Richard Ekkebus, director of culinary operations at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel, best known for his two-Michelin-starred French restaurant Amber, is a decorated chef whose mantra is as much about sustainability and self-improvement as it is about culinary excellence. Originally from the Netherlands, he trained under legendary chefs including Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Passard and Guy Savoy, before becoming executive chef at the Royal Palm Hotel in Mauritius and then Sandy Lane in Barbados.

Ekkebus has been in charge at Amber since it opened in 2005, earning those stars in 2009 and holding onto them ever since, making Amber consistently one of Hong Kong’s most coveted tables. Known for its innovative, meticulous takes on classical French cuisine, the restaurant employs a mammoth staff of 72 people to take care of just 60 diners. In recent years, he has also been pushing the restaurant towards sustainability and plant-based offering, eliminating dairy from its menus in 2019. Amber was given a coveted Michelin Green Star in 2022 and 2023 in recognition of its efforts. He has also helped to spearhead LMO Bite-sized, a series of free panel discussions about the business and the drive towards sustainability, aimed at students and members of the industry and the public.

His aim, he says, is “to have improved the professional careers of the colleagues that have worked alongside me, contributed to them personally and professionally, and inspired them to drive positive change in our industry; and to be a chef-restaurateur who is not complacent but curious and open-minded”.