First Person: Chan Yan-tak
As the first Chinese chef to be awarded three Michelin stars, Chan Yan-tak, executive chef of Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons Hotel, has come from humble beginnings to become one of the finest chefs in Hong Kong—if not the world. He talks to Emily Wu about his path to triple-stardom.
I had no formal training. I started as a kitchen assistant when I was 13, at Dai Sam Yuen, a celebrated Hong Kong restaurant in Wan Chai.
I had only finished primary school at that time. I just couldn’t get all that stuff into my brain.
My best subject was English, but I was bad at mathematics.
My dad passed away that year, so I thought, maybe it’s time for me to get a job and support the family. I am the eldest son. I have three sisters and one brother.
My mother was a chef at a Korean restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. She had to mince and slice the ingredients or season the raw meat for Korean barbeque.
I once stepped out of the restaurant world and worked as a cooking tutor for prisons.
I taught the offenders how to cook and prepare very nutritious and balanced meals for themselves.
The offenders would receive different vocational training—they particularly loved getting into the kitchen as they could snatch something to eat.
But I was only there for around six months. Though my senior wrote me a very good appraisal, they asked me to transfer to Sha Tsui Detention Centre [on Lantau Island]. I decided to quit as it was so far away and I had just gotten married. I wanted to spend more time with my wife.