From two-star Michelin restaurant to union organiser, Hong Kong chef’s career path is not what he had in mind

Alex Tsui always wanted to be one of the city’s top chefs, but now he’s the chairman of the Hong Kong Hotel Employees Union

At least 24 trade unions have been established this year – almost double the 13 formed in 2018, according to official figures

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Alex Tsui (left), chairman of the Hong Kong Hotel Employees Union, and vice-chairman Stanley Tsang in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 10:00am, 26 Dec 2019Updated: 5:46am, 27 Dec 2019

At 14, Alex Tsui had a very clear career goal – he wanted to train at a Michelin three-star restaurant in France and become one of Hong Kong’s top chefs.

Fast forward 10 years, and the 24-year-old has already spent five years working in a local luxury hotel at a Michelin two-star restaurant, and even started to learn French this year. Everything appeared to going smoothly for Tsui – until the extradition bill protests erupted in June, eventually prompting him to put his dreams aside to devote himself to what became the anti-government movement.

“What’s the point of becoming an exceptional chef if the authorities have suppressed my hometown and turned it into a totally unrecognisable place?” he told the Post.

Last month, Tsui became the first chairman of the Hong Kong Hotel Employees Union, which he co-founded with dozens of fellow industry workers, most of whom he met on encrypted messaging channel Telegram.

People attend a rally during a strike in Hong Kong in September. Photo: Felix Wong

The secondary-school graduate also decided to take English lessons to prepare for any public speeches he may have to make, although the union, in its infancy, has fewer than 200 members.