Cover Siblings Joey and Vannessa Lee share their experience turning their childhood dreams into reality.
Siblings Joey and Vannessa Lee share their experience turning their childhood dreams into reality.
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The founders and siblings Joey and Vannessa share their experience of turning their childhood dreams into reality
Growing up with various ambitions in mind is normal. Some children dream of becoming a veterinarian when they grow up, others have lofty goals of becoming movie stars. But Singaporean siblings Joey and Vannessa Lee, they had a common goal in mind: to run a restaurant together. This was Joey and Vannessa Lee's childhood dream.
“We [would talk] about how nice it would be if we ran a restaurant together—Joey being behind the recipes and myself branding it,” Vannessa recollects. Joey adds that they had conversations about starting a business from as early as their childhood days. Little did they know that their childhood dream would turn into reality.
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The brother-sister duo have been inseparable growing up. Despite their bickering, like every other sibling duo, they also had some of the most fondest memories together.
Reminiscing on their childhood, Joey shares: “We both loved thrills, so at the closing hour of theme parks… [our parents] would let us go on our own and there would be a full hour of sprinting from the end of the rollercoaster ride back to the start, taking the ride over and over again.” Even as adults, the duo still enjoys adrenaline-packed activities. “Now that I think about it, [our love for adrenaline] probably has some subliminal link to how we took this leap of faith [to open Poke Theory],” he adds.
While they have always talked about starting something together, it never seriously crossed Vannessa’s mind until Joey brought up the idea of Poke (pronounced po-kay), a dish he chanced upon while he was on a journalism internship in Los Angeles in 2014. “After trying my first poke bowl—which was a very basic iteration of just rice and fish, with a garnish or two—I quickly recognised its potential to flourish in Singapore,” he explains.
With a newfound dream of being an entrepreneur and after watching three seasons of Masterchef, Joey began cooking—in hopes of introducing poke to Singapore. By the time he returned to Singapore to serve his National Service six months later, his plans to become a food journalist had been replaced “by the F&B industry itself”.
Like Joey, Vannessa also saw a gap in the market and recognised the potential for poke to flourish in Singapore. Following Joey’s return, the siblings spent two years taste-testing various recipes and doing multiple trials and errors. Their two years of hard work didn’t go unnoticed. The day of their first store opening in Telok Ayer in 2016 saw snaking queues 30 minutes before their opening time. They sold out in two hours on the first day and three hours on the second.
Vannessa shared that they didn’t have any work-life balance for the first few years. Back when they first started, the duo did everything from operations and finance management to branding and marketing on their own. “It actually got to a tipping point where I had panic attacks and was diagnosed with anxiety from stress,” she explains.
It has taken time but they have learnt that it’s impossible to have absolution in deciding when work needs to be tended to. “[During the early days] we struggled to balance our youth and ambition with our happiness and mental well-being,” Joey adds.
Seven years on, the duo has built a core team that can take charge of various tasks, allowing them to take a step back and work on the brand at a macro level. Vannessa also shares that this allows her to better balance time between work and family, especially having a three-year-old and a three-month-old. “I do want to cherish these young years with them,” she continues.
Of course, the duo had their fair share of fights in the early years—including heated exchanges over FaceTime. However, they also mentioned that they don’t bear grudges or cold wars and that their issues would get resolved within the same call.
Over the years, the siblings have learnt to work together, understanding each other’s passions, strengths and even their dislikes. “The result is a harmonious partnership that allows us to navigate through various stages of our lives. It’s an incredible journey,” Joey says.
In terms of communication, they have come a long way, especially since Vannessa currently resides in Melbourne. “We have very different strengths and trust each other in our own areas of expertise for the business, while still making key decisions together,” she explains. Vannessa continues to oversee the marketing team and operations while abroad while Joey engages in food research and development.
Despite the popular saying that we shouldn’t work with family, this isn’t the case for the Lee siblings. In fact, Joey shares that working together has been a “truly beautiful experience as we both genuinely want the best for each other”. He adds that they never feel the need to doubt each other’s intentions either.
Vannessa adds: “I think that trust makes up the biggest part of why we work together so well. We were always close, to begin with, and became even closer after working together for almost seven years now.”
Today, although poke bowls can be commonly found in Singapore, Poke Theory stands out by offering an array of versatile and fresh ingredients. The halal-certified brand is also constantly introducing new menus to keep up with the competitive market. For example, their latest store will see a selection of new toppings like corn salsa, scrambled egg whites and pickled green chillies.
While they have already made a name for themselves in the industry, the Lee siblings are not slowing down any time soon.
“In the next five years, we want Poke Theory to be the household name for poke across Southeast Asia,” Vannessa explains. Poke Theory has already begun expanding outside of Singapore, including Indonesia (Bali, Surabaya) and Saigon, Vietnam.
It has been years since Joey and Vannessa had their first taste of poke. Yet, they’re still not sick of it. Vannessa shares that her perfect bowl would be doused in garlic granules, fried shallots, extra sauce and something pickled such as pickled beetroot or kimchi. As for Joey, he enjoys topping his bowl with corn salsa, ikura and lime avocado.
With their passion for their brand and each other, it’s no doubt that the duo will continue to share their mutual love of poke in Singapore and around the world for years to come.
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Amanda Goh was the former senior writer for Tatler Singapore.
