Professor X: Chef Xavier Mauerhofer of Bei

Chef Mauerhofer arrived at Bei in December last year and began applying his French training and Slow Food sensibilities to the restaurant’s trademark contemporary Asian cuisine. He chatted with us about successes, failures and feeling naked.

Your name suggests a diverse background. Can you tell us more?
I am French and was born in the French Alps, but my name’s origin is Swiss German (Zurich). I guess one of my ancestors crossed over the French border at some point!

How did you decide to become a chef?
My grandmother, who always cooked all day long, inspired me. Also the fact that I get to create and express myself through cooking.

What was the first dish you ever cooked that you were proud of?
As a kid, I often baked cakes, but the first dish I was proud of did not involve any cooking. It was a cucumber that I had carved to look like a crocodile on a bed of shredded carrots with a lemon dressing. I think I was 12.

What about your first cooking catastrophe?
During my apprenticeship, I was cooking a pot-au-feu and it was perfect, actually, except that I threw away all the meat in the stew (which was supposed to be served to the guests) and kept only the stock. My manager shouted at me for ten minutes straight. This taught me to never waste anything for the rest of my life.

What can diners expect to be different at Bei now that you’re running the kitchen?
A little less use of dry produce and more fresh produce.

Tell us about one of the new dishes at Bei.
I’m preparing a goose liver and eel terrine that I will serve with a baozi stuffed with apricot chutney.

How many hours a day do you spend in the kitchen at Bei?
It depends. I know I come in around 11am and I leave whenever the last desserts are sent away.

Is Slow Food hard to do in such a fast-paced city?
Not really. You just need to spend time in local markets and go out there to meet farmers who are ready to grow produce without pesticide. There are plenty of them.

What do you like to do when you’re not cooking?
Spend time with my 4-year-old son.

What’s your favorite piece of clothing?
My apron – because without it, I can’t cook and I’d feel like I was naked!

Click here to see the September issue of the Beijinger in full.

Photo: Sui