Mr. Chan Shu Kit

Founder, Chairman & CEO

Lei Garden Restaurant Group

The Lei Garden Restaurant Group was founded in 1973 by Mr Chan Shu Kit. A qualified engineer with a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering from a renowned university in the US , Mr Chan had established two English Secondary Schools in Hong Kong on his return from the USA in 1961 before deciding that the standard of food in Hong Kong was not of a high enough standard. Despite not having cooked previously he decided to remedy this and started his first restaurant in Shamshuipo, Hong Kong.

Mr Chan’s love of food can be traced back to his childhood. His father was the famous Kuomintang General Chan Ji Tang, who governed the Guangdong and Guanxi provinces of China in the 1930s. General Chan’s fame and reputation was highly notable at that time and the family residence was frequented by many dignitaries and official visitors. The master chefs employed by General Chan gave Mr S K Chan his first tastes of fine cuisine and engendered in him a refined sense of taste which is now reflected in the dishes served in the Lei Garden restaurants.

 

The path to the success which Lei Garden enjoys today was not straightforward. With virtually no experience in the hospitality industry, Mr Chan experienced a number of setbacks in the early days, encountering significant losses from his initial restaurants and having to replace staff with great frequency.

Eventually, however, his innate ability to manage complex organisations and his determination to learn to cook to the highest standards turned the company around and, today, Lei Garden Restaurants can be found in 23 different locations in Mainland China, Singapore, China Hong Kong and China Macau.

Mr S K Chan follows his father’s motto of “setting noble goals, studying hard, being a good person and doing good deeds.” All employees of Lei Garden are taught to always place the well being of other people  above everything else. They are regularly reminded of the corporate motto established by Mr Chan “To serve our patrons the most exquisite world class cuisine and to champion our goal of bringing the most benefit to others and eventually benefitting ourselves.”

A portion of the factory has also been adapted to produce a range of ready to eat meals based on the most popular dishes served in the Group’s restaurants. Using advanced automation techniques to ensure the consistency and quality of the finished products, the Lei range of prepared food will be available for purchase progressively from 2021 onwards.

In keeping with his reputation for selflessness and his global view of the importance of safe, healthy and delicious food Mr Chan established the Lei Foundation in 2017 and endowed his entire shareholding in the Lei Restaurant Group to this charitable organisation. While he retains the position of Chairman and CEO of the Group, profits from the restaurants are channelled to the Foundation for the further development of better food to benefit mankind.

Innovation remains central to Mr Chan’s personal and work ethic and he continues to seek ways to bring “safe, healthy and delicious” food to all of mankind.