Recipe for success

Every year, as cities around the Pearl River Delta become increasingly economically integrated, a growing number of Hong Kong citizens are relocating to cash in on the region's emergent prosperity.

Today, there are an estimated 240,000 SAR (Special Administrative Region) passport holders living on the mainland, mostly in the Pearl River Delta, according to the Hong Kong Census and Statistics department. And while many move at the request of bosses or companies, a growing number are coming of their own free will. They come to set up businesses, seek work with a local, Hong Kong or foreign firms, or simply for want of a new life.

But long before this current wave of hopefuls, before China's entry into the WTO or the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), a few hardy souls saw the promises of the future in this region. And they took a leap of faith across the ocean.

One such pioneer was master chef Jacky Chan, who knew what his future would hold at the tender age of 8.

Chan remembers the first time he showed an interest in the kitchen. He gave his mother tips on how to improve her cooking. Bemused by her young son's interest in cooking, Chan's mother sent him off to a restaurant to learn about life in a professional kitchen at age 11. From that moment on, he was hooked.

By age 18, he had attained executive chef status at a restaurant in Kowloon, but professional rivalry drove him to quit, he recalls. He headed for Taiwan when he was 21, where he stayed for 11 years and became a favorite among local senior politicians, including former "president", Lee Teng-hui, before setting his sights on the mainland.

Today, nearly 20 years after leaving Hong Kong and after stints in Shanghai, Macao and Shenzhen, Chan is now executive chef at the recently opened Guangzhou Shangri-la. He manages the five-star hotel's restaurant, the Summer Palace, trains staff in culinary arts and prepares the Chinese banquets served there.

"I specialize in five types of cuisine, including Cantonese, Sichuan and Chaozhou," says Chan. "But I am best known for my shark fin, abalone and bird's nest dishes."

His flair with such upmarket delicacies caught the attention of a number of prominent businessmen and was already active in the Pearl River Delta in his early years. And this led to one of his proudest moments - cooking for Deng Xiaoping, when the former leader was touring South China in the early 1990s.

"He was visiting Zhuhai as a guest of Henry Fok Ying-tung," recalls Chan. "Henry Fok had already heard of me and my cooking, and requested a meal. I was working at the Wu Lik Heem restaurant in Macao at the time, so I prepared the food there, and it was brought across to Zhuhai.

"At first I wasn't told whom the meal was for, but then, all these officials turned up at my kitchen and stood there watching me as I cooked. I got very nervous."

Chan never got to meet Deng, but was later told that Deng's comment was, the food was "very good", he says.

The chef says his life on the mainland has been wonderful. "I have a very busy life, but I am able to cook the food I want. The atmosphere is good."

In the earlier days of his career, he says, "I could see that China would be opening up. Everything was still developing, but I knew this would change".

But the days when being from Hong Kong brought with it a cache are long gone, he says.

"Ten years ago, a chef coming from Hong Kong was admired and came with a good image, but today, local skills have caught up," he says. "If you want a good position, you have to earn it. You have to study (your craft) and work hard."

To succeed in this new environment, one needs to adapt, to understand how to work here. "As a chef, you have to know how to use the food sources available to make your dishes," Chan says.

There are also problems with communication. Not all the staff speak Cantonese, and many only speak putonghua. Chan also finds the staff are not very innovative. After he teaches them one week, they only repeat what he has told them until he teaches something new the next week.

Chan says the salaries are about the same or even slightly higher than in Hong Kong. "But the advantage is that the cost of living here is lower," he says.

In addition to adapting to a new setting, life on the mainland also exacts a price on family life. But this problem is mitigated somewhat for those who, like Chan, are immersed in their work.

While his visits to his wife and two children - who live in Hong Kong - are few and far between, his occupation keeps him busy and occupies most of his thoughts.

"If I am very busy, I don't go back every month, sometimes only once every two months. I work five days a week, and on my days off, I travel around the city to restaurants to try the local food."

And when he is not working or sampling the city's cuisine, he is busy thinking of ways to cultivate his craft.

For Hong Kongers looking to follow in such footsteps, there are things to keep in mind, says Chan.

"Transportation is slow, people traveling on public transport can be rude, and people in the service industry are not always polite." Although Hong Kong and Guangdong share a common language, "the culture here is not the same".

Ultimately, success on the mainland all comes down to attitude, he says.

"Whenever I have difficulties, I always face the pressure and stay positive."

(China Daily 10/10/2007 page20)