Alvin Leung as Guest chef in the Ikarus

September 2011 at Restaurant Ikarus: Alvin Leung

Culinary jazz with the charm of rock ’n’ roll.

When you see Alvin Leung at work, you expect him to break into an exquisite guitar solo at any moment rather than deliver an exquisite meal. T-shirt, tattooed arms, long hair hanging in his face – Jancis Robinson, renowned British wine critic, was shocked when she met him for the first time. After she had savoured his unique cooking at Bo Innovation in Hong Kong, though, she confirmed that he is "a massive talent".

This talent is above all based on the exceptionally open approach which Alvin Leung brings to cooking; a cosmopolitan attitude which is hardly surprising when one considers his life. Born in London, growing up in Toronto and always on the move from his earliest childhood, even as a child he developed a decided feel for different cultures and their eating habits. Visits to Ferran Adrià, the boss at El Bulli and joint founder of molecular cooking, Joël Robuchon, one of the Four Cooks of the Century, or to Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck, which was crowned Best Restaurant in the World in 2005, gave him the core of his philosophy: People who visit a modern, contemporary gourmet restaurant today want more than to merely enjoy a tasty meal; they want to experience it with all their senses and stretch these to their limits.

The development of extreme Chinese cuisine is the logical consequence of this. By combining centuries-old, traditional recipes with contemporary ingredients and cooking techniques, Alvin Leung rewards his diners with light and refreshing dishes which integrate seamlessly into modern cuisine. Visitors to Bo Innovation enthuse every time about the mixture of exquisite culinary skill and the scientific approach to the ingredients. The incredibly complex enjoyment of his food makes you long for the next mouthful.

Like Heston Blumenthal, on whom he has modelled himself, Alvin Leung never trained as a chef; he is self-taught. Perhaps that's the reason why, in extreme Chinese cuisine, he has been able to develop an absolutely individual style of cooking, driven solely by the deep desire to spoil people who come to his restaurant. "I want to challenge my guests' expectations, surprise them and then excite their senses. I want people to say 'That was the best meal I've ever had' ", is Alvin Leung's explanation for what motivates him to reinvent himself and his cuisine every day and thus treat his guests to an unforgettable experience time and again.

A menu at Bo Innovation can contain 18 courses – his own creations, such as the century egg, with sweetened vinegar, ginger and grapefruit, or foie gras with mandarins and lychees, alternate with traditional dishes, such as Ma po tofu, which originates from the province of Szechuan, or eastern Chinese Xiao long bao, which is classed as molecular cuisine. The fact that these are interspersed with a suckling pig sandwich or a classic Sex on the beach cocktail might irritate outsiders, but aficionados of Alvin Leung's cuisine just grin.

His culinary skills earned Alvin Leung and Bo Innovation two Michelin stars in 2009, 97th place in the list of The World's 100 Best Restaurants (chosen by Restaurant magazine) and 65th place in the San Pellegrino Best 100 Restaurants in the World. The Miele Guide restaurant critics voted Leung and his team to 6th place in the Top 10 Restaurants of Hong Kong. Ranked 19th, Bo Innovation is also among the Best 20 Restaurants of Asia. His appearance, on the other hand, combined with the apparent lack of respect with which he approaches cooking, earned him the title demon chef and an impeccable rock 'n' roll image. Take a close look, though, and you'll recognise his culinary openness and unique, boundary-breaking approach to cooking for what it really is – pure culinary jazz.