About Jenny Lau

I am a writer, community organiser and Chinese food cheerleader under the persona of Celestial Peach. I’m also a musician and for many years I worked in fashion. Creativity modes of self-expression are my way of connecting with the world.

I started Celestial Peach in 2018 as a way to investigate health and longevity through a vegan Chinese diet. Very quickly, however, it became a platform to tell stories about Chinese food in the diaspora, and the people and cultures behind it. My output encompasses both personal and collaborative connection - online and offline - in a hyperlocal as well as global environment.

Since 2019 I have been curating food-based events for the UK ESEA (East and Southeast Asian) community, from potlucks and supper clubs to congee gatherings. I believe in using food as a technology to bring different communities together, as well as as a tool to explore individual heritage and identity.

Increasingly, my passion is driven by a desire to nourish and connect with people who feel a similar sense of unrooted-ness. In 2021 I started the self-published writing project An A-Z Of Chinese Food (Recipes Not Included) as a way to deconstruct and interrogate complex ideas around Chinese identity, history and culture, all through the lens of food. As of January 2025 it is now available to buy. BUY IT!

On Wednesdays and Fridays, you can find me in my role as community chef cooking at the ESEACC (East and Southeast Asian Community Centre) luncheon club in Dalston. I wrote about the history of the luncheon club in a chapter called ‘The Community Centre’ as part of London Feeds Itself, edited by Jonathan Nunn - now available in its expanded second edition.

I rarely feel pride about my achievements; instead I consider a job well done if I was able to 1) fully express myself 2) create a safe and inclusive feeling in the room 3) make people look and think and taste again. Some examples of all of these include my #ChineseFoodiesofIG100 exhibition or the Asian Dessert Exchange events.

Some people say what I do is eclectic and ‘a lot’. I don’t believe you always need to be hyper-focused when it comes to deciding what your contribution to society should be. We are, after all, multitudes in ourselves. However, I always stick to Celestial Peach’s key principles:

  • Start with the hyperlocal

  • Connect with and lift up others

  • Construct, don’t cancel!

  • Create something positive and joyful

  • Give away more than you take

 

At the first #CongeeCon!