In March, he took over the project, replacing the charismatic chef Wing, who had been in charge of the organization’s kitchen since 2003, and retired. Fabio considers Club Lusitano the biggest challenge of his career and intends to have “some good years”.

Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro

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He visited the Club Lusitano kitchen on March 20th of this year. Portuguese Fabio Pombo is the new chef in charge of food at the Portuguese parent company. The charismatic Chef Wing retired 18 years later. “The invitation was received earlier this year after the chef, who ran the club for 18 years, retired. At that time, the management of the club contacted me to find out if I was interested in taking this position, which was a great honor for me, ”Fabio Pombo told FINAL POINT, assuming he didn’t even think twice about the offer.

With a wealth of experience and four years of living in Hong Kong, the Portuguese are firmly committed to a new challenge. “All projects that I have implemented in the West had very different characteristics, such as business model, location, target audience, etc. Club Lusitano is perhaps the most interesting challenge in my career because of its 100-year history, scale and the expectations the members have, ”suggested Pombo, noting that he was in the right place and with the right tools to maintain and, since that’s your goal, to raise the entity’s name.

Fabio Pombo arrived in Hong Kong in 2017 to work as head chef at Casa Lisboa on Hollywood Road. There, with more or less difficulty, he managed to impose several specialties, which enjoyed success, delighting those passing by. Following this experience, he participated in a pilot project to open a Portuguese restaurant in Foshan, Canton province. The pandemic changed the course of the project, and Fabio ended up staying in Hong Kong, where he became the head chef of Feather and Bone Steakhouse in Wanchai.

Now it is Club Lusitano’s turn to taste the delicacies of Lisbon. “As a chef, I can offer a club menu, but any changes to the menu must take into account the wishes of the participants, so all new dishes are submitted to the F&B committee for approval,” Fabio Pombo explained to our newspaper.

Space for innovation, as always

However, the Portuguese suggests that “there is plenty of room for creating special meals and menus,” intending to disrespect Portuguese food culture, as he did earlier at Casa Lisboa, where he prepared one of the clientele’s most beloved dishes. made with an unusual ingredient: bone marrow. “I personally love zucchini and I enjoy cooking what gives me pleasure, so it is likely that I recreate something from the zucchini here at the club,” he said.

Fabio plans to stay in Hong Kong for several more years. You want to stabilize forever, and Club Lusitano is the perfect place to be good. “I love living here and would like to see myself as a chef at Club Lusitano for several years to ensure stability in the club and in myself. In three years, I will become a permanent resident of Hong Kong and opportunities for me will increase, ”he suggested, expressing the possibility that“ a return to Portugal is always on the horizon, ”even though the world is going through an unstable phase.

Speaking of instability, the FINAL POINT wanted to know from our chef at Club Lusitano what problems his kitchen is facing during the Covid-19 pandemic, and even more so in a territory like Hong Kong, where, despite the fact that he managed to control illness, he never managed to completely suppress it. “For me, the beginning of the pandemic was the most difficult, because fear and uncertainty reigned among the population, restaurants lost many customers, there was a lot of uncertainty, and many restaurants were closed at that time,” he began with the words. , noting that “then it was time for restaurants to close at 6:00 pm as a response to the pandemic because dinner bills have been lost, which is of great importance for restaurants.”

Another thing that is very special, says Pombo, “is the discomfort that saves many lives, from having to always wear a breathing mask on your face while you work while you have to use your senses at the same time. taste and smell to be able to be convinced of the quality of your work. “

In 2013, Fabio Pombo received a degree in Culinary Arts and Food Production in Restoration from the Estoril School of Hospitality and Tourism in Portugal. He gained experience working in the kitchens of the Lisbon restaurant Feitoria (one Michelin star) and Madeiran Il Gallo d’Oro (two Michelin stars). He was chef at the Vicente by Carnalentejana restaurant in Lisbon and chef at the Skyna hotel restaurant, also in Lisbon. He has appeared in several newspapers and magazines such as South China Morning Post, Time Out or Life Style Asia, and was also a Guest Chef at the 2019 Foshan International Golf Tournament in China and a Guest Chef at 20 -m tournament. the celebration of the anniversary of the handover to the Macau administration, also in 2019.