More than 20 years after its inception, Hakkasan remains an icon in London. The trendy Cantonese menus at Fitzrovia’s original stall and its sister site in Mayfair are credited with helping to shape a varied and world-class culinary scene in the capital.
However, the so-called Hakkasan suffered a major blow earlier this year when the Hanway Place and Mayfair restaurants were stripped of the Michelin stars they had held for 20 and 10 years respectively.
The loss may have simply been a blow to the famed food spot and its team, added the company’s executive chef, Andrew Yeo. But that doesn’t seem to have diminished Yeo’s optimism or enthusiasm for an art he obviously loves.
Chef Yeo, who joined the Hakkasan team months before lockdown decimated the hospitality industry, is used to demanding situations and says the logo is “stronger” than ever.
“We survived the lockdown and got stronger,” he says, pointing to the wave of global openings over the past three years. There are a total of thirteen Hakkasan restaurants around the world, spread from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi; From Bodrum to Shanghai.
Yeo continued, “Hakkasan, as a brand, is strong, and of course, we are the umbrella of Tao Group Hospitality. So I’m very proud and satisfied to be a part of it.
While it doesn’t address the loss of a Michelin star, it acknowledges the challenging environment many London restaurants face in the post-Covid era.
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“It’s a tricky time for everybody, a very tricky time, last year especially for restaurants in London,” he says. “But we just want other people to come and delight in it and I will make a contribution to [the delight]. “
Yeo’s adventure began as a child in the “culinary paradise” of Singapore under the mentorship of his grandmother. “She was the one who knew how to cook,” he recalls. Together they spent their weekends cooking, cooking, and trying Western recipes that she had learned from her organization of foreign friends.
It was his grandmother who encouraged him to enroll in a cooking school when he was still a teenager.
“My grandmother told me, ‘Do what you want, grow and succeed,'” she says. And her career has made her and her mother very proud.
This was followed by a career in the jet set, starting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Singapore, where he had the opportunity to travel. He then worked on new openings in the U. S. , Hong Kong and Shanghai, before joining The EDITION Miami South Beach. his last stint before joining Hakkasan London in 2019.
In his role, Yeo is guilty of designing the signature menu of Hakkasan restaurants around the world, along with his head chef and sous chef. While the signature dishes remain the same, the ingredients are tailored to suit local palates.
[See also: ‘This is the beginning’: Chef Alain Ducasse tells how he went from living in a garden to earning 21 Michelin stars]
“In Turkey, it might be a little bit spicier, or in India, especially in India, it will be spicier. We adapt and allow it,” says Yeo, who tries to stop at the outpost at least once a year.
“We offer dishes, for every season or on special occasions, and I enjoy working with them to create anything we deem smart enough for guests. “
The week of this interview, Yeo just unveiled Hakkasan’s spring menu, which will include timeless classics like fluffy dim sum and tofu, eggplant, and Japanese mushroom terracotta pots.
In cases where menus don’t work, Yeo is willing to accept responsibility. Think of a dish he served that included salmon cooked with a new strategy that left the fish raw. This turned out to be disastrous: diners dismissed it, thinking it was raw.
The mistake, Yeo says, is his, not his guests’, and that’s a lesson he learned from. It’s vital to know your customer, where they are, you need to be innovative, but you also have to do the right thing with the right customers. “
More than awards (maybe even more than Michelin stars), Yeo needs other people to love his food.
“It’s joy. Joy rarely has to do with creating and combining the kitchen, I think the joy comes when you leave the place to eat and other people talk about the food. I once heard a guest say, “Oh my God, that reminds me of my grandmother. “I think that’s all you want; Food deserves to be able to bring back memories. That’s what we need. I’ve been to a few Michelin eating places and I pass out and I’m like, “What?”Did I eat my first course? I don’t forget. But if you pass by a good place to eat, you come and say, “I don’t forget this dish. “
Acting virtual editor of Spear, freelance journalist with a CV that has been published by ITV News, The Guardian and British Vogue