Born on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1961, Harlan Goldstein trained in Switzerland, ran 21 restaurants at Beijing’s China World Hotel at 28 and now cooks at Gold by Harlan Goldstein in Hong Kong.
I was born on January 8, 1961, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. I grew up with my sister and a single mother in a poor area of New York. After I turned 12, I moved to Florida, and at 14 I started working part-time in a kitchen. Then I got my lucky break and went to Switzerland for training at the age of 17.
I have been working as a chef for almost forty years, and the whole journey has been very interesting. But the highlight for me was Beijing, China: my first job as executive chef, at the China World Hotel, at the age of 28, in charge of 21 restaurants and managing a team of 450 staff.
There are so many dishes I love, but what I enjoy most is simplicity, robust flavors and straightforward things from the heart.
I speak five languages, because I have worked in different places around the world. Languages became my hobby and passion, although at first they were simply a necessity for me. Try managing a few dozen people who don’t speak English!
I also like sport fishing for big fish, such as tuna and marlin. I’m into Thai kickboxing and martial arts, and occasionally I get behind the DJ mixer. These things let me relax and switch off, and then I come back to the kitchen with renewed vigor.
Life is a journey. Food is the most interesting thing in the world for expressing yourself, your love and your passion. So don’t hesitate: eat, and eat the most delicious dishes you can find. And keep the memory of those tastes.
My dish: Hokkaido Sea Scallop Carpaccio, Slow-Cooked Egg and White Truffle Dressing. It was created for the opening of Gold restaurant and has since become the signature dish. The sweetness of the Hokkaido scallop, the texture of the 52-degree slow-cooked Italian egg and the fragrant white truffle dressing just say boom, boom, boom.
