What made French chef Vincent Thierry leave Hong Kong for Bangkok
- ‘After three years of three Michelin stars at Caprice, I became bored doing the same thing’
- The Frenchman behind Chef’s Table at Lebua, in Bangkok, reveals the challenges of having a dining room in the middle of the kitchen
Tell us about your childhood, in France’s Loire Valley. “It was simple. I had a simple family, and I was taught to work hard and do things correctly or do it again. My dad was a repairman for Philips, fixing things like TVs and washing machines, and my mum was a kindergarten teaching assistant.”
How did you get interested in cooking? “My oldest brother is a chef, and [I’ve always appreciated] family cooking that is humble, nothing special, with everything cooked in a simple way. I was influenced by my mum and maternal grandmother, who was a farmer and cooked everything from the farm. Today, we talk about chefs with gardens because that’s trendy, but 40 years ago it was normal. My grandmother made rabbit, chicken, beef, pâté, blood sausage and ham. The best things are when you discover the real taste of food.”
When did you know you wanted to be a chef? “I was 14. I wanted to become an apprentice. I went to culinary school for two years in Montpellier, in the south of France. It was 800km from my hometown. I was 15 at the time. Of course, it’s a young age, but my brother did the same. You feel a bit more confident because someone did it before you. Afterwards, I went to Paris to find a job and my brother helped me to discover the Michelin Guide. There are many restaurants looking for chefs, but if I wanted a good place I needed to look in this book. I wrote letters by hand asking for a job at two- and three-Michelin-starred places, mostly in Paris because my brother was there.
“I worked for a few restaurants for six months and then I was contacted by Taillevent, in Paris, at the time a three-Michelin-starred restaurant. It was so scary when I went into the kitchen because I saw the traditional chefs with big hats and a big brigade. I was 18 then.”
How did you get to Hong Kong? “In 1999, I started working at Le Cinq, at the Four Seasons Hotel George V [in Paris], and was there for six years as sous chef. I expressed my wish to move on and the hotel general manager proposed I go to the Four Seasons Hong Kong.
“I had been to Singapore before, never Hong Kong or China. When I moved, in 2005, nobody knew the Michelin Guide would come to Hong Kong three years later. I was there to open a Mediterranean restaurant [called Caprice] in the Four Seasons. For me, it was an opportunity to learn English, and also educate my kids outside France to have an open mind and learn another culture.”
