From chef to seasoned chief executive
Known particularly for its exquisite canapes and trademark desserts, the boutique company also prepares delicious main courses, for both corporate clients and private individuals.
The dishes use high-quality ingredients to create generous portions of tasty choices such as duck spring rolls, crab avocado, slow cooked pork, and beef served on a bed of risotto. The dishes are mainly Western with some Asian influences.
One of those influences is Asian root ginger, the partial source of inspiration for the company's name. The other half comes from the curly ginger hair that sits atop the head of Gingers' founder, chef Liz Seaton.
This year, as Gingers celebrates its 10th birthday, Seaton's transformation from chef to seasoned businesswoman is complete.
Seaton is no celebrity chef, and looks unlikely to screech orders or throw tantrums in the kitchen. Instead, seated sedately, in a simple black dress with her hands folded on her lap, she looks every inch the poised, focused and no-nonsense business owner that she is - albeit one with a warm smile and sparkling eyes that hint at a certain fun-loving feistiness.
That sense of adventure has taken Seaton a long way - from Scotland, where she was first inspired by the cooking of both her parents, on to chefs college in Edinburgh, then trying her hand at corporate catering before sailing around the Mediterranean and the Caribbean as a chef on private yachts.
From there, she arrived in Hong Kong where she set up Gingers in 2001. She had spotted a niche in the market after friends and colleagues filled her evenings by asking her to help with dinner parties and other events.
She thought opening a business would give her more control over her time, but for the first year, she was working day and night, often seven days a week. Now, it's more manageable, she says, although she's always on call.
"When you run your own business, sometimes you still have to fill in the gaps," she says.
Seaton has high standards for Gingers, and they clearly work, as most of her business comes from word of mouth and repeat bookings. It's the positive feedback that mak