How a young Turkish-German female chef in Hong Kong makes fine dining fun
Mina Güçlüer is bringing a youthful energy to restaurant Belon, blending French roots with Mediterranean flair
“We never want to be too stiff. I don’t want people to be scared to laugh or worried that they’re talking too loudly,” says Mina Güçlüer, the new head chef at storied French restaurant Belon. “I want to make sure everybody’s having fun and eating good food at the same time.”
The Turkish-German chef has experienced a rapid ascent, landing her first job out of school as a commis chef at the three-Michelin-starred Victor’s Fine Dining by Christian Bau, in the German town of Nennig, before moving to the two-Michelin-starred Horváth in Berlin.
“I learned so much about what it means to work in fine dining,” recalls Güçlüer, “and the amount of care that goes into the product. There’s pretty much no room for error.”
Why did you become a chef?
