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Profile | ‘The dynamics have changed’: Hong Kong chef and restaurant group CEO on his big bet on the city during a ‘challenging’ period for its dining scene

Hong Kong restaurant group Cafe Deco Group’s CEO Angelo McDonnell started as a chef and climbed the ladder after delving into the business side of the industry

He talks about expanding despite fewer tourists and expats in the city, why the days of being just a chef are ‘long gone’ and his redefined vision for the group

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Angelo McDonnell, a former chef, was appointed CEO of Hong Kong’s Cafe Deco Group in July 2023. He opens up about expanding during a ‘challenging’ period for the city, and why he’s optimistic that its dining scene will ‘bounce back’. Photo: Cafe Deco Group

Published: 12:12pm, 19 Jan 2024

Stealthily, Cafe Deco Group may have pulled off one of 2023’s biggest food industry acquisitions. Around May last year, it bought baker Gérard DuBois’ entire La Rose Noire operation in Hong Kong, including all of its Passion and Sour Dough cafes, as well as its local production factory.

It is a power move, setting up Cafe Deco Group to be bigger than ever in the dining market. While others consolidated, closed ventures and sold off during the Covid-19 pandemic, the group actually grew and expanded, with a portfolio now totalling 37 outlets, including the newly acquired patisseries and five new eateries in the newly launched Airside mall, in Kai Tak.

Comparatively, Castelo Concepts – which at its peak boasted 95 eateries between Hong Kong and Vietnam, including brands such as Jaspas and Wagyu – went into liquidation in July 2023, and its remaining handful of restaurants closed.

Behind Cafe Deco Group’s expansion is chef-turned-CEO Angelo McDonnell.

Cafe Deco Group CEO Angelo McDonnell at Chef’s Cuts, one of the group’s many food establishments in Hong Kong. Photo: Cafe Deco Group

“I’ve known Gérard [Dubois] since I arrived in Hong Kong, almost 30 years ago,” says McDonnell, whose first job in Hong Kong was as chef at the Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, in Tsim Sha Tsui.

“Gérard has built an amazing business,” says McDonnell. “I think he was hoping for internal succession, possibly his son to take over, but in the end, he decided to pursue his own goals.”