Restaurateur Paul Kwok realises his dream
1957 & Co group restaurateur Paul Kwok followed his father into kitchens, and took a long road to success, writes Andrew Sun
There's no place like home for Paul Kwok. He has spent most of his 25-year career in the hospitality industry, opening and operating restaurants around the world for other people. When he decided to start his own dream restaurant group, he came home to Hong Kong.
Partnering with respected interior designer Steve Leung and lighting expert Tino Kwan, Kwok's group - 1957 & Co - has opened some impressive establishments. The inaugural splash was with a trio of restaurants - Bella Vita, Sushi Ta-Ke, and An Nam - in a then-new building in Causeway Bay called Cubus. Next, he brought in a popular Thai-fusion concept, Mango Tree, which has grown to two locations. Then came another Japanese import, Gonpachi, an extension of a dining bar that inspired Quentin Tarantino's climatic set in .
Kwok's own career has been a circuitous road to success for a Hong Kong boy following in his dad's footsteps.
"My father was a cook and I loved to eat, so I got interested in how he could cook so much better than mum," Kwok recalls. "He told me we were Shunde people and, there, the men did the cooking. And if you want to be good, you just have to practise, so I practised a lot." Kwok realised cooking was a viable career path from the age of 18. Starting as a kitchen hand, he worked his way up to a chef.
During the colonial era, Kwok was fond of the fineries of Western and French cooking. "I really admired them with the white jacket and tall hat. It looked very smart to me. I remember telling one of them, 'in 10 years I want to be you'."
Kwok would get his wish, and more. Working for a Singaporean firm whose worldwide holdings included restaurants and hotels, Kwok's universe grew exponentially.
