Richard Ekkebus, one of the culinary world’s most exciting young personalities, is the Executive Chef at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, overseeing all cuisine at one of the city’s most luxurious and distinctive five-star hotels.  Under Richard’s supervision and guidance, Amber, the hotel’s modern French restaurant, was awarded two Michelin stars in 2008. Amber is one of only seven restaurants in Hong Kong to receive the Michelin two-starred honour.

Richard began his illustrious career via an apprenticeship in his native Holland under Michelin-starred chefs Hans Snijders and Robert Kranenborg. In Holland, he won the prestigious Golden Chef’s Hat for “Young Chef of the Year”, an honour that encouraged him to further perfect his art under the tutelage of some of the greatest three-star chefs in France, including Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Passard and Guy Savoy.

With a strong desire to experiment, Richard embarked on a culinary journey that saw him hold executive chef positions first at the Royal Palm in Mauritius and then at The Sandy Lane in Barbados. He accepted the same role for Amber in 2005.

Trained in the conventions of classic French cuisine, Richard is much admired for his fresh ideas and innovative spirit. Thus Amber’s cuisine, while built on a solid foundation of traditional French cooking, nevertheless evinces a contemporary, light feel. Here the focus is on superior produce and ingredients in time-honoured dishes with a new twist.

Richard takes particular pride in the superb quality of his ingredients. “There is no compromise regarding quality. At Amber, we are committed to using the finest and freshest ingredients sourced from all parts of the world,” he remarks. “Great emphasis is also placed on beautiful, creative presentations employing varying food textures and colours.”

At Amber, gourmet diners can sample truly innovative dishes created by Richard and his team, including “Dungeness Crab in 5 Textures and 4 Temperatures”, “Bresse Pigeon with Foie Gras and Black Winter Truffles” and “Tasmanian Salmon with Kyuri Cucumber”.

Chef Richard’s culinary creations combine perfectly with Amber’s original interior conceived by iconic designer Adam Tihany. In a city renowned throughout the world for its quality and variety of cuisine, Amber offers the best of modern French cuisine in an elegant and stylish setting.

For dining information, please call Amber at +852 2132 0066 or visit hotel website at http://www.mandarinoriental.com/landmark/dining/