by Aude Camus
It was about time for me to feature a female chef in the Michelin Star Chefs of Hong Kong series! And who better than, the Head Chef of one Michelin Star restaurant Tate Dining Room & Bar and 2015 Best Female Chef in Asia (Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants), Vicky Lau to lead the way?
It was about time for me to feature a female chef in the Michelin Star Chefs of Hong Kong series! And who better than, the Head Chef of one Michelin Star restaurant Tate Dining Room & Bar and 2015 Best Female Chef in Asia (Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants), Vicky Lau to lead the way?
Hi Vicky!
I’ve heard that you were initially not a chef … can you tell me a bit more about your background and what made you change your career?
Before I became a chef, I was a graphic designer. I studied graphic communications at New York University. I was very drawn to creating things. There was one class in particular that spoke to me, in which the professor introduced us to a manifesto written by Ken Garland, encouraging designer to return to their roots and creating things that would positively impact humanity. No matter WHERE we came from and WHERE we were going.
After graduation, I was lucky to find my first job at Green Team Advertising at the first social-conscience agency in New York as a designer.
Wanting to return to my roots after a few years, I moved back to Hong Kong, I set up my own design shop Design Department. But I was not creating things that I was originally set out to be. I wanted to create more work on culture, and I started to think about incorporate more sensory into my work. One friend that shared the same office with me at the time also shared an interest in cooking and we would talk about food all the time. We had heard that there is a new Le Cordon Bleu (editor’s note: culinary and hospitality school) in Bangkok and we dreamt about taking some classes there, slowly we made that happen. I was only going to take a leisure class there at culinary school but enjoyed it so much that I finished the whole 9-months course.
After culinary school, I was curious on how a restaurant works. I joined a French restaurant Cépage (Hong Kong) as commis and there I acquired more culinary skills and understood how a restaurant operates. I felt comfortable creating in the kitchen and it became a place for me to extend my creativity.
After a year at Cépage, I wanted to combine this experience with my designer skills, so I started my small own restaurant. It was originally only supposed to be a café but as I tested dishes, I decided to go for something more refined. On hindsight that was pure ignorance. I had no idea on how demanding the role of Chef Owner is.
The FnB industry is known to be particularly tough and not very "women friendly". Have you ever felt like being a woman was a disadvantage in your culinary career? Or maybe the opposite?
In general, there are only a few female chefs behind the kitchens in Hong Kong. This could be due to the fact that chefs aren’t valued for their craft, or it could be because women are discouraged to pursue this career because of the physical conditions of working in a professional kitchen. Over the last few years, though, I have seen some changes. With the increased number of awards, chefs are now being recognised and appreciated for their work. I’ve seen an increasing number of female chefs working in traditional Chinese kitchens. At Tate, for instance, we have a female to male ratio of 3:1. To encourage more female chefs to get in the industry means to change people’s social value on chefs.
Regardless of gender, the dining industry is tough for anyone.Aside from thepressure, you’re always strivingfor precision and consistency and this leads to long hours and sacrificing your personal life. I can’t think of any factor that would make thisparticularly harder for women, other than being in charge tends to scare some boys away. People tend to think that it’smore challenging physically for females,but you learn to adapt. For example, instead of carryinga huge pot of stock you divideitinto smaller portions to lighten the load.
What would you say is the biggest challenge being an entrepreneur in Hong Kong?
And the greatest reward?
I’ve heard that you were initially not a chef … can you tell me a bit more about your background and what made you change your career?
Before I became a chef, I was a graphic designer. I studied graphic communications at New York University. I was very drawn to creating things. There was one class in particular that spoke to me, in which the professor introduced us to a manifesto written by Ken Garland, encouraging designer to return to their roots and creating things that would positively impact humanity. No matter WHERE we came from and WHERE we were going.
After graduation, I was lucky to find my first job at Green Team Advertising at the first social-conscience agency in New York as a designer.
Wanting to return to my roots after a few years, I moved back to Hong Kong, I set up my own design shop Design Department. But I was not creating things that I was originally set out to be. I wanted to create more work on culture, and I started to think about incorporate more sensory into my work. One friend that shared the same office with me at the time also shared an interest in cooking and we would talk about food all the time. We had heard that there is a new Le Cordon Bleu (editor’s note: culinary and hospitality school) in Bangkok and we dreamt about taking some classes there, slowly we made that happen. I was only going to take a leisure class there at culinary school but enjoyed it so much that I finished the whole 9-months course.
After culinary school, I was curious on how a restaurant works. I joined a French restaurant Cépage (Hong Kong) as commis and there I acquired more culinary skills and understood how a restaurant operates. I felt comfortable creating in the kitchen and it became a place for me to extend my creativity.
After a year at Cépage, I wanted to combine this experience with my designer skills, so I started my small own restaurant. It was originally only supposed to be a café but as I tested dishes, I decided to go for something more refined. On hindsight that was pure ignorance. I had no idea on how demanding the role of Chef Owner is.
The FnB industry is known to be particularly tough and not very "women friendly". Have you ever felt like being a woman was a disadvantage in your culinary career? Or maybe the opposite?
In general, there are only a few female chefs behind the kitchens in Hong Kong. This could be due to the fact that chefs aren’t valued for their craft, or it could be because women are discouraged to pursue this career because of the physical conditions of working in a professional kitchen. Over the last few years, though, I have seen some changes. With the increased number of awards, chefs are now being recognised and appreciated for their work. I’ve seen an increasing number of female chefs working in traditional Chinese kitchens. At Tate, for instance, we have a female to male ratio of 3:1. To encourage more female chefs to get in the industry means to change people’s social value on chefs.
Regardless of gender, the dining industry is tough for anyone.Aside from thepressure, you’re always strivingfor precision and consistency and this leads to long hours and sacrificing your personal life. I can’t think of any factor that would make thisparticularly harder for women, other than being in charge tends to scare some boys away. People tend to think that it’smore challenging physically for females,but you learn to adapt. For example, instead of carryinga huge pot of stock you divideitinto smaller portions to lighten the load.
What would you say is the biggest challenge being an entrepreneur in Hong Kong?
And the greatest reward?
The most challenging is to meet the rent in Hong Kong. As a business owner it is also important to think long term and have ideas on how to maintain the business for years to come.
Are Michelin Star something important for you?
It is nice to have Michelin and other accolades as a benchmark to upkeep quality. It is also a source of encouragement and stability for the business.
Michelin Star, Awarded Best Female Chef in Asia ... what are the next steps?
Next step is always to improve and maintain food quality.
What would you say is your signature dish?
Yam with Caviar Dish.
Someone you dream of cooking for?
Are Michelin Star something important for you?
It is nice to have Michelin and other accolades as a benchmark to upkeep quality. It is also a source of encouragement and stability for the business.
Michelin Star, Awarded Best Female Chef in Asia ... what are the next steps?
Next step is always to improve and maintain food quality.
What would you say is your signature dish?
Yam with Caviar Dish.
Someone you dream of cooking for?
I dream to cook for many people but if I had more time I would like to cook for my daughter every day.
Your fav places in Hong Kong for:
Lunch with friends:Howards Gourmet (editor’s note: Guangdong restaurant)
Romantic night: Caprice (rediscover our interview of Chef Guillaume Galliot at Caprice here)
Weekend brunch: the beach, for a picnic
Drinks: The Old Man
Your fav places in Hong Kong for:
Lunch with friends:Howards Gourmet (editor’s note: Guangdong restaurant)
Romantic night: Caprice (rediscover our interview of Chef Guillaume Galliot at Caprice here)
Weekend brunch: the beach, for a picnic
Drinks: The Old Man