The densely-populated, yet vibrant and colorful port city of Hong Kong, is now home to Lebanese born Chef Jad Youssef, a celebrity of Master Chef UK. Black Sheep Restaurants, a Hong Kong-based hospitality group that specializes in developing niche, thought-provoking restaurant concepts curates distinct dining experiences with a portfolio of 18 restaurants and one bar. Youssef, was recently assigned as the new executive chef of the company’s popular Lebanese restaurant, Maison Libanaise. “Hong Kong has always been on my mind for many reasons, chief among these is its fascinating culture and rich cuisine. Renowned as a ‘foodie hub’, the introduction of Lebanese food made perfect sense considering the commonalities both share, not to mention that our cuisine is one of the most popular and fastest-growing ethnic cuisines in the world. What I also found extremely appealing is how we, when preparing a dish, focus on seasonal ingredients, variety of colorful vegetables, herbs, spices, seeds and nuts. By constantly tweaking our offerings, we inch closer to making Lebanese cuisine a top-of-mind option for the Chinese. On a similar note, menu trends come and go, but there is a trend that shows no sign of a – healthy food with an ethnic twist, offered in an esthetically inspiring way, which is a tradition the people of this country are all too familiar with,” he said.
