French chef in Hong Kong on Alain Ducasse, Joël Robuchon and a love of fish

“He took me under his wing, brought me to work at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay with him, where we did lots of food stations and outside catering. After a year he helped me get a job with Guy Savoy in Las Vegas.

“That’s when I really started my fine-dining career. I spent two years there, and had an opportunity to go to [ Joël] Robuchon [at the Mansion in Las Vegas] so I went.”

“Guy Savoy is more traditional, he keeps the product as it is, while Robuchon is a lot more about technique and precision; it’s either good or no way. We had to measure the asparagus, it’s really precise. Working with him made me a chef today, having those little touches, being intolerant of certain things, I definitely learned a lot working for Robuchon for three years, which wasn’t easy, but it was good.

“At the time I was working for Tomonori Danzaki [at Robuchon] who was even more intolerant. One day I got a plate pushed back at me because the onion was just a touch out of position.”

“After five years in Vegas it was time to do something else. Originally I was supposed to go for the opening of IDAM by Alain Ducasse, in Doha, but then a position in St Petersburg, Russia, needed to be filled at miX by Alain Ducasse so I took it in 2011. It was a big jump for me from sous chef to executive sous chef but it was good, especially arriving in a country where you don’t speak the language, don’t know the culture.

“We have a bad impression of Russians but they are actually very humble and loyal people who greeted me with open arms.”

“At the beginning, we imported a lot, then we started working with farmers. When I first got there, they used to deliver us what they said was a baby lamb, but it was actually mutton, a big, overgrown lamb. They would also deliver the meat in garbage bags from the back of their car. It was shocking at first, but after a year they adapted to our hygiene requirements.

“Sometimes we would get fresh salmon from the back of the car and it was frozen because in the winter it would be minus 26 degrees Celsius. It was a challenge we had to adapt to.”

“He is a very humble person, and he’s always thinking about what to do next, who is the next chef, who is the talk of the town. The gentleman does not stop eating. He is in the kitchen with you talking, and if there’s a bowl of peanuts or fresh green peas he will talk to you and nibble whatever is around him.

“He’s constantly interested in new flavours, new profiles, ready to test anything.”

“In 2015, I had the opportunity to open Fontana at Wynn Palace. It was a big change in my career path, going from 120 covers to 600 for breakfast and 200 to 400 covers for lunch and dinner. I learned organisation is prime; if you don’t order enough you’re in trouble.

“We bought whole pigs for the steak house, the premier cuts went to the steak house and the secondary cuts went to me. We cured the legs and shoulders to roast for breakfast and the other cuts we used for stews or sausages. It was the same for the beef. But after almost a year there I realised it wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

“We’re doing modern European cuisine, using local and imported ingredients prepared with French cooking techniques. There are things we think the local market would like but then they dislike it or find it too salty, or different cooking methods you think they will like but they don’t.

“For example, we like to steam codfish, but local palates find it too meaty. I try to put monkfish on the menu, which I like because of the meaty texture, but local customers say it’s cottony, not cooked enough or overcooked. People here really like white fish but soft flesh. Maybe it’s because they compare it with Cantonese steamed fish.”

“I love fish. Monkfish is one of my favourite fishes that you can cook like a piece of meat, but it needs to be cooked medium rare otherwise it’s too gummy. Dover sole is also a great fish that is more of a childhood memory. My grandparents have a house on the French island of Noirmoutier, in Vendée. My grandfather fished and Dover sole was the big thing.

“Stingray is also one of my favourites in France. You can get it here, but you have to eat it right away otherwise it goes bad very quickly. Locally, I love celtuce [also called celery lettuce or asparagus lettuce] – I like the raw flavour and smell it has, and it goes well with lamb or fish.”

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