| Chef Richard Ekkebus, the culinary director of two-Michelin-starred restaurant Amber, continuously challenges himself to be a culinary pioneer, even after a successful 15 years of making the restaurant globally recognized. Courtesy of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental |
By Lee Gyu-lee
HONG KONG ― Comfort zone and hidebound are not the terms to describe chef Richard Ekkebus of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Amber in Hong Kong.
Starting with an apprenticeship under chefs at Michelin-starred restaurants in Holland, the Dutch chef built up an international reputation before settling in Hong Kong under the condition of freely carving his own path in French fine dining at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Since Amber opened in 2005, Ekkebus has successfully led the restaurant to become one of the world's most acclaimed French fine dining establishments. Amber was listed on the World's 100 Best Restaurants 2018 by ranking organization The World's 50 Best Restaurants that annually runs the top 100 list.
Ekkebus, however, is not satisfied with such global recognition. The Dutch chef is adventurous and forward-thinking, and this keeps him pushing to find ways to lead global culinary trends.
"I think it's important to evolve on what didn't work and sustain what really worked, as expectations on our restaurant (have kept growing)," Ekkebus said. "It was key for me that we reinvent Amber to what we stood for and hopefully make it a success for another 15 years as it was in the past."
With Amber's forward-looking standpoint, he decided to take on the new challenge of re-launching the French restaurant, which reopened this May, to remain a responsible pioneer of culinary philosophy.
After the restaurant temporarily closed for renovations last December, Ekkebus and his crew embarked on an adventure to five countries ― the Netherlands, Qatar, Germany, Morocco, Taiwan and Japan ― to seek inspiration.
Their search for new paradigms of culinary thinking have paid off. Ekkebus and his team came up with new ideas, replacing the entire menu with one exception, introducing 50 new dishes.
| Homemade silken tofu with salted sakura and virgin almond oil, from left, avocado, lime and pistachio puree with Thai Basil, and akamutsu fish with langoustine and spring garlic / Courtesy of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental |
The progressive divergence took on the purest form of ingredients, leaning towards garden-fresh vegetables with natural flavor and less protein.
"There's a saying in French that chefs are not the genius of the product, but the genius is in the product. And chefs are there to protect the genius," Ekkebus said. "In the age I am in, I feel confident without the need to show off…. but to make sure that (cooking) is done with integrity and skill set."
The delicate combination brings an ingredient-driven piece of art to the fullest indulgence ― for one, a combination of teardrop pea, cuttlefish and wakame (a type of seaweed) with a citrusy refreshing kick from pomelo.
The notion of lighter dishes was incorporated with a big decision to go dairy-free, eliminating any use of milk, butter and cream.
"I felt at most of the restaurants of a similar caliber to Amber, people feel they ate too much and this made them feel uncomfortable," he noted. He further expressed food should be more palatable and easier to digest.
| Longgang Chicken topped with maitake mushrooms, from left, wagyu beef A5 sirloin with spring mountain vegetables, puffed black camargue rice and raspberry with rice milk / Courtesy of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental |
Getting rid of dairy, the dishes still manage to cover a range of flavor profiles including savoriness, widely known as "umami," the "fifth taste." The fullness in taste comes through plant-based oils, organic sweeteners from honey and maple and seasoning from the ingredients themselves, such as a dish of smooth-tasting enriched soy milk wrapped with natural saltiness from black truffles.
"The Asian connotation of the fifth taste is very different from Europe, so this is something that shaped the way of Amber's relevance (to locals)," Ekkebus said, explaining how he adapted the taste of a French restaurant in Hong Kong.
"It's not just French cuisine but it has adapted in the way that it embraces the local value and evolved in its own direction to be unique."
The highlight of the course comes with high-grade wagyu sirloin, cooked just right enough to melt the moment it touches the palate. Amber's signature sauce, made with 17 different ingredients, provides the mouthful of flavors to accompany wagyu's tender texture.
Not only had he taken these initiatives to offer genuine taste in an enjoyable way, but also to serve as a more responsible operator.
The restaurant's eco-friendly menu and initiatives also hold Ekkebus' keen interest and concern for environmental issues. Setting the relaunch as an opportunity, he took the initiative to promote sustainability and redirected the path of fine dining.
"Future luxury should be a sustainable luxury," he noted.
Ekkebus went on as he elaborated on his stance and concern about the environment.
"A lot of industries, including hospitality, are under pressure because of the carbon footprint they release…… It's something that we need to tackle and adapt as we go," he said, adding that the change should come from the top.
| The restaurant's revamped interior utilizes a high dome-shaped ceiling for a warmly lit chandelier. Courtesy of The Landmark Mandarin Oriental |
His initiatives are applied throughout the restaurant in as tiny details as waste segregation, replacing gas with induction to completely eliminating single-use plastic in the kitchen. Not using dairy saved about 35,000 kilograms of annual shipments, reducing the carbon footprint as well.
He revealed that further efforts in contributing to the environment will include the restaurant's own urban farming nearby to grow the ingredients themselves.
The new interior, menu and steps towards sustainability are not the only things changed for the new dining experience. A unique pleasure has been added during the course ― a peek into the fast-paced, busy kitchen to have one of the courses there. Ekkebus came up with the idea to invite new and younger clientele, based on his observations of millennial customers.
"I saw that millennials are seduced by the storytelling experience…. And I thought of putting something in the middle (long dining experience) where the customers are put out of their comfort zone. So they would go to an environment they've never been before, but are curious about to be part of the experience. Then, when they go back (to the table), there's something new to talk about."