From fine dining restaurants to flipping gourmet burgers

Macao's Grand Lisboa Hotel may be known as the world's only dining destination to have seven Michelin stars under one roof, but its latest culinary project was a pop-up burger shop available for only three days in September that featured a collaboration with Uwe Opocensky.

The Germany-born chef worked previously with Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong for nearly a decade from 2004, overseeing a total of 10 restaurants, three of which have been awarded with Michelin stars.

In 2015, he left the luxury hotel group and surprised the Hong Kong restaurant industry by joining the burger chain Beef & Liberty.

Over the years, he, both as a business partner and its executive chef, has grown the brand into one of the most sought-after burger brands in China, including overseeing its expansion into Shanghai.

Opocensky, who has cooked for former US president Bill Clinton, England's Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Wales Charles Philip Arthur George, is now aiming to bring his burgers to more locations across China and even Asia through the pop-up concept.

He tells China Daily about his motivations behind departing the fine dining scene and why he simply loves burgers.

Why did you decide on the pop-up concept?

A pop-up is more about the excitement for both diners and servers because of the short duration of its existence. People these days constantly want to be entertained and excited. Pop-up stores are a great opportunity for the operator and the guest chef to exchange ideas, be mutually inspired and learn from each other. This is my second time doing pop-up with Beef & Liberty. There should be more in the following years in both the Chinese mainland and Asia. The pop-up dynamics are very much driven by social media, which is also the future.

How do you think social media and the obsession with taking photos of our food have affected the restaurant industry?

As a chef, I am always concerned about delivering food when it is at its freshest. However, we are in the hospitality industry, which means we have to adapt to what our guests want. And if they want to spend 15 minutes taking a picture, that is their choice. It's not for me to tell them what is right or wrong. What I am going to tell them is that when I serve it to you, that's the right moment. If you miss it, that's your choice.

Would you spend time making your burger appear nice for photos?

No, I serve it delicious, because at the end of the day that's what counts for me. Of course I would want to make it look good and appealing, but I don't want to over-style it. You can always create the world's biggest pizza or the most expensive cocktail to create a splash on social media. But what's the point of it? Does it taste good?

What do you want to express with burgers?

For one thing, people walking into fine dining or five-star hotel restaurants usually have certain expectations for the foods they are served. These places reach only a very small amount of people because of their price points. With Beef & Liberty, I have a much bigger audience and also a much more difficult one because they all have different perceptions. This is good as it forces me to think differently and take on new challenges. I want to grow as a chef. I have had much more flexibility and a greater range in terms of what I can do since getting out of the fine dining scene. There is little personalization about it (fine dining). It's more about following guidelines and reading off the scripts. There is nothing wrong with that. But having been there for so many years, I am personally done with it.

Why burgers in particular?

I have known the owner of Beef & Liberty for a long time and I am also part of it (as a business partner). This means I am not an employee and my voice gets heard. So you can say it's less about burgers but more about the people behind the burger.

Do you think there is a misconception that burgers are just fast food?

If you think about burgers, you think of obvious brands. But if you know about food, what these brands offer is not delicious. What they offer doesn't do justice to burgers. So what we want to do is focus on this particular category and add quality to it, such as using grass-fed beef that is sustainable.

Having won Michelin stars before, what is your take on the guide now?

I've tried so many years to get two Michelin stars, and it never happened for whatever reason, so I had my shot at it. For me it's a barometer of who you are. Hopefully when I'm in my own environment, they will look at me again. But on the other hand, I just want to have fun now.