Chef Gray Kunz, the man behind Café Gray Deluxe at Upper House in Admiralty is in town for the month of September. Asia Tatler Dining stops by the beautiful modern European restaurant to taste his new autumn menu, and chat about his childhood in Singapore; his present life managing Café Gray in Hong Kong and his management company in New York; as well as his future plans in China.
Asia Tatler Dining: You've been in HK for a long time, first working at the Regent Hotel and then opening Café Gray in 2009. What are some of the most significant changes you've noticed in HK's dining scene?
Gray Kunz: There are now far more free-standing restaurants, although people still go to hotels. People also care more about environmental issues than they did before. Other changes is that people still go out for a steak or a traditional steamed piece of fish but I think the spectrum of food knowledge and willingness to try has definitely grown exponentially. I think it's a very good thing as it challenges the chefs more.
ATD: You're not based in Hong Kong so where do you spend most of your time and what do you do?
GK: I'm based in New York, but I have no doubt that a big portion of my time is going to be spent in Asia in the future. I come to Hong Kong four times a year already and there are some opportunities elsewhere in Asia coming along in 2012. I travel sometimes: I think travelling is an educational process and it's especially helpful when it comes to cooking. I'm planning a big trip to Tasmania, a place where they don't even need to advertise anything as organic, because that's the norm!
ATD: Do you have any new projects in the pipeline?
GK: I'm working with an organic farm in China. I can't say too much about it at the moment but we're working on making it a sort of role model for organic farming on the mainland. Chefs play a big role in steering consumption and staying away from depleted sources and the smartest strategy seems to be look at places not only with the most population growth, but also with the biggest middle class, which is going to be China.
ATD: How do you maintain quality control at Café Gray when you're not here?
GK: It's been a tremendous learning process for me as this is the first restaurant I've done outside of New York and I must tell you we've invented a system that is incredible. Of course I can't be there to touch the food with the chefs but we do a lot of Skype, a lot of processing the recipes and the things I put on the menu through pictures and videos. I change the prix-fixe menu here every week, and I could only do that with two things: the system I have in place and this great team.
ATD: You are known for your environmentally sustainable approach to cooking: do you find it easier or more difficult to be environmentally conscious in Hong Kong versus New York?
GK: It certainly requires more digging and searching in Hong Kong, no question about that. However, we are serving organic chickens here from Kadoorie Farm. They're a little skimpy but they're still very good products. I don't think we can be 100% organic in New York or in Hong Kong, but it's up to chefs to do their best. For me, there is an obligation to look for the best product and healthy products to serve. That's my quest, I don't have to forcibly mention it on the menu, it's a given. But that definitely requires much more work, research, negotiating on pricing and delivery.
ATD: Using local ingredients is clearly very important to you: what are some of your favourite Hong Kong ingredients to work with?
GK: The live seafood, of course. The live products you can find in Hong Kong is just amazing. In New York, they get incredible seafood in the cold waters around the city, but it's not common at all to see live seafood in oxygenated tanks, apart from in the Chinese restaurants. Other things I love are a lot of root vegetables that I have no clue what to do with yet. It's a discovery and there is still a tremendous amount to learn.
ATD: You've spent time in Singapore, Switzerland, New York and Hong Kong: which country would you call home and how has it shaped the chef you are?
GK: I was actually a kid when I left Singapore. I never thought I'd become a chef but the taste memories from my childhood there were always at the back of my mind. For example, we're working on a dish with a barbecued piece of pork and what we're putting next to it is the pork jerky. As a kid in Singapore, I used to walk around all day long with pork jerky in my mouth. Those are the memories that have helped me. Singapore is such a food city as well, the hawker stands there are mesmerising. Once you've discovered that sort of cuisine, it's very hard to go away from.
ATD: What is your idea of a perfect meal?
GK: Sitting on a broken chair in a dai pai dong with a bowl of noodles in front of me. I don't go to fancy restaurants when I'm here, the ideal meal for me is something that's been harvested locally and cooked simply. It doesn't need to be fancy, but local ingredients are respected. Those are the best kinds of meals.
