Helen Tse

Helen Tse is a British author and restaurateur. Her most noted work has been Sweet Mandarin, a memoir of three generations of Chinese women, beginning with her grandmother, Lily Kwok, establishing themselves in the Manchester area. Before she became an author and restaurateur she studied law at Cambridge University and then worked in finance and law for Clifford Chance and PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 2006 she won a Young Accountant of the Year award and in 2008 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Staffordshire University for her "contribution to literature". Tse is one of three granddaughters of Lily Kwok; the others are Lisa and Janet. All three have continued in the hospitality business with Sweet Mandarin, a Chinese restaurant they opened together in 2004 in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where "Lily Kwok's Chicken Curry" remains a menu item. In 2007 Helen Tse published a family memoir, also called Sweet Mandarin, about her grandmother's life and career. In collaboration with Lisa Tse she has also published cookbooks based on their grandmother's recipes: Dim Sum: Small Bites Made Easy and Sweet Mandarin Cookbook