PMQ Taste Kitchen celebrates summer with chef Stephanie Wong of Roots Eatery and her Mediterranean culinary concept

After impressing diners with her successful stint “A Personal Affair” at PMQ Taste Kitchen earlier this year, banker-turned-chef Stephanie returns to PMQ Taste Kitchen with a beautifully crafted new concept.

This June, Stephanie Wong, the talented chef behind Hong Kong-based catering brand Roots Eatery, returns to PMQ Taste Kitchen — the city’s first-ever F&B incubator — with a menu that will whisk diners away on a gastronomic voyage to the Mediterranean.

The banker-turned-chef was one of the first young talents joining PMQ Taste Kitchen’s incubator program. Her “A Personal Affair: a unique dinner tasting menu,” a one-of-a-kind tasting menu with an elegant French flair, has won the hearts of Taste Kitchen’s diners as well as the city’s gourmets back in February.

With expert guidance from restaurant consultants Caleb and Joshua Ng of Twins Kitchen — backed by sponsorship and full incubator support from PMQ Taste Kitchen, Stephanie will take up a new challenge from 19 June to 22 July: To create a concept that is distinctly different from her French culinary background — on top of running a full-service kitchen.

The girl who quits her ‘have-to-have’ job to follow a dream
After working as a banker for almost a decade, Stephanie quit and moved to Paris in 2015 to pursue her culinary dream. In addition to receiving her Culinary Arts Diploma from legendary chef Alain Ducasse’s cookery school, Stephanie has honed her skills at Michelin-starred restaurant Hostellerie De Plaisance in Saint Emilion before returning to Hong Kong to work at the two-starred fine dining temple, Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental.

Her catering brand Roots Eatery draws inspiration from humble root vegetables, which are nourishing, fulfilling and nutritious. It is little wonder why Stephanie’s decidedly simple culinary philosophy — to go back to the basics and give the utmost love and respect to every ingredient and let their original taste and beauty shine — has quickly won her countless fans.

“Cooking for others has always been deeply integrated into my life, inspired by my late grandmother and mother. It’s always been about togetherness through the medium of food and the passion to provide the best for loved ones. And so, I share this same love with you all,” enthused Stephanie.

‘Voyage from the Mediterranean’
“In this summer pop up, I’m presenting a new menu, ‘Voyage from the Mediterranean,’ a souvenir from my recent trip to Italy, Turkey and Israel,” says the young chef behind the well-acclaimed Roots Eatery.

Having trained in both Paris and Hong Kong, Stephanie is known for wowing diners with her masterful ability to merge European culinary technique and flavours with an interesting Cantonese twist.

“Each dish (created for the upcoming pop-up restaurant) carries influence from the different terroirs I came across with the use of our beautiful homegrown produce. Flavours are vibrant, colourful, exotic contrasted with the lightness and freshness as we would find in Cantonese cooking philosophy,” says Stephanie.

Stephanie’s bold and tasteful take on Cantonese and Mediterranean cuisines — both with an ancient and rich culinary history — will be reflected in the brand-new menu.

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