Interview: Hong Kong chef May Chow on Parisian food shows

"Omnivore is about [food that is] out of the norm. When I was invited, I didn't take it too seriously. But, when I arrived, I found out I was doing demonstrations, a food truck pop-up and a party, where 18 chefs such as Gregory Marchand [of Frenchie] and Romain Tishchenko [of Le Galopin] were making and serving their own canapés, and I was also one of them. They put me on the main stage with [French chef] Thierry Marx and at least 1,000 people were watching - it was crazy! It was an amazing experience because the world wants to know about China and Chinese cuisine. I made traditional braised lamb clay pot, explaining the ingredients and how we eat this in winter because it has a warming element. I also made red fermented bean curd chicken wings with agave and garlic. They had never had chicken wings before because the French think chicken wings are part of the carcass, what you would put in stock."

"We went to the markets - the produce is amazing! Fresh foie gras, which you can never get in Hong Kong, tastes like uni. We went to a restaurant where they served me and my team a whole mackerel and we thought we had to finish it, but it turns out we just had to take as much as we wanted and then carry on with our meal. I felt like those Chinese people who used to drink the finger bowl of lemon water."

"When I was growing up in Toronto [Canada], we lived with my aunt, uncle and grandfather. My mom would cook for 40 people every night. I was the youngest and the only one interested in helping. But my dad was restless and wanted to return to Hong Kong and being eight years old at the time, I had to go back with my parents. I went to a local school which was depressing because I couldn't write Chinese and they punished me for that by not allowing me to go to PE class, which was the only thing I could do. I later went to boarding school in Connecticut [in the United States]. Then I went to Boston University to study hotel management and worked in a restaurant there and enjoyed serving people. When I came back to Hong Kong, I worked at Yardbird, Bo Innovation and [the now-closed] TBLS. Matt Abergel [chef and owner of Yardbird] was my only true mentor. Matt knew I was eccentric because I would not follow what I was supposed to. He pushed me to take an executive chef job at a private kitchen where I had to serve a 14-course meal for 10 to 12 people every night. Everyone said I cooked better than the regular chef. That gave me the confidence to do my own thing."

"I think about Yat Lok's roast goose in Central all the time. They have the best goose. The tapas at Toro, in New York, are amazing - they are inspired by Chinese ingredients. In Tokyo, I like Sushisho Masa. Chef Masa's quite funny. Jiro [Ono, of Sukiyabashi Jiro] is good but very nazi."

"My mom apologised to me this year because she and my dad tried to stop me at every step. My dad is a traditional man and when I started off, at Island East Markets selling bao [steamed buns] for HK$48, he thought they were overpriced and no one would buy them. In the end I got funding for Little Bao without them because they didn't believe in the concept. We hope to open a new place in September. I believe hard work brings good luck."