Chef André Chiang to close restaurant, train young talent in Taiwan

Taipei, July 29 (CNA) Acclaimed Taiwanese chef André Chiang (江振誠) announced on Monday that he plans to retire from his position as head chef at RAW, his Michelin two-star restaurant in Taipei, at the end of 2024.

The restaurant, located in Zhongshan District's Dazhi area, will cease operations on Dec. 31, and be transformed into an international culinary school, he announced at a press conference held at RAW on Monday.

The multiple-award-winning chef said that RAW, which was opened in 2014, has achieved his goal of "exhibiting the quality and standards of an international restaurant to young chefs."

Speaking about his "retirement," Chiang said people may not have the chance to eat his dishes starting next year, "but this is not giving up a glorious stage. It is building a bigger, more important and significant new one."

On that new stage, he will seek to open the eyes of more Taiwanese young people to creativity with "better chef training and cultivation programs," the celebrated restaurateur said.

He said he would "continue to create new opportunities and find solutions" for Taiwan's culinary industry and the next generations."

According to a statement released by RAW, Chiang now hopes to train the next generation of young chefs and "perhaps even revolutionize the industry" by cultivating "hundreds or thousands of Andrés."

Chiang, however, did not give any details at the press event about the new school he intends to open.

The move from the kitchen to the classroom represents a major shift in Chiang's impressive career.

The 48-year-old Chiang was the first Taiwanese chef to receive Michelin stars for his Restaurant André in Singapore, which was closed in February 2018.

He is also the only chef of Chinese descent to have appeared on all three of the following lists: the Michelin Guide, World's 50 Best, and the Top 100 Chefs.

Chiang was also awarded a "Life Time Achievement Award - Asia's 50 Best Restaurant in 2018," and named one of the "15 Most Influential Chefs of the next decade" by Elite Traveler, according to Tatler Asia.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, RAW launched a menu titled "World Tour III" that was a collaboration with 13 acclaimed chefs from around the world.