Profile | The perfect omelette? Maybe – Hong Kong chef Alyn Williams on his twist on a classic dish, and working for Gordon Ramsay

Newly appointed executive chef at the Magistracy Dining Room in Hong Kong, Alyn Williams recalls for the Post his experiences in a variety of kitchens

He talks about working for ‘brilliant’ Gordon Ramsay, training with 100 chefs in a giant kitchen on a placement, and the humble dishes he is adding to the menu

Reading Time:4 minutes

Newly moved to Hong Kong, chef Alyn Williams talks about his vision for Magistracy Dining Room. Photo: Magistracy Dining Room

Published: 12:48pm, 22 May 2024Updated: 6:45pm, 23 May 2024

The elegant art deco features of The Savoy hotel in London are the perfect setting for a dish which has truly stood the test of time: omelette Arnold Bennett.

In 1929, a French chef at the hotel called Jean Baptiste Virlogeux created the decadent breakfast mix of eggs, butter, double cream and smoked haddock for Bennett when the British author was staying there.

The hotel has been serving it ever since – today, it is on the menu at The River Restaurant by Gordon Ramsay at the hotel, but one chef who arguably knows it better than most is Alyn Williams.

An affable and proud Londoner, Williams has recently taken the reins at another historic site some 6,000 miles (9,700km) away, the Magistracy Dining Room in Tai Kwun, Hong Kong – with his own homage to Bennett on the menu.

The soufflé Arnold Bennett is Williams’ take on a classic French omelette dish. Photo: Magistracy Dining Room

It is a dish which has featured throughout his 40-plus-year career, during which he has worked alongside some of the biggest names in British cuisine, from Gordon Ramsay to Angela Hartnett and Marcus Wareing.