- Swiss chef born in Singapore worked extensively in Hong Kong, at Plume and Cafe Gray Deluxe, in Shanghai, and at Lespinasse in New York
- ‘He was the perfect mix of intimidating and inspiring,’ says a former colleague, one of several to speak warmly of a man who was ‘a true gentleman’
When Gray Kunz began working in Plume, a fine-dining French restaurant at the then Regent Hong Kong hotel, in the 1980s the Swiss chef had a difficult time adjusting to the place, but eventually decided he would make the effort to stay.
"So one morning I sat there and watched the guys (in the kitchen)," Kunz " whose death at the age of 65 was announced late on Friday " said in a 2017 interview with the Post's Post Magazine. "They had this crummy pot that looked like it was from the Sham Shui Po market. They put it on the stove, when it was boiling they put in two handfuls of tea. That was their drink all day long. So the next day I went in early and made tea for them.
"When they walked in, the guys were almost crying " for me to come early to make tea for them was a big step. I took that step, then another step. The team I had there was unreal. Either you make the effort or you don't. It's up to you."
It was in Hong Kong that the Singapore-born Kunz began learning more about Asian cuisines and cooking techniques, ideas he would take to New York in the 1990s. Innovative dishes like marinated crabmeat with a melon-citrus sauce, and squab ragout with turmeric served with a rice-flour crepe became famous at Lespinasse restaurant, where he was in the kitchen for eight years.
Chef Joey Sergentakis, who owes his career in Asia to Kunz and who opened Cafe Gray Deluxe in Hong Kong with him in 2009, attributes the Swiss chef's interest in Asian flavours to his early years in Singapore.
"When he was cooking he had an open mind, he had a broad spectrum of flavours and techniques. It was all about the balance of flavours and textures," said Sergentakis, speaking from Singapore on Saturday.
He was more than my old chef. I owe everything to him. He took me under his wing and I am so grateful for thatJoey Sergentakis, chef
"Sometimes when we had a VIP come in (to Cafe Gray Deluxe), we would have to do something that was not on the menu and that's when we cooked the best," Sergentakis recalled. "It was magical. We'd grab ingredients and put them together on the spot. The moments we had together in the kitchen were amazing."
Kunz, after whom Cafe Gray Deluxe in The Upper House luxury hotel in Pacific Place, Admiralty was named, had other commitments with Swire Hotels in Shanghai but put in four stints a year in the restaurant's kitchen, each of which lasted four to six weeks. When Kunz was there, the mood in the kitchen was one of stress and excitement, said chef Chris Grare, who worked at Cafe Gray Deluxe between 2012 and 2015.
"He was the perfect mix of intimidating and inspiring at the same time. Whenever he was here, the room felt energetic. With him, cooking was about flavours. He pushed the boundaries and taught me to overseason, but not too much," said Grare, who is now chef and co-owner of Kinship restaurant in Central.
After work hours, Grare said, Kunz was generous with his team. "Hong Kong was like home for him. One of his favourite things to do was to go to dai pai dongs in between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay and take out the entire team."
Sergentakis, now group executive chef at Ce La Vi based in Singapore, said that even after he left Cafe Gray Deluxe following six years in the kitchen, the two kept in regular touch and even set up Kunz Management to develop new culinary concepts.
"I last talked to him on February 26. I was late wishing him a happy birthday and he said, 'Better late than never'. He would always joke like that," said Sergentakis. "Every time I called him he would say, 'Joey, are you in jail? Do I need to bail you out?' And I would say, 'No, not this time, chef.'"
Sergentakis will remember Kunz as a true gentleman who left an impression on everyone he met. "He was a great mentor to me, but he was also a great mentor outside the kitchen. I felt I could depend on him, he was someone I could call and talk to when things were going to be tough," he said.
"There will be dishes that will remind me of him. He was more than my old chef. I owe everything to him. He took me under his wing and I am so grateful for that."
Another of Kunz's proteges is Eric RAty, whose Hong Kong restaurant Arbor was awarded a second Michelin star in December 2019. He attributes his culinary success to the Swiss chef.
RAty worked under Gray for almost three years at Cafe Gray Deluxe and said his mentor was an amazing man who was much more than a chef.
"He was the third chef I worked under and I learned more from him than just cooking. He opened my eyes," RAty said. "He taught me to not just look at the plate, but around the plate, like the kitchen, the team."
RAty last saw the Swiss chef a week before Christmas in Hong Kong and said Kunz was still very active, telling him about his various projects in Singapore and Shanghai, and the importance of using sustainable fish, one of his pet projects.
One of the many things RAty learned from Kunz is to constantly improve all aspects of a restaurant. "He didn't want to wait until tomorrow or next week to fix something " it had to be done right away. And now in my restaurant I am trying to refine things all the time."
Kunz died suddenly of a stroke. His death was announced on Friday on The Upper House website and social media accounts.
A spokeswoman for Swire Hotels said that Kunz had been contracted to work with the hotel group until December 2020, and there were no plans to change the concept of Cafe Gray Deluxe in the short-to-medium term.
Kunz leaves behind a wife, son, daughter and one grandchild.
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