The chef of Alchemy, a ‘restaurant in the dark’ in Central, has died after apparently falling down an escalator at Sheung Wan’s Shun Tak ferry terminal. It’s been reported that Pascal Breant was discovered lying unconscious at the bottom of the escalator on Sunday. He was 52-years-old. It’s reported that the chef was seen checking his phone just before he fell down the stairs. He was rushed to hospital and confirmed dead shortly afterwards.
Olivier Caisson, the co-founder of French Creations, the group that runs Alchemy, tells Time Out Hong Kong: “Pascal Breant was a beloved member of the French Creations family. We are shocked and saddened by the news of his passing. Our dear friend will be sorely missed. At this time we are focusing on supporting the family he leaves behind. Memorial details will be announced in due course.” The French Creations team adds that it was an ‘unfortunate accident’ and that he ‘fell badly on an escalator’.
Breant, originally from Normandy in France, began cooking at just eight-years-old, helping after school in his family’s bakery. At the age of just 17, he began an apprenticeship at Le Bristol in Paris, which held one Michelin star at that time. He then worked at La Tour d’Argent, a three-Michelin-starred eatery in the French capital at the time, before heading to Issautier in Nice, which held two Michelin stars.
He left France in 1989 to ‘seek knowledge in different cultures’. He journeyed across 10 countries from America to Asia but eventually decided to settle in Hong Kong to ‘refine his art’. The Alchemy website says: “His cuisine is modern French in style with the international influence you might expect from a chef with such diverse international experience.”
Alchemy, in Arbuthnot Road, is a ‘restaurant in the dark’, a sensory experience that allows diners to focus on the food rather than looking at any interiors. Time Out interviewed the chef in June 2015. Read the interview here.