Former Pied à Terre head chef Shane Osborn to head up Alan Yau's Hong Kong restaurant St Betty
Shane Osborn, former head chef and co-owner of London restaurant Pied à Terre, is moving to Hong Kong to become head chef at restaurateur Alan Yau's St Betty.
Osborn, who left Pied à Terre after 13 years last spring to travel around the world with his family, will head up the all-day dining restaurant located in the Central District of Hong Kong with views overlooking the harbour.
St Betty, which has been open for about a year, is a 120-seat restaurant offering a modern European menu. Osborn will head up a kitchen brigade of nearly 30 chefs, including former Pied à Terre sous chef Graham Long, and will introduce a menu with a focus on seasonal produce from the local markets.
Osborn told Caterer and Hotelkeeper he was hugely excited to move to Hong Kong. "It's got a real buzz and is such a happening city, with a great food culture," he said.
"Alan Yau has a great reputation as a restaurateur and is the perfect person for me to go into business with."
Osborn added that he would be focusing his menu on local ingredients. "The food will be classically rooted in technique and style but I'm really looking forward to exploring the local markets so there will definitely be an Asian influence. It will be a simple, produce-led menu," he said.
"We have an acre of land and plan to have a greenhouse to grow our own produce and we're also keen to set up a co-operative."
Osborn first joined Pied à Terre as sous chef in 1998 and was promoted to head chef after the departure of Tom Aikens in December 1999. The restaurant lost its second star the following month, in January 2000. However, Osborn regained it in 2003 and has retained the accolade ever since. He previously worked with Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, opening L'Oranger, and as junior sous chef at the Square.
Alan Yau is a Hong Kong-born restaurateur who has brought a radical edge to the London market for Oriental restaurants. He founded noodle bar chain Wagamama as well as Michelin-starred Chinese restaurants Hakkasan and Yauatcha, which were sold for £30m in 2008, although he retains a shareholding. Yau's current portfolio includes Busaba Eathai and Chinese noodle bar Cha Cha Moon.
Shane Osborn to leave Pied à Terre >>Lee Bennett to leave Le Pont de la Tour and move to Swissôtel the Stamford in Singapore >>
By Kerstin Kühn
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