The British expat heading up the kitchen at Hong Kong haunt Melody picks his all-time favourite chefs to cook for, and explains why music is the driving force behind the restaurant concept. When did you move to Hong Kong? “I started cooking in London at 19 and left when I was 35. It was full of the working over 80 hours a week and screaming at people that London was rife with. I happened upon a friend with a bunch of restaurants over here and the stars aligned. I make quite snap decisions. I don’t tend to dwell on things, but it works out, more often than not. I had nothing stopping me from going – no wife or kids – so I hopped on a plane to do something cool in this buzzy city. I fell in love with it immediately.” What are the challenges the hospitality industry in Hong Kong faces? “I’m not going to lie, the Hong Kong market is very difficult at the moment. This summer has been the emptiest I’ve seen Hong Kong in a long time, even during Covid. The company-card big expense accounts have all gone. There’s no tables of six dudes smashing serious bottles of wine on a company credit card – a lot of that’s dried up.” What does your clientele look like now? “We’re a butch restaurant really – we’ve got a big barbecue and there’s house music pumping out, but I have noticed that our restaurant is heavily populated
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
