Collectors Club: Private dining chef Sophia Yeow of Butterfly Table is an avid collector of antiques and tea sets

Sophia Yeow vividly recalls the first purchase she made with her own hard-earned pocket money at 18-years-old. Walking into a vintage store, she was immediately drawn to a hand-painted teacup. “I recognised the pottery maker, Royal Doulton,” Yeow said, referring to the British ceramics manufacturer renowned for its high-quality tableware.

At the time, Yeow was studying in Australia. As the designated cook for her flatmates, every Saturday morning, she and a few friends would drive to the wholesale market to buy groceries. “We bought as much as we could, brought it back to our unit, and divided it into smaller packages. I kept what I needed for my unit, and we sold the rest to other units,” she explained, reflecting on her early entrepreneurial spirit.

That teacup purchase was pivotal as it sparked Yeow’s love for vintage items. She now proudly considers herself an avid collector of heritage items, from sewing machines to heirloom Peranakan beaded shoes and unique tableware. “But my favourite has to be my teacups, tea sets and teapots,” she quipped.

A JOURNEY OF PASSION

Yeow is a private dining chef who left a successful career in marketing to focus on her love for cooking. She was also a contestant on Season 2 of MasterChef Singapore and previously won the Lee Kum Kee Supreme Chef competition in 2021.

Hosted in her spacious bungalow home in the east of Singapore, her private dining series, Butterfly Table, focuses on Peranakan “Tok Panjang” (long table) communal dining. The experience also includes a vintage “museum” tour of Yeow’s personal collection of antiques. 

At the front entrance of her home, Yeow built a gallery that houses her vast collection of antiques. On display are old radios, an ice kacang machine, ancient water pots, Peranakan beaded shoes, “tingkats” (tiered containers), as well as her exquisite collection of tea sets.