Food for Good

Leading up to her 75th birthday in May, culinary doyenne Violet Oon embarked on a year-long quest to raise $1 million for charity and empowering lives

- Dawson Tan

With the sand under her feet, amid a special dinner celebrating Sentosa's 50th anniversary in 2022, culinary doyenne Violet Oon found inspiration within herself. This wasn't just another beachside soiree. As if the stars aligned, her reunion with the people behind the philanthropic organisation Community Chest at the event led to the beginning of her gastronomic overture called Empowering Lives: Food for Good.

Laying the foundation for Oon's poignant vision of turning meals into notes of change, the initiative sets out to engage with members of the food and beverage community-from talented chefs and culinary experts to restaurant and hospitality groups to come together for a year-long fundraiser to raise money for the charities under the umbrella of Community Chest.

From her early days as a restaurant critic to representing Singapore as a food ambassador travelling all over the world to promote local cuisine, the culinary luminary has long been the virtuoso orchestrating edible symphonies beyond Singapore's grand culinary landscape. In 2019, Oon was conferred the Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism at the Singapore Tourism Awards in the same week she turned 70. Right there and then, it was eureka. "I decided to do seven social and community-service projects, one for each decade of my life," she tells us.

Oon was also heavily inspired by her mother. "I have always believed in giving back. I remember that she was president of the children's home in Malacca, where I saw babies who were abandoned and had so much less than I did," she says. So, beyond the realms of her culinary prowess, she yearns for a higher purpose-a resonating chord that harmonised her iconic status with a profound commitment to community welfare. "People say I am an icon of Singapore food but how can I use this status for good?" Oon wonders.