Our Founder Yuru Guo Has Been Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe
We have some news we've been dying to share. Our founder, Yuru Guo, has officially been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2025 list in the Art & Culture category. We're genuinely so proud, and honestly still a bit giddy about it.
If you know Hey! Food is Ready, you know we're all about bringing people together through food made by people who really know their cuisine. What you might not know is how it all started, and it's a story worth telling.
From a Dorm Room to a Global Kitchen
Yuru founded Hey! Food is Ready from her dorm room at Durham University. The idea was simple but powerful: corporate catering shouldn't just mean sandwiches on a platter. It should be a genuine celebration of culture, cooked by people who actually know that food, whether or not they've ever worked in a professional kitchen.
That small idea has grown into a corporate catering business supplying events with cuisines from more than 60 countries, from Korea to Ukraine to Zambia, cooked by people who bring real, lived expertise to every single dish.
The Numbers Behind the Mission
This isn't just a feel good story. It's a business that's genuinely making an impact. Hey! Food is Ready has now produced more than 10,000 meals and worked with major clients including IKEA, Condé Nast and Google. The company was also recognised as one of the UK's 50 leading businesses in Innovate UK's Inclusive Innovation Award.
But maybe the most important part of the story is who's actually doing the cooking. Hey! Food is Ready works with underrepresented communities, including refugees and immigrants, employing them as cooks. 85% of those cooks are women. Every workshop, every platter, every dumpling folded is part of something bigger than catering.
Why This Recognition Matters
Being named to Forbes 30 Under 30 isn't just a personal milestone for Yuru. It's recognition of everything Hey! Food is Ready stands for: authentic food, real opportunity, and the belief that a workplace event can be so much more than a box of sandwiches.
It's also, honestly, a full circle moment. What started as an idea in a university dorm room has grown into a business trusted by some of the world's biggest companies, all without ever losing sight of the people behind the food.
What's Next for Hey! Food is Ready
This milestone isn't a finish line. It's fuel. We're continuing to grow our roster of workshops (dumpling making, sushi rolling, cake decorating and more), expand the number of cuisines and cooks we work with, and bring even more workplaces the kind of food first experiences that actually bring people together.
Want to be part of the next chapter? Get in touch with Hey! Food is Ready to book a workshop for your team, and help us celebrate this milestone the best way we know how: over great food.
