Demon Chef

Famous in Hong Kong for combining Chinese cuisine with molecular gastronomy, Chef Alvin Leung of Bo Innovation shares his unique cooking philosophy with Lifestyle HK.
 
What is the story behind your nickname “demon chef”, which incidentally is also tattooed on your right arm?
 
I named myself the “demon chef.” You know if you really go back to the meaning of “demon,” it doesn’t stand for evil but means mischievous or someone who breaks the rules. Others have also called me the “rock ‘n roll chef” or the “El Bulli of Hong Kong”, which I don’t like. I don’t mind if they call me Ferran Adria the “Bo Innovation of Spain” though.  
 
So how do you feel being linked to El Bulli’s style of cuisine aka molecular gastronomy?  
 
Nobody knows what molecular gastronomy is and it means nothing. It literally means changing the molecular structure of food, and it sounds fancy and scientific. However, you always change the molecular structure of food when you cook it. I started off my education as an engineer, so I don’t believe in this term. I have my own terms. My cuisine is “extreme Chinese with a big X”. I want to bring traditional Chinese dishes into the 21st century. Cooking existed thousands of years ago, and certain dishes existed hundreds of years ago but people’s palates and environments have changed so I want to bring these dishes into the 21st century. I don’t want to reconstruct things for the sake of reconstruction, I want to make them more powerful and more international.
 
You started off as an engineer but later became a chef. How did your passion for cooking come about? Was your mother a good cook?
 
No, my mother was a terrible cook, that’s why I had to learn how to cook better than her. A lot of chefs say, “Oh, my mother was such a great cook”, and it all sounds great and sentimental, but I say, if your mom is a good cook, you would have no incentive to cook yourself. Anthony Bourdain said the true reason why every guy becomes a chef is: 1) it’s a chic magnet and 2) you can get all the free alcohol you want.  
 
That’s right. We saw you on Season 3 of “No Reservations” with Anthony Bourdain. Were there any steamy behind-the-scene bits that viewers at home missed?
 
Oh, we had a ball. We had three orgies. (laughs) No, nothing of the sort, I took him around town and to the seafood market. I don’t think there are any naked photos of us or anything like that.
 
Let’s switch the roles, and say some other chefs were cooking for you. How honest would you be with your feedback?
 
I can be very honest, but I’ll lie through my teeth. Just like when you go to a Prada shop and someone says, “This suit looks wonderful on you” even when you look ridiculous in it. I can give an honest opinion, but first of all, a lot of people do not see it as constructive. They will say I am jealous or biased. I don’t like it when other people criticize my food just like other chefs wouldn’t like it. I would only criticize if the chef asks me to give him criticism.  
 
What about when a customer complains? 
 
There’s always the purist, who thinks what I do is rubbish. They like to eat very, very traditional dishes and then you have ones that are more open-minded. What I do is not mass market cuisine, it’s not opened to 95% of the population. For example, when you first look at an abstract painting, you might not know what it is, but then you see the title and the artist’s name. It’s a Picasso from his Blue Period. Then you begin to understand the painting more and appreciate what the artist is trying to do. Food is like art, but while artists create their best works for themselves, I create my best works for customers. I can think I made the best dish in the world, but if my customers don’t like it, it won’t work.    
Do you have a favorite dish?
 
My dishes are like my children, I don’t play favorites.
 
What about wines? You’re a noted wine aficionado. Any tips for us?
 
People see that my restaurant has an extensive wine list and ask for my favorites – is it the ‘61 Petrus or Chateau Lafite? But then I tell them it is the Beaujolais Nouveau ’85. If you know your wine, you know Beaujolais is considered a common lightweight in the wine world. My daughter was born in 1987, and at the time I was in the UK and picked up a bottle of wine to celebrate. The Beaujolais ’85 was on sale in the wine stores and I remember drinking it and for the first time really appreciating that wine. In Chinese culture, historically and even now, you don’t drink wine for the taste, you drink it to get drunk. That bottle of Beaujolais was the first time I realized I liked the taste of wine. So I say to beginner wine drinkers to really try the range – start at the bottom and then move your way up.
 
What would you choose for your last supper?
 
Simple, bread and wine.
 
Can you share a simple recipe with us?
 
Pan-Fried Foie Gras, White Miso and Sauternes Sauce in Lettuce Wrap
 
Ingredients:
 
500g (5pcs, 1 inch thick) foie gras   
salt and pepper (to taste)
 
White Miso & Sauternes Sauce
300g white miso
300ml white wine
200ml Sauternes wine   
100g butter (cubed)
 
Lettuce Wrap
300g iceberg lettuce
50g carrot (diced)
50g mushroom (diced)
50g vermicelli (dry)
 
Method:
 
Season the foie gras pieces with salt and pepper. Pan fry in a hot pan with no oil until crispy on both sides.
 
For the sauce, reduce the sauternes and white wine to half, then add white miso and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk in cold butter cubes.
 
Clean and dry lettuce leaves and place on side. Sauté the diced carrot and mushroom in olive oil and deep fry dry vermicelli until crispy. Arrange vermicelli, carrot, mushroom and foie gras on lettuce leaf, drizzle with sauternes and miso sauce.