Top Chinese chefs in Hong Kong encourage a new generation to aim high
Long hours, English proficiency and a fair amount of elbow grease are necessary, but a lucrative career as a high-end chef in a Chinese restaurant is achievable for those willing to go the distance
The stereotype of Chinese chefs with cigarettes dangling from their mouths, spouting coarse language and wearing singlets while standing over their woks has dissipated in the past few years, thanks to a new generation of top chefs.
One such chef is Mango Tsang, Chinese executive chef at Cordis Hong Kong in Mong Kok.
One of the first things the 60-year-old told students recently at the Chinese Culinary institute in Pok Fu Lam was that his salary is HK$1 million a year, and they too could make a decent living in the restaurant industry if they work hard.
“I certainly told them that and in fact I make more than HK$1 million including bonuses,” Tsang says later that day. “I want to give them some motivation. We need the younger ones to move up, because I’m going to retire in a few years.”
Tsang has spent more than 40 years in the kitchen, starting at the age of 14 in Loong Wah in Sha Tin. “I liked to cook and I thought I did an OK job. You must have an interest in this field because it’s hot, noisy, wet and dirty.”