Taiwanese chef Andre Chiang (江振誠) has been named the winner of this year’s Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award-Asia, the first Taiwanese chef to be honored.
Part of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards program, the award is voted on by members of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, which is made up of more than 300 “leaders” in the restaurant and culinary industries in Asia.
“While I was thrilled to be the first Chinese chef to appear on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, I am equally honored to be the first Chinese chef to receive this prestigious award,” Chiang said in a statement.
“My focus has always been to put Asia on the culinary world map and this recognition reinforces that goal,” Chiang said. “I will remember this moment forever.”
Born in Taipei in 1976, Chiang started his culinary career at age 13. He was later appointed head chef of the Sherwood Hotel’s French restaurant at age 20.
Chiang later spent about 15 years studying French cuisine in France, where he gained a position at the three-starred restaurant Le Jardin des Sens.
After returning to Asia, Chiang in 2010 opened the 30-seat Restaurant Andre in Singapore.
Restaurant Andre first appeared on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2013 at No. 38 and eventually rose to No. 14. The restaurant also consistently placed in the top 10 and climbed to second place on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
The restaurant was given two Michelin stars in 2016, but Chiang closed it last month after deciding to return to Taiwan to concentrate on reinterpreting Taiwanese flavors at his local award-winning restaurant, RAW.
He said he hopes RAW will help him pass on his experience and knowledge to the next generation of chefs in Taiwan and China.
Chiang is to formally receive the award at the sixth annual Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards ceremony scheduled for March 27 at Wynn Palace, Macau.
“Andre Chiang is among the world’s most respected, prominent and successful chefs, and the coveted Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award is an honor that reflects his culinary journey to date,” Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants group editor William Drew said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing the direction he will take in the next phase of his already stellar career.”
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