Hong Kong Dining Just Became A Little (Okay, A Lot) More French
Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong is a rare beast. Very, very few hotels can boast that they have an on-site restaurant that has earned multiple Michelin stars, but the venerable Four Seasons Hotel in the financial district manages to put the best of Hong Kong dining under one roof with two remarkable dining rooms. For one, Lung King Heen is perhaps the city's most-revered Cantonese restaurant, thanks to Chan Yan Tak, the first Chinese chef to earn three Michelin stars. And then there's the Michelin two-star Caprice restaurant, staffed by a team of 25 chefs cooking up an innovative taste of France coupled with its extensive selection of wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy, accented by Hong Kong's first cellar of artisanal French cheeses.
Now taking over Caprice's kitchen from chef Fabrice Vulin is the new chef de cuisine, Guillaume Galliot, a leader in contemporary French gastronomy. He brings his talents to Hong Kong after years in Macau, where he established the Tasting Room by Galliot in the City of Dreams as one of Asia's finest restaurants; it was recognized with a Michelin star in its first year, then two stars in 2016 and 2017.
Born in the town of Chambray-lès-Tours in the Loire Valley, Galliot got his start under twin brother chefs Jacques and Laurent Pourcel at the three-Michelin-star Jardin des Sens. Galliot worked for a time there in pastry, an experience that left him with an appreciation of the dessert arts. After stints in New York and St. Barts in the Caribbean, the then-23-year-old Galliot moved to Singapore, becoming the youngest sous chef in the history of the iconic Raffles Hotel, followed by a run at Raffles Hotel Beijing.
Galliot now brings his classically French technique to the open kitchen and elegant dining room of Caprice, dressed in a modern Chinoiserie décor, with Czech crystal chandeliers, and panoramic sixth-floor views of Victoria Harbor and the Kowloon Peninsula. The new menu features produce flown in daily from France.
"Caprice has been one of my favorite French restaurants in Hong Kong," says Galliot. "It is a privilege to join the Caprice team and have the opportunity to continue what chef Vincent Thierry started and chef Fabrice Vulin contributed during their tenures."