Renowned chef Jiang Zhencheng announces retirement!
Restaurant RAW, known as “the most difficult to book in Taiwan,” will be closing its doors. Chef Jiang Zhencheng held a press conference on July 29th, stating that since RAW’s opening on December 9, 2014, their mission has been to “redefine Taiwanese flavor,” embarking on a decade-long culinary journey. After 10 years, Jiang Zhencheng announced on the 29th that he will release the final new menu, “The Last Dance,” and simultaneously retire, marking the end of RAW at the end of the year.
Jiang Zhencheng announces retirement: Focusing on culinary heritage
Regarding the upcoming new menu, “The Last Dance,” Jiang Zhencheng said, “It is a love letter to Taiwan, a love letter to the team.” He also announced that after retirement, he will focus on passing down his culinary skills.
As for why he suddenly announced his retirement on RAW’s 10th anniversary, Jiang Zhencheng’s good friend Jiang Yaqi once pointed out that Jiang Zhencheng is someone who completes one mission and then moves on to the next. When he felt that “Restaurant Andre” in Singapore had achieved perfection, he closed it. “So, if one day he feels that RAW has reached perfection, he will close RAW.”
Regarding this statement, Jiang Zhencheng previously explained that what he cares about is that this restaurant has provided many young people with opportunities to dream and practice. However, at that time, he believed that there was still room for growth, so he said, “Maybe when it reaches 100 points, I will really close it.”
Having earned 2 Michelin stars and numerous honors in the culinary industry
Jiang Zhencheng is the only Chinese chef to have appeared on the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants,” the Michelin Guide, and the “World’s Top 100 Chefs” list. Looking back on his career, he began training in culinary arts at the age of 13 and started interning at major hotels in Taipei at 16. At the age of 20, he became the youngest French cuisine restaurant chef in Taiwan, and at 25, he served as the executive chef at the French Michelin three-star restaurant “Le Jardin des Sens.”
After turning 30, Jiang Zhencheng submitted his resignation and left France, coming to the secluded Seychelles Islands as the executive chef of Maia, a resort hotel on the island. It was during this time that his cuisine was twice named “the greatest in the Indian Ocean” by TIME magazine.
After turning 34, he returned to Asia and opened “Restaurant Andre” in Singapore. During the more than 8 years of operation, he not only received two Michelin stars but also set a record of entering the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” list for 7 consecutive years. “Restaurant Andre”…
Creating a new vision of Taiwanese flavor in 10 years
At the age of 38, Jiang Zhencheng collaborated with the Hersing Corporation to open RAW. Positioned as a “bistronomy” restaurant, it used fresh, natural, and precise cooking techniques to bring traditional culinary culture and local ingredients to the table, creating a new vision of Taiwanese cuisine. It was widely recognized as “Taiwan’s most difficult-to-book restaurant.”
RAW made it into the “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” list for 6 consecutive years from 2016 to 2021 and has been awarded 2 stars in the “Taiwan Michelin Guide” for 4 consecutive years from 2020 to 2023.
Further reading:
Stopping before reaching the top of Michelin, Jiang Zhencheng’s “star-level insight”: The perfect 1% lies within oneself.
Editor: Li Xiantai