These three restaurant chefs are no small names — they left high-paying jobs at five-star hotels to start their own businesses

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Whether in Western restaurants or Chinese dining at five-star hotels, the chefs are all highly skilled, offering delicious cuisine. But many may not know that after years of working in hotels, many chefs give up their well-paid hotel jobs to open their own restaurants, just to let more people enjoy the dishes they love. Examples include Midi Ride Bistro in Taipei, Joseph Bistro Think Kitchen, and Yusu Design

▲▲Riccardo Ghironi was willing to give up his position as a five-star hotel chef to open Midi Ride, an Italian bistro in Taipei’s Minsheng Community, just to serve the most authentic Italian food to everyone. (Photo / Huang Shiyuan)

Italian Bistro Midi Ride
At Midi Ride, the stylish Italian bistro in Taipei’s Minsheng Community, the tall and handsome Riccardo Ghironi bustles about in the small kitchen. Before coming to Taiwan, Riccardo had worked in many restaurants in the U.S. and served as the executive chef at the Italian restaurant Beata Te. Prior to opening Midi Ride, he was recruited by Cai Chenyang to be the executive chef at La Farfalla, the Italian restaurant at Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel. He opened the Italian bistro in Taiwan to serve the most authentic Italian dishes, such as a simple lasagna that has the taste of a homemade Italian meal. Perhaps it's because of his longing for that Italian home flavor that Riccardo Ghironi smiles and says he never cooks at home — he just wants to eat the home-cooked meals made by his grandmother and mother.

After spending several years in Taiwan, Riccardo Ghironi noticed that more and more Taiwanese were learning to appreciate food, and acceptance of Italian cuisine was growing. Coupled with his own desire to share authentic Italian cooking, he decided, upon the expiration of his contract with Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, to resolutely open Midi Ride Italian Bistro at the end of 2014 with his colleague Wang Cijie from the hotel and another friend, investing together.

Address: No. 237, Section 5, Minsheng East Road, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2760-0091

▲The exquisitely designed Parla Seafood. (Photo / provided by

Yus/span>
Following the 2014 launch of MEATGQ Premium Steakhouse planned with the help of steak guru Deng Youkui, Taichung’s Hoshino Resort Group, after a year of preparation, invested 300 million NTD to open a Cantonese wedding banquet venue called YSJA on February 5.The venue serves both premium steaks and high-end Chinese cuisine, with experienced chefs from well-known restaurants across the country and even Beijing.It also includes executives from the group’s hotels in Beijing and other locations, forming a top-tier culinary team.

Yus doesn’t just focus on premium steak.The restaurant offers great value, letting ordinary diners also enjoy high-end cuisine. Many premium ingredients, such as chicken liver, foie gras, and abalone, are not sourced through intermediaries but directly purchased by the group from producers or abroad, saving on procurement costs and passing the savings on to customers so they can enjoy meals at the most affordable prices.

Address: No. 783, Section 2, Gongyi Road, Nantun District, Taichung City
Phone: 04-2382-9128

▲Chicken liver salad. (Photo / KUNI)

Joseph Bistro Think Kitchen
Vaz Joseph Elias was formerly the head chef at the Westin Taipei, The Regent Taipei, and Taipei Garden Hotel, but last year he left his hotel chef job to open Joseph Bistro Think Kitchen — Taiwan’s first Indian cuisine gastropub.

Read more:Creative Indian Cuisine: Surprising Pairings of Chicken Liver, Curry, and Peaches!

Address: 1F, No. 13, Lane 69, Songjiang Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Phone: (02)2508-1329

Download the “ETtoday News Cloud” app for the latest food info →
iOS:https://goo.gl/rmIDdx
Android:https://goo.gl/XPe8Uj