Anjana Ahuja talks to the man with two restaurants in the worlds top 50
ALAN YAU has done remarkably well for a man who, by his own admission, hates to cook. In the Nineties he dreamt up - and later sold - the groundbreaking Wagamama concept, which fed noodle soup to time-pressed, budget-conscious urbanites on shared tables.
In 2001, he sauntered effortlessly to the other end of gastronomic spectrum with the classy Hakkasan, which proved that there was a metropolitan appetite for sharks fin soup costing £40 preceded by champagne on satin sofas, all served in a former underground garage. The £4.5million gamble on the anti-minimalist, wallet draining Chinese joint paid off, and it swiftly became one of the most profitable restaurants in London. Most flatteringly, it spawned a feast of imitators, such as Dalston’s Shanghai Blues. Last year, Yau opened Yauatcha, another top-end Oriental eatery in Central London, where the waiters wear uniforms designed by Tim Yip, the Oscar winning costumier who created the fabulous outfits seen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Not only have Hakkasan and Yauatcha both earned Michelin stars, but last week both ventures also made it on the list of the world’s 50 top restaurants. Yau, the Hong Kong born son of a takeaway owner, has confirmed his position as one of the sharpest and most successful tastemakers in London. The recognition, he admits, matters a great deal:” It especially matters if the people who voted [chefs, food critics and journalists] are of high quality. It gives the industry a good benchmark.”
It vindicated his belief that Londoners, at least, were willing to stray beyond chow mein served in a foil carton in their gastronomic pursuit of the East. “The response [to Hakkasan] has been exceptional.” Yau says gratefully. “There’s a willingness to try out new things, and there’s a more mass-market acceptance of a better product. People are willing to pay for authenticity and a more discerning type of cuisine.” He is opening a Hakkasan later this year in Hong Kong.
Yau 42, admits to being an obsessive about food; during our conversation, he gets most excited about having possibly located an Australian supplier of yabbies and maram (types of shellfish), thanks to his long term friend and mentor David Thompson, an Australian famed worldwide for his Thai cooking. Even though much of the Hakkasan experience is due to the sultry opium den atmosphere, to Yau the food comes first; "You should go to a restaurant for its food. The peripheral details, like the quality of service or the atmosphere, count for nothing if you don’t get the food right. I think I’m developing a particular taste – I don’t know if it's good taste but I’m becoming more obsessive. In one sense, it’s quite bad because it means that most of the time I’m disappointed.
That Yau has ended up in business is no surprise, though he once vowed that he would have nothing to do with it. His parents ran Chinese takeaways in Peterborough and Kings Lynn, and he jokes that “maybe I soaked up the grease in the kitchen”. The second of the six Yau children studied for a politics degree, and worked for an engineering company for two years. He went to Hong Kong to work for McDonald’s on the franchising operation before returning to Britain in 1991 determined to become an entrepreneur.
“I knew I wanted to work for myself and the only thing I knew instinctively was catering,” Yau says. And so Wagamama was born. A no-chef, Yau compared himself to a director, taking the ingredients necessary for a great restaurant – top chef, well equipped kitchens, tempting menus, frantically sourced ingredients – and unifying them into a gastronomic experience.
The London-based Yau is assisted in business by his wife, Jale Erentok, who Yau says, doesn't cook much either. “Actually, we eat out an awful lot – that’s bad, isn't it?” His favourite hobby, he says is seeking out the best bars in the world – unsurprisingly, Hakkasan and Yauatcha both boast a mean reputation for cocktails.
But Yau has yet to shake off his aspirations to exchange the populist culinary landscape. He’d like to (ie, invent) Chinese fast food – great takeaway food for less than a fiver. “I’m not even sure of the concept,” he admits, as he successively rejects my attempt to pigeonhole the venture as a McChopsuey or a Yo! Dim Sum. And who would bet against him?
Yau's UK Top 5
The Hind's Head Hotel, High Street, Bray, Berks, SL6 2AB. Tel: 01628 626151
St John, 26 St John Street, London, EC1M 4AY. Tel: 0207 251 0848
Linford's Traditional Fish & Chips, 6 Market Place, Market Deeping, Lincs, PE6 8EA. Tel: 01778 347970
The Three Fishes, Mitton Road, Mitton, Whalley, Lancs, BB7 9PQ. Tel: 01254 826888
Midsummer House, Midsummer Common, Cambridge, CB4 1HA. Tel: 01223 369299