Profile | There is 1 Michelin-star Chinese restaurant in Switzerland. Its chef talks about giving an authentic taste of his homeland
- Frank Xu of Le Tsé Fung in Geneva honed his skills around China before moving to Europe, which he says was an ‘emotional’ process
- The chef, who earned the restaurant’s first Michelin star, in 2016, opens up about adapting his dishes for the European palate while keeping flavours authentic
As the chef behind the only Michelin-star Chinese restaurant in Switzerland, Guangzhou native Frank Xu is flying the flag for his nation’s cuisine far from home.
Under his direction, Le Tsé Fung, at La Réserve Geneva, a luxury hotel on the shores of the city’s famous lake, earned a Michelin star in 2016, which it retains today.
It is not the first time Xu has applied his Midas touch beyond China’s shores.
Before his current decade in Switzerland, he launched Shang Palace at the Shangri-La Paris, Europe’s first outpost of this famed, 50-year-old restaurant brand. In 2012, Xu helped the French venue earn a star a year after opening, making it the only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in Paris.
He was brought in to launch the Shang Palace after working for the Shangri-La hotel group for almost 20 years, in cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Before moving to Paris, he also did a stint at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in Hong Kong.
