder and CEO of China Royal Food Culture, and I’m involved with finance and insurance too,” he says. “We’ve expanded twice since opening Royal Catering in 2015. The company is rapidly growing and an important factor in this growth is having a tremendous team.”

Yu and his team have been behind the scenes at every major party and event this year — serving innovative dishes and novel cocktails. “Clients are looking for something unique and special every time. We can’t keep serving the same canapés over and over again, we have to create new items for each event, items that excite the guests. We create what we call edible art, and not only the food but also the presentation and serving equipment we use is different every time. It can be very challenging as we’re only given a limited period of time for preparation.”

What’s next, Jimbo? “Apart from expanding in China and tapping that market, I’d also like to do a lot more with Smile With Us Hong Kong, not only helping those in my home town of Hong Kong, but also expanding all over the world: ‘One World, One Love’.”