CBE

At a ceremony in Paris on 4th November 2022, Dame Menna Rawlings, British Ambassador to France, presented Ken Hom with his CBE, for services to charity, culinary arts and charity

Held in the magnificent Hôtel de Charost, the official residence of the British Ambassador since 1814 (when it was bought by the Duke of Wellington), the ceremony was attended by around 50 of Ken’s close friends and colleagues.

Ken Hom is known to public audiences as a chef, broadcaster and author – as the man who introduced the British to authentic Chinese cuisine – but perhaps less is known about his sustained support for charities. In her address, the Ambassador acknowledged Ken’s immense contribution to his chosen charities, Action Against Hunger and Prostate Cancer UK.
Celebrity chef Ken Hom, widely regarded as one the world’s greatest authorities on oriental cooking.

A most notable chef with a captivating television presence, Ken Hom has excelled at reaching a wide UK public who had limited appreciation of conventional cooking, let alone attempting to understand Oriental cuisine, which required a cultural leap of faith. By encouraging people to experiment with food through his ‘Foolproof’ book series and television programmes, Ken demystified this cuisine, making it approachable and interesting. His appeal has defied demographics, attracting not just women and men to cooking the Oriental way, but children in schools too, promoting healthy Chinese recipes.

His name is also firmly associated with the Wok – the curved pan and key utensil for all Chinese cooking. Over eight million Ken Hom Woks and accessories have been sold in 78 countries worldwide and in the UK alone the brand is the market leader with over 60 percent brand share. One in six Britons owns a Ken Hom wok.