George Quek is best known as the founder of BreadTalk, a bakery brand he started in Singapore in 2000 that exploded in popularity because of its unique pastries and confectioneries, many of which were novel at the time. Quek was inspired by the high-quality bakeries he had observed in Japan and Taiwan, and sought to bring a similar concept to Singapore.

BreadTalk was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange in 2003, a mere three years after its inception. Quek’s business has since diversified to incorporate other food and beverage brands such as Din Tai Fung, Toast Box, Bread Society and popular bak kut teh (pork bone tea) chain Song Fa, which expanded to China and Thailand in 2017 and 2018.

Today, the BreadTalk Group manages more than 800 bakeries; more than 30 Din Tai Fung restaurants in the UK, Singapore and Thailand; and nearly 60 Food Republic upscale-hawker outlets in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia. There are also 14 Food Junction food-court outlets in Singapore and Malaysia under its Food Atrium arm.