Olivier Bellin left his hometown in Brittany as a young man in the mid-90s to begin his career working with Joël Robuchon in Paris. He then returned to Brittany at La Roche-Bernard working with chef Jacques Thorel at his two-Michelin-starred restaurant.
In 1998, equipped and emboldened by his experiences, he returned home to Plomodiern, a small village located between Quimper and Brest in France with a population of some 2,000 people. There, he helped transform his inherited family inn, L’Auberge des Glazicks, which went on to receive two Michelin stars.
Chef Bellin joined The Ocean in May of 2017 and brought his style of Breton cuisine to Hong Kong where his refined execution of quality seafood combined with the best produce of the land soon brought Michelin recognition to his doors again. The Ocean by Olivier Bellin received a Michelin star in the 2018 edition of Hong Kong and Macau's red guide.
What was your first encounter with the MICHELIN Guide?
When we got listed in the Michelin Guide in France—we obtained a Bib Gourmand. It was already an extreme joy because I was very young at the time. Now, here in Hong Kong, I think it is a great achievement to enter the guide directly with a Michelin Star. It is a bit of a surprise, but of course an immense satisfaction and an enormous joy. It is not easy to be included in the MICHELIN Guide—it requires a long time and dedication before the guide considers that you deserve to be included.
What was it like when your team earned a star?
All the members of the team were really happy, from the front of the house to the culinary team. They have all been working extremely hard in the last six months and this great satisfaction that shows that effort and hard work pays off. It is very rewarding to see that the MICHELIN Guide validates the commitment and dedication of the team since the opening of The Ocean.
How did you celebrate?
On the announcement day, I was in France; I received a phone call very early in the morning, around 6:00 a.m., and I was really happy. Because I was away, I could not celebrate with the team but I was on the phone with them in the afternoon to congratulate them and we all made a toast together.
How has the MICHELIN Guide influenced your life and career?
I would not say that the guide has influenced my life but it has changed my career. What has it changed in my life? Since the first moment you enter in this “club” of Michelin-starred restaurants, you are not considered the same way anymore—you are now seen a bit more like a reference point because you represent something exceptional. It’s a very high standard, an excellence that you have to be able to maintain every day and to impose on yourself, but at the same time you also have access to different things. Having a Michelin star here at The Ocean by Olivier Bellin is just the beginning; in France my restaurant L’Auberge des Glazicks has two Michelin stars and we are one of the best restaurants in Europe, which is something exceptional.
How will one Michelin star change the direction of your restaurant?
It validates the hard work that has been done, and it shows that we were going in the right direction. I think that it will help bring more people to the restaurant and with more regularity which is very good, giving a new destination to Hongkongers in the Southside where we are the only Michelin-starred restaurant. We are now going to try to improve some small details and to solidify what has been done. I am really happy with this first Michelin star, but I don't want to stop here. We are going to start aiming for a second star very soon and for this we have to refine the service, evolve a bit in the kitchen, progress in the front of the house—small details that make the difference in a two Michelin-starred restaurant.
To you, what does a Michelin star symbolize?
For me it shows that in six months we managed to move from a new, unknown, restaurant to one of the references of the Hong Kong dining scene. This is very important for me and I am really proud of the team and of having been able to introduce my Breton cuisine here. It was initially a challenge to bring the flavors of Brittany to Hong Kong, where diners are maybe more oriented towards Asian cuisine, but I am really pleased to see that my different style of cuisine has been validated. I am proud to have been able to bring this little piece of Brittany to Hong Kong.
What advice do you have for young chefs aiming to achieve Michelin stars?
To focus on the cuisine they love and what they like cooking without thinking too much about the guide itself. They need to develop their cuisine first, to work with good ingredients and to prioritize their clients. By doing this, they will be in the right direction towards getting a Michelin star that will one day validate their hard work.
