Swire brings in Rowley Leigh

British chef Rowley Leigh, chef-consultant at Swire Hotels new restaurant in Pacific Place, on picking a few favourites for the wine list and the influx of British chefs in Hong Kong.

Award-winning writer and former proprietor of Le Café Anglais in London, Leigh has been brought in to consultant on one of the group’s new restaurants, The Continental which opens officially today (Monday 13 October).

Catering to the office workers in Pacific Place, The Continental will serve “Western European” cuisine though Leigh stressed to the drinks business that it was certainly not “fusion”.

On the other hand, he continued, “that doesn’t preclude my trying to source local ingredients. It’s both interesting and challenging.”

The wine list was put together by Swire’s director of wine Yvonne Cheung but Leigh did say he’d “had some say”, “insisting” on a few favourites such as Chinon, Beaujolais and Clos des Papes.

Leigh has been in Hong Kong for a month putting the finishing touches on the venue and said that his impression is that “the Chinese are more knowledgeable and discerning than most” and that backed up with the “extremely competitive” Hong Kong on-trade scene the team at The Continental will have to “work hard to stay ahead”.

He is pleased that Swire has brought him in as a consultant only, as their ambition is to make the venue into “an institution”.

Leigh is just the latest British chef to land in Hong Kong to either consult or set up a new restaurant. Jason Atherton has been in the region for some time now with his Pollen Street Social franchise in Singapore and his Aberdeen Street Social in Hong Kong, Tom Aiken is consulting at the soon to re-open The Pawn, while Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay are more recent restaurateur arrivals.

Leigh cited Atherton as perhaps the most successful British chef to take himself as a “brand” around the world in the vein of Ducasse or the Nobu restaurants but adds that he has to “work hard at it” and cautioned that “it’s a mistake and always has been to plonk your brand down. Especially a restaurant as they’re so high maintenance.”