She’s a French-American chef and sommelier who grew up in a place “where farmers’ markets, and local fresh meats and produce were abundant.” He was a banker born in the United States and raised in Hong Kong who only ate at “big chain restaurants.”
At first glance, the culinary collaboration between Camille Glass (CG) and George Kwok (GK) might not have seemed obvious. However, these two chefs—both trained in French culinary techniques, with Kwok making a bold professional transition—have found their perfect match in each other. Or rather, their perfect mismatch, as the duo has made fusion cuisine their signature style.
When Glass moved to Hong Kong in 2012, she noticed a gap in the market for small, boutique, independently owned and operated restaurants. “So, in 2018, I decided to open Brut alongside George, who, at the time, I barely knew but had a hunch we would make magic happen together,” she recalls.
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Highlighting cuisines from France, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and more, Brut in Sai Yin Pun has become a neighbourhood favourite. With its inventive seasonal dishes that blend influences and ingredients from various cuisines and its equally unorthodox wine list, Brut offers plenty of opportunities to step outside your comfort zone.
“Camille excels in taking care of guests in the front of the house while I focus on the kitchen and business operations,” says Kwok. The success of Brut inspired the duo to create the French-Indian bistro Pondi and the bar Crushed Wine.
The two chefs share with Tatler the secrets of good fusion cuisine, how they find inspiration in Hong Kong’s multicultural landscape and their backgrounds, and the surprising culinary combinations you can try at home.
Fusion food is almost a dirty word that chefs try their very best to avoid. I don’t blame them. Taco Burgers, Teriyaki Carbonara, Hot Dog Sushi. No wonder it’s not more sought after.
By - Camille Glass
Camille Glass and George Kwok founded Brut in 2018 (Photo: courtesy of Camille Glass)
Known for its cosy atmosphere, Brut quickly become of one Sai Yin Pun’s favourites (Photo: courtesy of Camille Glass)
Fusion is considered a bad word. What do you think that people misunderstand about fusion food? CG: Fusion food around the world has a bad reputation, it’s almost a dirty word that restaurants and chefs try their very best to avoid. I don’t blame them. For a long time fusion food has been misrepresented. A fast and furious collision of flavours rather than a harmonisation of them. Taco burgers, teriyaki carbonara, hot dog sushi. No wonder it’s not more sought after.
But when George and I came together, there was no business plan, no real direction. We knew that we wanted to have small batches, interesting wines and sharing dishes but that was about it. Given that George is from Hong Kong and my culinary education was in France, it was only natural for us to start creating menus together. I won’t lie, it took us some time to find our groove but little by little, with the occasional fight in between, we began to create something that felt true to both of us.
The fusion of cultures is a beautiful thing. It represents a modern city and the people that colour it. If anything, especially in a place like Hong Kong where there is so much diversity, it’s something that I think we should all be leaning into. As long as the people behind these restaurants are doing it with real intention and respect, then why not?
One of Brut’s 2023 menu (Photo: Instagram / courtesy of Karling Hamill)
Brut’s modern take of Bistek Tagalog (Photo: courtesy of Karling Hamill)
How has your personal history impacted your vision of food—as individuals and partners? CG: I grew up in a place where farmers markets and local fresh meats and produce were abundant. In the beginning, like a lot of Western folk, I desperately wanted to bring in what was familiar to me. I shopped in Western supermarkets, I trusted only what was imported and I was terrified of thinking outside the box. Over time, and in large part, thanks to my partnership with George I’ve come to understand just how special and unique the food culture is here in Hong Kong and I can’t get enough of it.
GK: My family kept things simple. We only knew big chain restaurants when I was growing up and this shaped how I see food and restaurants. To me, food should be affordable and value for money. Restaurants should be designed elegantly, but not trying too hard. When guests come into our restaurants, they should feel cosy, familiar and welcome, ready to enjoy a delicious meal.
CG and GK: From the early days at Brut, we realised that the way forward was to allow chefs, regardless of their backgrounds, to explore and create freely, using not only their knowledge but also the local ingredients available to them. Today, for example, our executive chef [CJ Jalandoni] at Brut is from Manila and has studied under the best and brightest in the industry around the world. He brings touches of his heritage and all of his experiences to each dish and it’s fantastic.
Brut’s executive chef CJ Jalandoni (Photo: courtesy of Karling Hamill)
Brut’s winter salad, including Sunchokes, wild greens, coffee infused ricotta and fig dressing (Photo: courtesy of Karling Hamill)
How and why is Hong Kong a special space to create fusion food? GK: In Hong Kong, we have a mix of cultures and people, all living together in one place, we’re lucky to have access to great ingredients from around the world. However, there’s so much competition here, chefs need to be creative and make dishes that are different to get noticed.
By definition, fusion food is already about innovation. What are the challenges of innovation within the fusion food genre? CG: Creating something new is always challenging. It requires a lot of patience and a lot of trial and error before you hit a sweet spot. The most challenging thing in my opinion is trying to break away from traditional combinations that we all know and love, and to make space for newness. That said, it’s a lot of fun to sit around a table with chefs from all over the world and break down a dish together. Working out what feels nostalgic to some and brand new to others. It’s a real bonding experience.
Brut’s cosy vibe (Photo: courtesy of Karling Hamill)
Some of Brut’s unorthodox wine list (Photo: courtesy of Karling Hamill)
How does wine pairing come into fusion food?CG: It’s not easy. There’s very little information out there which helps guide you on pairing wines with unexplored fusion foods because they’re all so unique. Over time, I’ve learned to stop only thinking about wine profiles in the common Western languages such as “notes of raspberry, nutmeg, and black pepper”. Instead, I try to identify notes that are more familiar to Asian ingredients that are found here like miso, kumquat and Chinese pear. Regardless, there’s always a common thread and with a bit of patience and an open mind you can get there.
What’s your dish ideation and creation process?GK: I get ideas for making dishes by blending Hong Kong flavours with French cooking methods. There aren’t any shortcuts in creating dishes, it’s simply trial and error and it usually takes weeks to months until a dish is completed.
My inspiration usually comes from visiting my favourite market in Sai Ying Pun, eating out, or scrolling through social media.
Brut’s chef CJ Jalandoni’s crab fat risotto (Photo: courtesy of Marc Steiner)
Brut’s sweet scallops with cauliflower, tahini and crunchy pomegranate seeds (Photo: courtesy of Karling Hamill)
Fusion food is a complicated balance to achieve. What are the prime examples of this balance on your menu? GK: When we first started Brut, blending a lot of Japanese condiments with more Eurocentric foods worked well for us. In hindsight, it was quite silly since neither one of us had any real understanding of Japanese food, but it seemed to come easier to us. We had a miso-glazed eggplant with goat cheese on our first menu. To date, people still talk about it. But as time went on, Camille and I would eat out a lot together and she would get excited about some interesting Hong Kong foods like drunken chicken, so we started playing with dishes like that. At one point we were serving our take on it with smacked ginger and wild mushroom mousse. It was great. People loved it.
In your opinion, what is the most interesting dish you are serving?CG and GK: At the moment, our chef CJ is doing a great job of blending parts of his Filipino heritage into more traditionally European dishes. Our crab fat risotto is a great example of this. He’s using Filipino crab fat to create a rich barley risotto that is simply mouth-watering. It’s reminiscent of the flavours that you might find in a French bouillabaisse. Topped with seasonal Hong Kong vegetables like crunchy celtuce and baby corn, it’s really special.
What are the ingredients from different cuisines that work well together, and that are accessible to all? GK: A few great combinations that you might not expect but that we’ve learned over the years are:
- Yuzu kosho and butter
- Greek yoghurt and chilli crisp or XO sauce
- Black garlic and coconut milk
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