Chef Tony Xu took over as head of Shang Palace in Paris at the beginning of this year. More content studio
Moving from China to France was a big step forward Tony Xunow the head chef of Shang Palace Shangri-La Paris. Xu, who grew up in Chengdu, had never been to Paris before taking the job earlier this year, and at first he wasn’t sure he wanted to go. But the lure of a new city was too good to pass up, and Xu made the trip abroad in May.
“I wanted to try it,” the chef tells Observer, speaking at Shang Palace before the lunch service on a recent fall day. “It’s a different environment, a different market. It was actually about good timing. I came and jumped right in. I’m really enjoying it here; There is so much to try and discover.”
Joining a renowned restaurant like Shang Palace, which already has one Michelin star, was not easy. The fine Chinese eatery has a collection of regulars, both locals and out-of-town visitors, and it was important that certain beloved dishes, such as the Peking duck, remained intact. Xu quickly noticed that French customers have a specific idea of Chinese cuisine and expect large, shared portions of food to be served. They want their assumption of what Chinese food entails, not necessarily what Xu wants to show.
“It’s a very different market,” says Xu, who speaks almost no French. “I respect what (the restaurant) has because my customers have been coming here for years and they’re used to it. I can’t make big changes, so I slowly introduce new dishes and new versions. It’s like the house is already built, very high, and I’m not here to build a new house. I’m here to deliver decorations and make minor adjustments to make it more beautiful. I take it step by step.”
Initially, Xu made adjustments to the existing recipes based on his two decades as a chef in China, as well as his experiences eating the country’s broad cuisine. He wanted to ensure that all flavors at Shang Palace were ‘100 percent authentic’. He then started introducing his own creations, which he says is important because returning customers always have something new to try.
Chef Xu combines tradition and innovation in the Michelin-starred restaurant. Salome Rateau
The first item he added was sweet and sour foie gras, an innovative twist on a dish typically prepared with chicken or pork. The crispy, delicious plate, a must-try on the menu, tastes both nostalgic and surprising.
The sweet and sour is “a very traditional Chinese flavor,” explains Xu. “In China, foie gras is considered very luxurious. We have it on good menus, but in a Chinese way, which is marinated and boiled and sliced to eat. It’s very different from here. If I did that here, I don’t think people would like it. This is a local ingredient with an authentic Chinese taste.”
Most guests opt for the a la carte menu, although Shang Palace presents a memorable tasting menu that better reflects the range of Xu’s skills and tastes. He calls it ‘the whole look’ because it allows the chef to perfectly balance all the dishes that come to the table, from the appetizer to the dessert. He is currently starting the tasting menu with a refined version of tomato egg drop soup, a classic dish in both Chinese households and restaurants. The delicate bowl of soup is served with a lobster stock, which immediately elevates the flavor while retaining the memory-boosting umami.
The tasting menu starts with a soup. Salome Rateau
“If you go into a restaurant in China, they can make this soup without any problem, even if they don’t have it on the menu,” says Xu. “It’s very popular. It’s not high-end, expensive stuff. My grandmother cooked it for me at home, and her recipe was amazing. What I’m doing here is basically this authentic recipe, but I’ve added lobster soup instead of just egg tomato soup. So it’s more interesting and I used local ingredients. They have a very good blue lobster (in France) with a good taste; very sweet and fresh. I want to share what I grew up eating. And hopefully, when you hear about this history, it will be even better.”
Much of what Xu does now stems from his childhood. He always liked to be in the kitchen; he was inspired by his grandmother and mother. He was so skilled at cooking that his family suggested he pursue culinary training, which led to a fruitful career in China in restaurants and hotels. He spent several years with the Swire Hotels group as Executive Chef of Mi Xun Teahousewhere Xu earned a Michelin star and a green Michelin star for sustainability.
“I never stopped cooking,” he says. “I never changed jobs. I’ve always found it very interesting. And I always want to keep releasing new dishes.”
One of those new offerings is the Shang Palace salad, a deceptively simple dish that also has roots in Chinese culinary history. A typical version uses cabbage and sesame dressing, but Xu has swapped the regular cabbage for something called an ice plant, which has crispy green leaves that look like they’re frozen (although they’re not). The plants were eaten in Mongolia generations ago and Xu now sources them from western France.
The ice plant lettuce with sesame sauce. Salome Rateau
“The recipe is more than 5,000 years old,” he says. “China has a very old history, but I did it my way to present the traditional combination. There are some pickles and a very traditional sesame sauce with the ice plants. And it’s vegan friendly. On our current menu you can get a lot of tasty meat and good fish dishes, but you also have (many options) if you are vegan. I have a special broth for the appetizer, if you are vegan, it is very tasty.”
For Xu, flavor is the most crucial part of any dish. “It is important that the food is very tasty,” he says. “It doesn’t matter how beautiful the presentation is.” He says he doesn’t just want to present dishes that people come to photograph, because visuals aren’t the thing that brings guests back. “The taste is important,” he says. “You feel confident and warm. Every time I add something to the menu, I want it to be 100 percent correct. If not, we may need to change the presentation or reduce the flavors. There needs to be a real balance.”
While Xu appreciates the advent of social media and presenting his food in compelling, beautiful ways, he underlines the idea that taste lasts longer than anything posted in an image. When he travels, he prefers to look for reputable restaurants because he knows that people don’t keep returning if something is wrong.
“This restaurant has been open for 10 years, and in Paris many restaurants have been open for 100 years,” says the chef. “And why do people go back? I don’t think it’s because it’s very chic or beautiful. They go back because the taste is good. You remember the flavors every time. And if we have good flavors, we can of course also give a good presentation.”
Shang Palace opened in Paris almost 15 years ago. Shangri-La Paris
Xu takes Shang Palace’s slow and steady approach, though he admits he has to restrain himself from going all in and changing the menu too quickly. However, stability does not mean that we refuse to evolve. Over the years, the chef has learned that if you stay in the same job for several years, you become comfortable enough in the kitchen to be even more innovative.
“Every year you can try something new,” he says. “If you’re constantly changing and stopping restaurants, you’re spending your energy building trust in those around you and keeping the operation running. You don’t have the energy to create anything. I am more stable and focused on doing something creative and reaching for new opportunities. And you have to spend time with your team.”
For now, Xu is rolling out his new ideas at a measured pace. He has many ready to go, but being a chef means satisfying guests as well as his own artistic sensibility. “The chef and the guests have to be together in everything,” says Xu. “If I only do what I like, then we will be apart. We must be balanced. Of course I always want to try a new, crazy idea, but sometimes I have to control myself a little.”
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