This is an East-meets-West culinary exploration, what did you learn from each other?

Chef Wu: I’ve learned various cooking techniques from Vicky and Maxime as they cook in a completely different way.

Describe the process which all the chefs brainstorm together.

Chef Tang: The themes for this collaboration are East-meets-West and Harmony. One of the dishes, the Xiaolongbao, is a collaboration between the French cuisine and our Cantonese Dim sum. The filling inside the dumpling is by Chef Maxime and the wrapping is done by us. We had to try different kinds of pastries for the dumplings. We’ve also changed the recipe and the sequence of the dishes.

What was it like to work with everyone on this collaboration?

Chef Maxime: Well, it was very good but it’s also something we’re very used to in the kitchen. We always work as a team. I’m not the kind of person that’s going to shine on my own. I’m always going to embrace my whole team. To work on this collaboration with the three other chefs is like something we do everyday but it’s cool to bring something different and fun.

Chef Vicky: It’s always a lot of fun, especially working alongside the other Chinese chefs as they have a very different set-up in the kitchen. It’s always challenging when there are a lot of people. At the restaurant, the daily output is around 30. Catering to larger groups involves a lot of organisation but it’s always fun to do it.

What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve had to face?

Chef Wu: I’m relatively young compared to the other BBQ chefs and sometimes it’s hard to deal with the older chefs. The pandemic is one of the biggest challenges of the past 20 years of my career. The operating hours are uncertain and because of that, the team size has to be adjusted. The planning is quite out of control.

Chef Vicky: I think Covid has changed things a lot. Being adaptable has been the main topic that we need to focus on. Change is very important. It has also pushed us to do things differently. We started doing lunch and we both started doing a vegetarian menu, which is very important nowadays. It’s a good reminder for guests to enjoy vegetables and not just the meat.

Chef Maxime: It’s kind of a similar [experience] for me because we have similar restaurant sizes and offers. What’s good in Hong Kong is that at least we have very good customers. Even for fine dining, we still have customers coming in but we had to adapt our offers because it was constantly changing – the opening and closing of restaurants. We also had to develop our delivery [service] and seating [plans]. It was complicated and challenging but it’s also the life of working at a restaurant. There are always new challenges coming up and you need to face that every morning because you need to be on top for lunch and dinner. At the end, it’ll make you think faster.

What advice would you give to the upcoming generation of chefs?

Chef Vicky: Learn everything and pay attention to everything around you. Not just staying inside the kitchen is very important. If you want to survive then you need to adapt very fast. You need to know about everything and not just what you’re cooking. You need to think fast and develop your own style.

Chef Maxim: What you see on TV is not the life of a chef. It’s a hard life. It’s difficult and there are a lot of restrictions. If you want to become a chef you have to be aware that it’s not an easy job. If you like it, if you’re passionate about it and you do it with your heart, then you won’t feel it’s difficult. If you want to become a chef then go to school and study as much as you can, it’ll help you. Becoming a chef now isn’t just about cooking, it’s a lot of different things.

What do you want guests to take away from this dining experience with Hope & Harmony?

Chef Tang: We want guests to experience the East-meets-West themes. During this pandemic, we also want guests to enjoy themselves.

Hope & Harmony by Niu Niu & Laurent Perrin will be held at the Concert Hall at Hong Kong City Hall on May 27 2021. During the recital, Niu Niu will debut his composed piece, titled Impromptu No.1 “Hope”, that he’s dedicated to FIF. The event is exclusively sponsored by FIF and jointly presented by the French May Arts Festival 2021.