Sichuan cuisine gets star touch

"Each day I would arrive in the kitchen earlier than the others. When I saw the pots and pans neatly arranged and the clean kitchen counter, I felt the urge to cook, and I enjoyed the silence before the kitchen got busy," says Chiang.

Later, another opportunity knocked at Chiang's door after he helped French chefs Jacques and Laurent Pourcel during their time at Paris 1930 as guest chefs.

He impressed the twin brothers and was given an opportunity to work at their restaurant, Le Jardin des Sens, in France.

Chiang said yes immediately, and moved to France even though he did not know a word of French.

"As a French cuisine chef, I had to learn in France, and prepare authentic French cuisine that the French like," says Chiang.

In Paris, Chiang stuck to his habit of arriving in the kitchen an hour before anyone else, even though he often worked 16 hours per day.

"I was not a patch on anyone in the kitchen when I arrived, so I had to make an effort to improve my skills," says Chiang.

As well as learning from the brothers, Chiang spent his salary eating at Michelin-starred restaurants in France and took notes.

"Each payday, I'd jump on the cheap night train to explore France and taste the food."

In his third year at the brothers' restaurant, Chiang was assigned to help at their Paris eatery, Mansion Blanche, for a few days.

Later, Chiang ran the brothers' four restaurants in Asia－in Toyko, Bangkok, Shanghai and Singapore.

In 2008, Chiang launched his first restaurant, Jaan par Andre at Raffles Hotel in Singapore, and two years later, it was listed 39th among the world's 50 best restaurants.

That's when Chiang felt it was time to move on.

In October 2010, Chiang's Restaurant Andre opened in Singapore, with only 30 covers and five chefs.

He planted an olive tree in front of the restaurant, which was brought from France, and to make the tree feel like it was in France, Chiang even put ice on the soil to mimic winter.

In 2017, Chiang was introduced to Ni Yingke, owner of The Bridge, as she was reopening her newly decorated restaurant in Chengdu.

After their first meeting, Ni took Chiang to visit local markets and see the abundant fresh ingredients.

"You can find a Sichuan cuisine restaurant everywhere in the world," says Chiang. "But it's not only about spicy food－originally the cuisine had 24 flavors, but some of them are not easy to find now.

"Sichuan cuisine is like a lady with heavy makeup－she has a strong visual impact, but people forget what she looks like when she's not wearing makeup.