On 15th & 16th March 2023, Chef Maxime Gilbert of Two Michelin-starred Écriture invites friends and culinary powerhouses, Chef Antimo Maria Merone of Estro and Chef Miles Pundsack-Poe of Ensue Shenzhen, to present an eight-course menu collaboration that plays on elements of pot au feu.

Pot au feu, the classic French stew that boasts succulent meats, hearty vegetables, and a rich broth, is a recipe as old as time. For many, the perennial comfort dish serves as a sentimental reminder of home-cooked meals, with various regional interpretations depending on the availability of ingredients.

The origins of pot au feu go back to farming and peasant folk, who would keep a simmering pot on the fire year-round, adding meat trimmings and vegetables to enrich the broth.

Chefs Maxime and Antimo, who most recently worked together on Basically Bouillabaisse for Tatler Dining Kitchen, will be joining forces with Chef Miles from Ensue in Shenzhen, currently ranked no.19 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and no.49 on Opinionated About Dining’s Top 100 Restaurants in Asia.

This 6-hands event in Hong Kong marks Ensue’s very first collaboration outside of Shenzhen, China, giving guests a rare chance to experience the cooking of a true pioneer in China’s sustainable fine dining scene.

“Pot au feu is one of my favourite dishes from childhood, a true classic that deserves more recognition. It can be enjoyed with seafood, beef, or poultry meat, and we hope to bring all iterations of this delicious dish to the table for this collaboration,” says Chef Maxime.

“This collaboration will be special because Maxime and I will be joined by our friend, Chef Miles, who I also had the pleasure of working with last year in Shenzhen at Ensue,” says Chef Antimo. “Pot au feu is a humble dish that can be very interesting when translated into a fine dining format. I hope guests have as much fun as we did creating this menu.”

“It is an honour to work alongside some of Hong Kong’s top chefs, and even more so for Ensue to debut outside of Shenzhen at such a respected restaurant like Écriture,” says Chef Miles. “We can’t wait to welcome guests to try our eight-course interpretation of pot au feu, the ultimate comfort dish.”

The six-hand pot au feu collaboration menu will be priced at HK$ 3,480+10% per guest and available for lunch on 16th March only and dinner on 15th & 16th March 2023. Guests are advised to reserve seats in advance to avoid disappointment.

Estro x Écriture x Ensue
6-Hands Pot Au Feu Lunch & Dinner Menu
15th March (Dinner only) + 16th March (Lunch + Dinner)
HK$3,480+10% per person

Welcome snacks by all chefs
Six courses – 2 courses by each chef based on a ‘pot au feu’ theme
Desserts + Petite Fours by all chefs

About Chef Maxime Gilbert of Écriture
Maxime Gilbert grew up in France – a country where the cuisine is culture – where the mysteries and magic of cooking and the happiness that it brought to his family quickly made an impression. Maxime has aspired to be a chef for as long as he can remember.

Following stages at restaurants in France and Scotland, including the Christopher Coutanceau (2*) in La Rochelle, he began his career at the Sofitel Philadelphia in the USA before joining the team at the Meurice Paris (3*). Over the course of five years, he worked his way up from commis chef to sous chef, and it was here that he encountered his mentor, Yannick Alleno, for the first time in collaboration.

In May 2009, following a stint at La Reserve de Beaulieu (2*) on France’s Cote d’Azur, Maxime went to work with Alleno at La Grande Francaise by Yannick Alleno at the Hotel Royal Mansour in Marrakesh, Morocco. Alleno saw talent in Maxime, entrusting him to help open STAY by Yannick Alleno at the Shangri-La Beijing in 2011. From 2013 until he started work on ÉCRITURE in September 2016, Maxime was Chef de Cuisine at Amber (2*) at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental.

His vision of French cuisine comes to life at Écriture, where traditional techniques are integrated with exceptional ingredients from France and Japan to evince simplicity, elegance and a natural sophistication that plays with power and lightness. Served within a setting that befits each dish’s beautifully composed and visually appealing nature, Maxime’s food is carefully conceived to bring happiness and enjoyment to every diner.

About Chef Antimo Maria Merone of ESTRO
A proud Naples native, Antimo is among the vanguard of chefs rewriting the rules of Italian cuisine. Chef Merone came from a farming family and learned to appreciate the flavours of fine Italian ingredients at a young age. From Berlin’s Vai Mó to ALMA in Parma under the legendary Gualtiero Marchesi, Antimo earned his stripes at some of the world’s finest restaurants.

The opening of L’Altro in Hong Kong brought him to Asia, which quickly achieved a Michelin star. Soon after, he joined Umberto Bombana’s 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo in Macau as Executive Chef, where he led the kitchen for six years.

In 2021, he opened his first restaurant Estro in partnership with JIA Group. Dedicated to elevating Neapolitan cuisine through modern cooking techniques, Estro’s refined tasting menus draw inspiration from Antimo’s homeland, with each dish evoking rich memories of his ancestors, history and childhood. Bringing a global perspective to regional cuisine, Estro acknowledges Antimo’s Neapolitan roots while showcasing his innate creativity and progressive style.

About Chef Miles Pundsack-Poe of ENSUE
Miles was born in Canada and raised with a passion for nature’s natural beauty. This passion fueled by early childhood world travel helped shape his cuisine today. After learning his craft with sustainable and product-driven mentorship, Miles left Canada for the European Michelin dream. Miles spent one year travelling and cooking in some of Spain’s top kitchens, honing his fire cooking skills at Asasdor Etxebarri.

Attracted to Chef Christopher Kostow’s esoteric and natural approach to food, he moved to California and joined the team at Napa Valley’s three Michelin-starred The Restaurant at Meadowood (TRAM).

Today, Miles leads daily kitchen operations as Head Chef at Ensue Shenzhen, an ambitious venture led by Chef Kostow. He continues the story of TRAM and extends the Farm-to-table ethos to China by highlighting the best of South China in every dish.

For reservations/bookings of this special 2-day collaboration event, please contact Ecriture directly at 2795-5996, email ecriture@lecomptoir.hk or via SevenRooms here.

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