Our Story

Keejays was established in 1985 by Mr Kee Wah Lee and his son, Sammy, after they identified a business opportunity in producing and supplying curry sauce mixes for Chinese catering kitchens across the UK.

Migrating from Hong Kong to Britain in 1957, Mr Kee Wah Lee was driven to realising his dream of developing a food catering business in his 'New World', leading him to open the first ever Chinese restaurant in Clacton-on-Sea, on England's East Coast. His successful venture enabled additional outlets in the Suffolk county town of Ipswich and nearby market town of Hadleigh, where Keejays is still based today.

Throughout the 1970's and 80's, Britain experienced a significant increasing trend for Chinese take-away food, creating a growing demand across the country for specialist catering products that could be quickly prepared, yet provide consistent quality and a delicious taste. So in 1985 Mr Lee and son Sammy founded Keejays, creating the now well-loved Goldfish Brand to service this need; a range of restaurant-grade curry sauce concentrate mixes that still lead the catering and in-home markets today.

In 1990, Mr Lee was joined by another of his sons, with the ambition of widening the production scope of Keejays. As the business developed and gained vital technical experience, the production capability of Keejays rapidly expanded and the business was able to partner with retailers and other food manufacturers, creating more quality sauce solutions for both the hospitality industry and for home cooks alike.

Today, Chinese flavours and constantly returning to the company's heritage is still a huge part of what we do here at Keejays. But with a growing team of people from across the globe we now have the experience and knowledge from our team, projects and partners to create a truly international-inspired range.

Our story, therefore our future, continues to positively and successfully evolve. Our team is ever-growing and we look forward to continuing to build on Mr Lee's vision and legacy to deliver first-class quality, excellent taste and a premium service every day.

Mr Kee Wah Lee (R) with Mr Wing Yip (L) 1958