How To Be Mindful About Your Etiquette!

The star of Netflix's etiquette show Mind Your Manners tells Tatler that what she teaches is far more than being polite or using the correct cutlery

-  Amrita Katara

As etiquette expert Sara Jane Ho discusses her journey to the TV screen, there is a quiet resolve that emerges-her wish is to help people elevate their lifestyle and be the best version of themselves.

"It all began 10 years ago when I moved to Beijing to found a finishing school [Institute Sarita]," says Ho, who is often mistakenly believed to be late casino magnate Stanley Ho's daughter. But the host of Netflix's Mind Your Manners, a show in which she helps clients create positive change in their lives, is a self-made woman who found fame by acting on her instincts and filling a gap in the market.

"The reason why I did this [opened a finishing school] was really because I was inspired by my mother. She was just such an amazing hostess. Unfortunately, I lost her to cancer when I was 21. So in some ways, I wanted to continue her legacy. She adds that local friends were keen to learn how to navigate professional scenarios with people from different cultures. "After I completed my MBA at Harvard, I remember my friends in Beijing were asking me for tips on like, how to have a breakfast meeting. And just a lot of these little questions, so I thought, maybe it's a good way for me to combine what I love with my mother's legacy, and with what I think is a market need in China's elite who are curious about western etiquette."