André Chiang

André Chiang (; born 27 April 1976) is a Taiwanese chef and owner of five restaurants. He is the former head chef of the three Michelin star restaurant Le Jardin des Sens in France. He is known for his "Octo-philosophy" of eight elements which make up his dishes. In 2017, his Michelin 2-star eponymous Restaurant André was named the Best Restaurant in Singapore, and the second-best in Asia by Restaurant magazine.

Early life André Chiang was born in Taiwan, but spent his early life in Japan where he learnt to cook from his mother. He initially expected to follow her into the family business and eventually take over but found that his imagination exceeded those bounds and wanted to learn the food of other cuisines. He specifically wanted to learn French cuisine because he felt that it was most unobtainable.

Culinary career Chiang moved to France, initially expecting to stay for a short period and return to Asia. Instead, he spent the next fifteen years living there having gained a position at the three Michelin star restaurant Le Jardin des Sens run by Jacques and Laurent Pourcel despite Chiang not speaking any French at the time. Over the course of the next nine years, Chiang worked his way up through the kitchen to the position of chef de cuisine. During his time in France, he also spent time in the kitchens of La Maison Troisgros, L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire. At his self-titled restaurant, he and his team created a menu on a daily basis depending on the quality of produce available in the markets, crediting this for making both him and his team think about the courses and the techniques that they can use. Chiang announced the closure of Restaurant André in October 2017, and the restaurant ended service in February 2018.

Awards During his time at his restaurant Jaan par André, Chiang was named the Rising Chef of the Year for 2009 at the World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence. Restaurant André has placed in the top 10 in Restaurant magazine's list of the top 50 restaurants in Asia since 2013, and was named the best restaurant in Singapore and the second-best restaurant in Asia in 2017. His Taipei restaurant RAW was named the best restaurant in Taiwan and ranked number 24 in Asia in the same list.