Finden’s relentless drive was forged by hardship. Born in Singapore in 1967, she was the second youngest of five children. Her father suffered an illness that rendered him unable to work, and he passed away when she was just eleven. To help her mother keep the household afloat, Finden took on cooking duties for the family at age eight, learning early how to stretch raw ingredients.
Her formal training began at the Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (SHATEC). From there, she entered the competitive culinary circuit, working her way up to the historic Raffles Hotel Singapore. In 2000, she represented Singapore at the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany, leading her team to eight gold medals. That performance caught European attention, setting the stage for her relocation to Britain alongside Alex the following year.
