Celebrity chefs are beating a path to the city, but there's no guarantee of success
A fresh wave of celebrity chefs are looking to open restaurants in the city. But how will they succeed where others have failed?
Hong Kong is set for another influx of celebrity chefs. David Thompson, Wolfgang Puck, Yannick Alleno and Mark Sargeant are searching for sites here as Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen opens in Lan Kwai Fong next month.
But Asian expansion is no guarantee of success: Ramsay shut his restaurant in Tokyo, Guy Savoy shipped out of Singapore, and Mario Batali's Carnevino has closed here. So what makes some top chefs' restaurants thrive in foreign markets while others falter?
"The fact that each of my restaurants is unique, although the core philosophy of my cuisine is a part of each," says Alain Ducasse - the longest standing celebrity chef here, with Spoon notching up 11 years this October.
"I have a different vision for each restaurant, and like the input and inspiration from co-workers. Each restaurant is a celebration of local tastes and ingredients," says Ducasse.
The Mandarin Oriental paved the way for international celebrity chefs in Hong Kong with the opening of Vong, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Thai-French fusion restaurant in 1997. Vongerichten had once worked in the Mandarin's French restaurant, Pierrot, as well as The Oriental in Bangkok.
I have a different vision for each restaurant. Each one celebrates local tastes.
Six years later, Spoon by Alain Ducasse opened at the InterContinental. In 2006 came Nobu (also at the InterContinental), as well as Joël Robuchon and Pierre Gagnaire, when Vongs around the world closed and the Mandarin reopened with the modern French restaurant Pierre.