Sitting down to speak with Options, Andre Chiang has all the trappings of a seasoned pop star. He's relaxed and suave, even referring to himself in the third person on occasion. For anyone else, this may come off as obnoxious, but he speaks with a humility and self-awareness that lets us know he doesn't take himself too seriously.
Indeed, there's a quiet confidence in Chiang, one we imagine has been built over the years as he gained both skills and recognition. Not once during our conversation does he bring up his multiple Michelin stars or the litany of other accolades he's received over a career that spans three decades.
The Taiwanese chef is set to open a new restaurant in Raffles Hotel later this year. While most details have yet to be released - and Chiang stays tight-lipped even when pressed - he's clearly excited to start on this new chapter.
"I call Singapore the home of 'grown-up Andre', and it's exciting to reconnect with the Singapore audience," says the chef, who closed his eponymous two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Andre here in 2018.
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Culinary goes literary
News of Chiang's upcoming restaurant follows the launch of his latest book Fragments of Time, which explores the culinary heritage and culture surrounding Raffles Hotel. The 200-page tome was completed following his stint as writer-in-residence at the hotel, and includes everything from recipes to his hopes for the culinary world.
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The new book is Chiang's fourth. His first title, Beginning (2013), traces the foundational moments of his career; this was followed by his eight-step culinary treatise Octaphilosophy (2016) and The Aesthetics of Work (2023), which discusses his work ethic.
Being part of the Writer's Residence Programme - an initiative launched by Raffles Hotel in 2019 - was a "natural" move for Chiang. "Raffles Hotel and I have had a long relationship," he says, noting that he had completed a 12-day residency at the now-defunct La Dame de Pic last March. "Whenever I'm in Singapore, I stay here, so I'm very familiar with the team and the whole background."
Chiang adds that this close relationship is an indication of the commonalities between him and the hotel. "We both strive for perfection ... We share the same values and understanding of what a great dining or hospitality experience is supposed to be like."
The writing process behind Fragments of Time was a deeply introspective one, says Chiang. "I tried to go back to the very first time I was in Raffles," he recounts, adding that this led him to consider how all the hotel's charms had been accumulated bit by bit over the years. "All these beautiful fragments have been collected to become what it is; it's not from one certain period, and it's not all brand-new."
From this came the book's title, and the seeds of how he would approach it moving forward. (The Mandarin title, "ji guang pian yu", is a Chinese idiom that refers to the fragment of a feather from a mythological creature and is used to describe something rare and precious.)
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Seeking to capture the small accumulations of history over Raffles Hotel's 138 years, Chiang set about immersing himself in the place. He developed recipes inspired by the hotel and Singapore as a whole, though he notes that - in line with the central theme of the book - these are not "complete" dishes.
"I would like readers to take those elements and apply them into their own cooking as inspiration. I didn't want to give a complete recipe and say, 'cook like Andre'. I tried to project an experience: What if you spent a day in Raffles? What would you take back from here?"
Beyond the writing, Chiang had a hand in the overall artistic direction of the book. As he explored the grounds seeking inspiration, one element that caught his attention was the way the light interacts with different elements in Raffles Hotel, from the way it enters a window to the way it cuts through the foliage.
"The sunlight is so important that it's almost the best feature of the hotel," he shares in earnest. He flips through the book, revealing the progression of coloured pages that mimic the hues of the sky across the day.
"All the photos were taken with no supporting light," he continues. "We had to chase the daylight; every single photo has a different shadow ... In some, you see a long shadow and you know it's probably towards the end of the day; in the beginning of the day you have this very soft light; and then there are some overexposed ones, taken at high noon."
In the pipeline
The closure of Raw last year marked a step forward in Chiang's career.
He now sees himself operating beyond the kitchen, focusing on bigger-picture matters that can have an impact on the wider industry. For instance, in Singapore, he's working with the Singapore Tourism Board to introduce culinary programmes for aspiring chefs.
"I've been on the frontline for 35 years. I'm still very much involved, but it's a different level of running things," says Chiang. "It's like a well-crafted watch ... Instead of [being] the big gear pushing everyone, I've become the smallest gear. But you still need every single mechanism for the watch to work."
One vision Chiang is exploring is uplifting the next generation, chiefly through his upcoming culinary academy.
Ensuring that the industry retains a steady stream of talent is paramount, he says. "I see the pain everywhere; every restaurateur is crying for labour." But he notes that this isn't a matter of there being no warm bodies. "I see it in a different way. We have a lot of people in the industry, but they can't last because they don't have the right tools."
The culinary academy, which Chiang says will open by the end of this year, will aim to equip young aspiring chefs with the knowledge and skills to pursue and achieve a long-term career. "It's not to create more, but to stop the bleed."
Continuing the pattern he's created with his past ventures, he predicts he'll be running the academy for about a decade. "It's my next chapter, another 10-year project," he quips. "I think that's a good time, a taste of a generation."
Chiang is also working on new concepts. Earlier this year, for example, he launched Bon Broth in Raffles City. The restaurant serves individual, cooked-to-order hotpot with eight broth options - and no condiments.
Musing on the inspiration behind the concept, Chiang says he wanted something different from the fine-dining venues that he is known for. "I'd been thinking my entire career: Could I do something friendlier, more approachable, where people could go every day?"
Bon Broth is now doing well, he adds, with a waitlist of about one-and-a-half months.
Navigating the storm
Exciting projects aside, Chiang acknowledges that the F&B industry across Asia has been "up and down" since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here in Singapore, government data shows that F&B closures are averaging 307 per month in 2025, a significant uptick from the 254 that closed per month in 2023. In the fine-dining scene, recent closures include Restaurant Poise, which shuttered in March.
"Eating behaviours have changed; the way people spend has changed," says Chiang, noting that the goal now is to identify what consumers want.
He is, however, hopeful about the industry's prospects. "Moving towards the end of the year and beginning of next year, it's going to change for the better," he adds, before following up with a simple two-word sentence, paired with a cheeky smile.
"Andre's back."
