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LVIN LEUNG IS NOT A MAN LACKING
in self-belief. ‘His X-treme cuisine is an art form,’ declares his
website. ‘He does to Chinese food what Picasso did to art.’
Th ese are bold claims, but bold is what Leung does best.
Habitually dressed all in black, with electric-blue streaks
in his hair and a cigar in hand, he cuts a fl amboyant fi gure on
Hong Kong’s fi ne-dining scene. Th ough he’s not fond of the
term, his approach is informed by the tricks and techniques
of molecular gastronomy. At Bo Innovation, his two
Michelin-starred restaurant in Hong Kong, lap mei fan
(preserved Chinese sausage with rice) might be deconstructed
into ice-cream and puff ed rice crispies, xiao long bao
dumplings distilled into quivering, yolk-like spheres.
Now, the self-proclaimed ‘demon chef ’ is preparing to go
global. Bo London will open at the end of October on a
prime Mayfair site at a cost of over £1 million. As Leung’s
fi rst venture outside Hong Kong, it’s a huge – and high-profi le
– gamble. ‘I’m risking a lot, aside
from a million pounds,’ says Leung.
‘If I fl op here, that’s going to be a big
setback for me: New York would be
out of the question.’
Today, aside from two glittering
cross-shaped earrings (one jade, the
other studded with diamonds),
Leung is looking relatively subdued.
Th e ‘demon chef ’ tattoo on his
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shoulder is covered up and the streaks gone from his hair; he is, rather
sweetly, worrying about his blue-tinted glasses. ‘I use them for my TV
series, and they were very diffi cult to fi nd. We’re shooting on Saturday: if I
lose them, it’ll be odd that I have diff erent glasses for the next six episodes.’
Th e rebel image that has taken him to the top is, he says, grounded in
reality. ‘Th e rock ’n’ roll persona, the demon chef tag; all that has signifi cant
elements of my character.’ Combined with his boundary-pushing cuisine,
it has helped him to become one of Asia’s best-known chefs – a remarkable
feat, considering that until 2003 he had never set foot in a professional
kitchen. He was an acoustic engineer until, aged 43, he began cooking at a
friend’s 25-seater speakeasy in Hong Kong, called Bo InnoSeki. Six years
later, the self-taught chef was awarded two Michelin stars.
Not everyone is convinced that Leung has the talent to live up to his
star billing. Back in 2005, the International Herald Tribune published a
damning review by Patricia Wells; comparing Bo InnoSeki to El Bulli, she
declared, was ‘a bit like saying that Kentucky Fried Chicken is on par with
Twenty-Five
Previous page and
top: Leung creating
his sandalwood-smoked
almond sorbet with
strawberries.
Above: oysters with
green onion and lime
sauce and ginger snow