Maxim’s Raymond Tong says Hong Kong could be become a world food destination if government supports catering industry personnel
The city will reap long term benefits by making catering careers attractive to the city’s young with proper training programmes, says Maxim’s Group’s Raymond Tong Kwok-kong
A proper system to draw young people into careers in the kitchen will help build Hong Kong’s reputation as a global food paradise, according to Raymond Tong Kwok-kong, chief operating officer of the Maxim’s Group.
The government would make Hong Kong a better place for restaurant operators if it could provide more courses and certification programmes to encourage youngsters to become chefs or restaurant managers, said Tong, who oversees operation for the city’s largest food services group.
“The long working hours and a lack of clear career path has discouraged people from joining the catering industry. Even if we offer a salary much higher than the minimum wage, we find it hard to hire people. We want more young people who are willing to be trained as chefs, kitchen hands, bakers, waiters and waitresses and managers,” he said.
“Many chefs and restaurant managers are very experienced and have done excellent jobs. It would encourage more people to join the industry if there were more certification programmes to help them to gain diplomas or even degrees.”
Maxim’s has been operating in the city for 60 years. Founded by two brothers, it began as a nightclub offering French cuisine in the 1950s, before growing into a chain of over 900 restaurants now offering Chinese, western and Japanese cuisines. It also holds the Starbucks franchise in Hong Kong and runs cake shops and a moon cake business as well as fast food outlets in Hong Kong, the mainland, Vietnam and Cambodia.
