Chef Andrew Wong: Getting a Michelin star is like getting married - nothing changes

(David Cotsworth)
Lizzie Thomson13 June 2018

Off the back of his restaurant A.Wong securing third place at the National Restaurant Awards, we spoke to Andrew Wong about his Michelin star, his inspirations and his future restaurant plans.

On June 11 Wong’s restaurant A.Wong was crowned the third best restaurant in the UK at the National Restaurant Awards, maintaining his position at third place from 2017.

“It’s really nice to get recognition from your peers” Wong says.

“I think we are the only Chinese restaurant on that list which is a bit sad but what I like about [the National Restaurant Awards] is that it’s voted for by people in the industry and that means a lot.”

While Wong’s cooking has been well received by food writers and critics for a long time, it’s the past year that’s seen his restaurant grow from strength to strength. So much so, that in October 2017 A.Wong’s modern Chinese cooking was awarded a Michelin star.

On getting the prestigious accolade, Wong said “It’s like the build up to your wedding. You always imagine that life after getting married will be different and after the day you wake up and it's pretty much the same - but you know that life is better now.”

Sesame ball: From A.Wong
David Cotsworth

One thing is clear, cooking has been an important part of Wong’s life since birth with both his parents owning restaurants and his grandparents heavily involved in the food industry.

But despite appearances, it was never actually Wong’s childhood dream to become a chef. His restaurant was born out of him and his wife’s ethos of wanting to make good food and to create a restaurant they would want to visit themselves.

Wong says “dishes that tell stories” inspire his cooking.

“The dishes on the menu all tell a story about an area, or an experience in that area of a memory I have of eating that dish.”

His popular ten course Taste of China menu reflects the six months he spent travelling in China, understanding the different regions and cooking themes within each area.

“Although we live in a world now where the lines aren’t as clear anymore of what each [Chinese] cuisine is, you still leave a specific region of China with a feeling of the postcard of that area,” Wong says.

“If you were to eat 50 different dishes from each region you’d pick up a certain trend within them.”

A.Wong's offering: Soy chicken
David Cotsworth

Lucky for London foodies, Wong’s empire is expanding.

His next restaurant is scheduled to open at the Bloomberg Arcade at the end of August but he’s keeping tight-lipped on the details - except that it’ll be “exciting, bubbly and full of energy.”

“It’s going to be different to what we do at A.Wong” he says, “but it’ll go along the same lines of exploring Chinese history and Chinese culture.”

If you want to try Wong’s award-winning food, you’ll have to hurry - he says in five years time he plans to be “fishing in the Seychelles.”

70 Wilton Rd, SW1V 1DE awong.co.uk

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