REINVENTING TAIWANESE CUISINE
At Tairroir, Kai Ho wants to offer more than a fusion of food and culture
‘Idon’t have a culinary philosophy. My cooking philosophy is about making food delicious, but this is the basic a top chef should do. Everyone can cook but I am a professional,” says Kai Ho, chef-patron of the two Michelin-starred Tairroir in Taipei.
Having been born and brought up in Taichung, Taiwan, chef Ho takes it upon himself to represent his country. “I am from there and want to represent the country to the fullest. It’s not only about cooking. I want people to know more about Taiwan and not only about the food and the culture.”
The food at Tairroir, which is a play on the words Taiwan and terroir, is classic deconstructed Taiwanese cuisine using French culinary skills.
“Bouillabaisse is always served hot. However, I cook it cold. I take the concept and idea from other places and make the dishes my own. I use 30% of the technique and ideas from elsewhere,” says the chef, who showcased his skills at the 20th World Gourmet Festival held at the Anantara Siam Bangkok. Though, since he grew up cooking Chinese food, his dishes are inspired by that cuisine.
“Taiwanese-French is the best way to describe my cuisine or to understand it. But I don’t like putting my cuisine in a box. I like to use local ingredients as much as possible, and always use a different angle to present my dishes.”
Chef Ho is always on the search for local ingredients. Local produce, he says, is always his first choice.
“But if the quality is not good then the food will not be good. You have to use the best-quality produce to produce the best dish. A recipe is a guide and doesn’t really need to be followed to the T,” stresses the chef.
“For me, the first image is presentation, not the taste. French cuisine is the most interesting to me, which is why I learned how to cook French food. Though I may not know much about it, I know the concept, the French way, the French spirit. This is what I bring to Tairroir.”
The added advantage that chef Ho has in his native land is that he has grown up with the produce.
“We have a younger generation of chefs who study overseas, gain experience and come back to Taiwan to do something different. If you compare a chef who has just moved to Taiwan and me, I have the advantage of having been brought up with these ingredients. I know the flavours and the tastes. Maybe I have just tried it a couple of times, but I can still get it right, compared to someone who has to try it around five or six times. This is a good start.”
The menu at Tairroir is known for chef Ho’s unique names for his dishes.
“If you name your dishes [traditionally], diners will only see ‘seared beef with red wine sauce and mashed potatoes.’ It sounds boring. I want to make my menu more interesting, hence I name my dishes after Chinese poems. It’s like French chefs creating a menu and adding flair to dishes. I also like diners to guess what’s on the menu and have my staff explain the menu to them. It is a better way to gauge a diner’s reaction and know if they are happy with it. It’s about being in touch with my menu,” he says.
For a chef, the main job is making the produce shine, chef Ho adds.
“Before, I always wanted to show off my skills and make my cooking stand out. Now, I want to find the real taste of the food and create a good memory for diners. Before, I would say we have to make diners happy; now, I would say we have to share our happiness with them. My job is to create memories or to induce memories. Because food, your palate and taste are all about your life and memories.”
Chef Ho’a tasting menu used to change often. However, “now I change dishes, not the entire 12-course menu. This is because some ingredients are only available for a week or two and then they are gone”, says the chef, who is constantly working on dishes with the arrival of seasonal ingredients.
Even his seasoning on the dishes changes with the weather. “For example, if today is very hot, my seasoning will be lighter than if the day is cooler. A lot of my food also depends on emotions. We are human, after all. On cold days, the soup is heartier and the food has more of a kick to it.” However, the chef never cooks with ingredients he doesn’t eat, coriander being one of them.
At Tairroir, the focus is on the diners. “It is important they have a good experience and take home good memories after dining here. The two Michelin stars are more for the team than for me. It boosts their morale.”
Tairroir, he says, is ready for whatever comes next. “This is not only about Kai Ho. Without a good team, there is no Kai Ho or Tairroir. In the future, I plan to open a casual dining space for my team because it is time for them to stand out.”