Jimmy’s Kitchen executive chef Russell Doctrove on modernising the restaurant and bringing his own brand of magic to Pedder Building
Congratulations, Russell. Describe the moment you found out you got the job. For the last two years, I have been running my own dining consultancy as well as an online bakery, and while I really enjoyed this new-found independence, I had always said that if the right opportunity presented itself, I might be persuaded to move back into the restaurant world.
I was talking with a friend, who mentioned that Jimmy’s Kitchen was looking for an executive chef, and I decided to get in touch with Epicurean Group [which operates the restaurant]. After a really positive meeting with Sherman Tang [founder of the group], I was asked to do a quick food tasting for him and some of his senior team, and a few days later I was offered the job. I went into the tasting with only one goal in mind—to secure the position—and I was pumped when things worked out.
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Russell Doctrove (Photo: Billy Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)
How did you get your start in dining?I did a year-long internship at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong as part of my four-year Culinary Arts Management course [at the Birmingham College of Food in the UK]. While there, I was fortunate enough to catch the eye of the then-executive chef Marco Avitabile. He saw my passion for the job and helped secure a position for me at the legendary Waterside Inn by Alain Roux in the UK. After more than a year there, I wanted to move to London and was offered a role at another three-Michelin-starred establishment, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, under head chef Clare Smyth. We worked from 7am to 11pm five days a week. This was the toughest and most demanding kitchen I have ever worked in, but I was forced to learn fast—and adapt or sink—in an extraordinary fashion. On average, we would have a chef quit every two weeks.
How does it feel to be at the helm of such a storied restaurant as Jimmy’s Kitchen?There’s always going to be pressure to deliver, especially with a restaurant that has so much history and a large base of loyal customers. You want to make sure that everyone who leaves Jimmy’s Kitchen is content with their experience and wants to spread the word. I block out expectations and simply focus on replicating each dish as it should be every time. I have a great executive sous chef, Eric Chan, who used to work at Jimmy’s Kitchen in Shanghai, and Lily Lau, my head pastry chef, whom I had worked with in the past. I have a strong team around me to help execute the game plan.
Russell Doctrove (Photo: Billy Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)
Describe your earliest memory of Jimmy’s Kitchen.I struggle to pinpoint the exact year but I visited many times while growing up. I remember being with my family and each of us ordering our go-to dishes. My mum would always go for the steak Diane, my father the chicken Madras and my brother and I the chicken Kyiv. The sophisticated, club- style interior, low ceilings and carpeted floors were ingrained in my mind.
How do you plan to modernise Jimmy’s Kitchen?We are trying to break the mould. While we are keeping the classics, we are equally keen to bring Jimmy’s Kitchen into the future by introducing new thinking. The interior at our new location is more contemporary, and details like our open kitchen, the chef’s counter and private rooms pull the curtain back to reveal a glimpse into the inner workings of the restaurant.
Our aim is to steer Jimmy’s Kitchen in a new direction, while catering to both old and new customers. At its core, Jimmy’s Kitchen served what could be described as continental cuisine with French, Indian, British and German influences. The dishes themselves were simplistic in nature—the type of food you could see yourself eating multiple times a week. In reality, I have only tried to expand on this DNA by using more current ingredients and techniques. I hope Jimmy’s Kitchen will stand the test of time for another 100 years.
Can you describe a typical day in your life? Now that my wife and I are the proud parents of one-year-old twins, my day starts when theirs does, which is around 7am on a good day and 6am on a bad one. I usually play with them for 30 minutes before fitting in a workout in my home gym. I head to the kitchen at 9am. I like to be the first one in before things get crazy. I check through the fridges and take stock of what’s needed for the day ahead. Lunch service runs from 12pm to 3pm and, after that’s done, I try to find the time to check emails, push on with prep, work on new recipes and squeeze in time to take a quick break and eat. Before you know it, it’s already 5pm and we are starting to set up for dinner service, which runs from 6pm to 10pm. If I’m lucky, I can leave the kitchen at 10pm and head home, where I shower and catch up on my reading.
What traits do you believe are necessary to succeed in the hospitality business?You need to really enjoy what you do; otherwise why sacrifice so much and put up with all the daily stress and pressure that comes with it? Being organised and having the drive to try and do better each day are always traits that I look for when building my teams. I also look for others’ ability to not take things personally and view each day as a new opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over, if needed.
Who are your culinary heroes?I prefer to look to creatives in other industries for my inspiration, whether it be in music, fashion or design. My two biggest sources of inspiration would be [musician and DJ] Richie Hawtin and [fashion designer] Rick Owens. Both have managed to carve their own lanes in their respective fields and prefer a “less is more” approach to what they do.
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