Meet Chef Krzysztof Czerwinski of Soho House and The Rescued Feast
TMS caught up with Chef Chris to learn more about what inspires his culinary ideas for Soho House.
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Soho House, a towering 28-story building in Sheung Wan, is a space for culture and leisure. But when hunger strikes, it also offers the tantalizing tastes of cuisine influenced by many different cultures. The array of dishes on offer at Soho House Hong Kong comes from the mind of Chef Krzysztof Czerwinski.
When he’s not in the kitchen, Czerwinski, better known as Chef Chris, can be found up at about six in the morning, paddling at Hong Kong’s Yacht Club. But before landing in the city, he traveled around the world, developing his passion for cuisine and learning in kitchens from London to Japan.
As Executive Chef of Soho House Hong Kong and lead chef of the upcoming Rescued Feast event in partnership with CHOMP and TheMilSource (TMS), Chef Chris is all about bringing his philosophy of variety, sustainability and hospitality to the dining table. TMS caught up with Chef Chris to learn more about what inspires his culinary ideas for Soho House.
A taste for the kitchen over a taste for tunes
After deciding to quit law school and try his hand at sound engineering, Chef Chris initially stepped into the culinary world as a way to support himself. But that experience snowballed and ultimately changed his entire career trajectory. “It was here where I met my mentor who introduced me to life in the kitchen,” he says. “Instead of mixing tunes, I decided to mix flavors.”
Those decisions brought him to London, where he worked as head chef for culinary giant Gordon Ramsay. Reflecting back on this time, he recalls the thrill of working with such a chef to be the rockiest part of his culinary career. “But, it was more fun,” he clarifies.
He learned a lot about working in the F&B industry the hard way – the hands-on way. “I think you just need to put your head down, work towards the next day, and make sure the next day you are better than the day before,” he says. Focus, hard work and learning from the best shaped Chef Chris into the chef he is today.
The Soho House experience
“The cuisine in Hong Kong … it’s very demanding to be honest,” admits Chef Chris. Being a chef in this city means having access to ingredients, culinary styles and palates from all over the world.
“It gives us a chance to create dishes which would be impossible to do, for example, in Europe,” he explains. Tomatoes and asparagus from New Zealand and truffles from Italy in one dish? “That normally wouldn’t happen," Chef Chris says. But, in Hong Kong, it’s made possible because of the city’s geographical advantage.
On top of that, Hong Kong’s mix of diverse cultures isn’t found only in its art, music, movies and books. It also extends to what goes in our stomachs. “Hong Kong’s dining scene is known for its efficiency, high standards, and the availability of a wide range of dining options which always push us to be more creative,” says Chef Chris. With all the ingredients we have access to from around the world, “it makes life a bit more exciting,” he says. “The city’s vibrant street food culture, traditional Cantonese cuisine and the collaboration of East and West flavors makes it unique.”
That diversity is exactly what you’ll find when you have a meal at Soho House. It’s all about incorporating local and global flavors while collaborating with talented local chefs. That, to Chef Chris, is his favorite part of the Soho experience. “There’s constantly something new coming to the menu,” he says.
Click here to read the full interview.
The Rescued Feast 2.0 – The Second Bite
WE ARE BACK, and we are officially inviting you to grab a second taste of our series of redefining food scraps into an upscale dining feast.
As the world’s first sustainable dining event, we are thrilled to be serving you foods that are made out of donated food surplus and food scraps. This time, we are hosting it at Soho House Hong Kong with a bigger venue and therefore, more people. Chef Chris from Soho House will be leading the menu curation, one you do not want to miss. And in case you didn’t get to attend our first launch, then this is your chance!
We also have an amazing lineup of raffle prizes, including Soho House Hong Kong, Kapok and GreenPan.
Join us for another meaningful event as we look forward to changing the way we think about food surplus and food scraps.
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