4 hot new chefs at Shanghai restaurants, from 3-Michelin-star Taian Table to YongFoo Elite and Urban Cafe
- Christiaan Stoop brings European cuisine with an Asian twist to Taian Table, while Chang Liu at YongFoo Elite shows off Italian, Nordic and Japanese influences
- Jeremy Liu is turning classic French dining upside down at Netta, while Anchalee Luadkham’s Thai food at Urban Cafe is like nothing else found in the city
Although the first half of the year was hardly a bumper period for Shanghai’s restaurant industry, it hasn’t discouraged the city’s indomitable restaurateurs and chefs.
Despite more than two months of Covid-19 lockdowns since April, Shanghai’s food scene has somehow managed to thrive and with an influx of new chefs settling in, the city continues to offer creative and edgy cooking. Here are some of the hottest new names on everybody’s lips.
Chef Christiaan Stoop brings his flair to Taian Table
Shanghai’s three-Michelin-star restaurant Taian Table has been given a breath of fresh air thanks to 26-year-old Christiaan Stoop, who has taken the role of chef de cuisine. Alongside chef-proprietor Stefan Stiller, Stoop innovates European cuisine with an Asian twist.
Born to Dutch parents in Germany, where he grew up, Stoop enrolled in culinary school at 16 years old. He progressed up the line at acclaimed kitchens including The Fat Duck in Bray, England; Moments in Barcelona, Spain; The Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi, India; and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Dubai, UAE and Paris, France.
Stoop’s desire to continue innovating drew him to join Taian Table, which offers a menu that changes entirely every six weeks.
“Chef Stiller said that innovation beats perfection,” he says. “It’s very important to deliver the best dishes and products, but there’s no such perfect fare. There’s something called innovation which goes before perfection, and that makes a lot of sense to me.”