• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
GO TO EXPAT LIVING SINGAPORE
GET OUR NEWSLETTER

Expat Living Hong Kong HomepageExpat Living Hong Kong

Moving to Hong Kong and not sure where to start? Expat Living is the essential lifestyle guide to living in Hong Kong.

Login Pelcro Shop

Menu
  • Living In Hong Kong
      • Living Here
      • Where To Live
      • Schools
      • For Guys
        • Private tutors in Hong Kong
        • Image of Chinese characters for article on tips for learning Mandarin Chinese languageSix steps to a magical Mandarin Story
        • International Women’s Day: Nominate Someone Special
        • Helping our communities learn to swim
      • View all
    Close
  • Things To Do
      • Things To Do
      • What’s On/Calendar
      • Competitions & Offers
        • KidsFest 2023 Hong Kong - Tabby McTatTop 35 Best Things To Do In Hong Kong This Weekend
        • 6 super reasons to visit sky100
        • Best playgrounds & parks for the kids
        • What to watch this month – Netflix & more!
      • View all
    Close
  • Kids
      • Activities & Things To Do
      • Education & Enrichment
      • Health & Wellness
      • Mums & Babies
      • Podcasts
        • Private tutors in Hong Kong
        • We chat with two GSIS families
        • A boarding school with wildlife on the doorstep!
        • Children's teeth and bracesKids and braces – all you need to know
      • View all
    Close
  • Homes
      • Home Décor
      • Readers Homes
        • A New Home in The New Territories
        • Transforming an old Hong Kong junk
        • Image of Altfield home furnishings showroomWhere to get designer home furnishings
        • Hong Kong People: Meet Laura Pezza
      • View all
    Close
  • Travel
      • Short Breaks
      • Further Afield
      • Travel News & Offers
        • Sequoia Lodge, AustraliaTravel Tips: Hot hotels for 2023
        • Mount KinabuluClimbing Mount Kinabalu in Sabah
        • Son Doong CaveJourney into the world’s largest cave
        • Famous movie locations in Asia - Hong Kong - Gage Street8 Famous Movie Locations in Asia
      • View all
    Close
  • Wine & Dine
      • Recipes & Groceries
      • Bars & Restaurants
        • Thai food at Monsoon restaurant in Hong KongRestaurant Review: Monsoon
        • 6 super reasons to visit sky100
        • Popcorn Shrimp with Spicy Honey Mayo
        • Indulgent chocolate cake - recipeRecipe: Indulgent Chocolate Cake
      • View all
    Close
  • Style & Beauty
      • Fashion
      • Hair & Beauty
        • Convertible clothing that can be mix-and-matched
        • where to get botox in hong kongBotox in Hong Kong – All you need to know
        • Where to buy (and sell!) watches
        • Face masks, spa products, body scrubsWe test body scrubs, creams, masks & more!
      • View all
    Close
  • Health & Fitness
      • Medical & Dental
      • Fitness
      • Wellness
        • dry eye disease - causes, symptoms and treatment for dry eyesDo you suffer from dry eyes?
        • family dental clinics and dentists in Hong KongFamily Dental Clinics and Dentists in HK
        • Children's teeth and bracesKids and braces – all you need to know
        • Safe & healthy eating during pregnancy
      • View all
    Close
  • Shop
    • Magazine
    • Advertise With Us
    • Close

Why this French chef loves American food

29 October, 2018 by Melissa Stevens 2 Min Read

https://expatliving.hk/hong-kong-steakhouse-blt-steak-chef-laurent-tourondel/

When you meet Laurent Tourondel, the first thing that strikes you is how genial and down-to-earth he is given his level of success. His empire may currently include an impressive 13 restaurants around the world, three critically acclaimed cookbooks and numerous industry accolades, but you wouldn’t know it when he sits down for a chat while in Hong Kong. Laurent is visiting his fine-dining waterfront restaurant, BLT Steak in Harbour City, and his more casual classic American burger joint, BLT Burger, and while he appears relaxed, he ruefully admits he now has a work schedule that makes him seem more American these days than a native of France.

Laurent Tourondel
Laurent Tourondel

“I know, it’s sad!” he laughs. “One day I’ll go back to my French roots.” But it’s been a long time since he lived in France, having worked in Russia and then in the most exclusive echelons of British dining at famed gentleman’s club Boodles, before going stratospheric in the US.

Looking back now, he credits his time in London as the turning point where he became serious about cooking as a career. “It was there that I defined my career by a style of cooking I wanted to apply to the rest of my career. I wanted to be accessible,” he says. “I really try to deliver what people want to eat. I’m not a fancy chef.”

Laurent’s greatest notoriety is through his steakhouses, recognised as the pinnacle of American dining, with an industry identity no less than Bobby Flay declaring, “If you want really true American food, you have to eat Laurent’s food.”

Laurent says the idea to reinvent the American steakhouse concept came when French fine dining was in the doldrums in New York.

Laurent Tourondel BLT Steak

“Now, a lot of chefs are doing steakhouses, but when I first created the concept of BLT Steak I was alone in New York city,” he recalls. “People said ‘Why’s this French guy doing a steakhouse?’ Up until then, steakhouses were a Wall Street thing – white tablecloths, very macho restaurants. I thought about how could I approach it and make it more for women.”

This chameleon-like ability to adapt is one Laurent believes is the secret to his success. “You have to adjust to your environment,” he says. “I don’t think I ever had a vision about this – writing a book, having a restaurant; I don’t think it was a goal, it just came, and I took the right opportunities with the right people.”

“I never wanted to own restaurants,” he adds. “And now I’m onto my 52nd – yeah, it’s nuts!”

• BLT Steak is at Shop G62, G/F, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui | diningconcepts.com/restaurants/BLT-Steak
• BLT Burger is at Shop 301, L/3, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui | diningconcepts.com/restaurants/BLTBurger

See more in our wine & dine section:

5 fab restaurants and bars to try

Best brunches in Hong Kong

Categories: Bars & Restaurants Wine & Dine Tags: BLT Steak Celebrity Chefs Chefs Dining Concepts Steak Restaurants

Get the latest events, stories and special offers
sent to your inbox.

By signing up, you'll receive our bimonthly newsletters and offers, which you can unsubscribe to anytime.

You May Also Like

Popcorn Shrimp with Spicy Honey Mayo

Indulgent chocolate cake - recipe

Recipe: Indulgent Chocolate Cake

6 super reasons to visit sky100

Primary Sidebar

  • COMPETITIONS & OFFERS
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Expat Living Hong Kong, All Rights Reserved.